Bronze Ritual Vessel of King of Chu
CultureChinese
Date1937
MediumHanging scroll; ink rubbing on paper
DimensionsImage: 64 × 26 5/8 inches (162.56 × 67.63 cm)
Overall: 93 × 32 1/4 inches (236.22 × 81.92 cm)
Overall: 93 × 32 1/4 inches (236.22 × 81.92 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Laurence Sickman
Object numberF88-45/78
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionBronze vessel created about 237-228 B.C.E.; rubbing made in 1937Exhibition HistoryThe Art of Ink Rubbings: Impressions of Chinese Culture, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, July 20, 2024–February 2, 2025, no cat.
In 1933, a bronze ritual vessel was unearthed from the tomb of the King of Chu in Anhui, China. Four years later, the collector commissioned this scroll of ink rubbing, which captured details like the inscriptions inside and along the edges. The full image of a three-dimensional object, known as quanxingta, or composite rubbing, may have taken a highly skilled hand many months to complete.
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