Ritual Tripod Libation Ewer (gui)
CultureChinese
Dateca. 1900-1700 B.C.E.
MediumBuff terracotta, coil and paddle construction
DimensionsOverall: 23 7/8 × 8 × 9 inches (60.64 × 20.32 × 22.86 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund
Object number2006.13.1
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 232
Collections
DescriptionThe beige ewer is thinly potted. It has a long, cylindrical neck standing on three splayed legs. The domed top of the ewer has a small short tubular spout and a wide oval mouth. A wide strap handle extends from the top to the bottom of the long neck. The back of the handle is incised with inverted "V" patterns and vertical grooves. Three small joints have been molded on the other side of the handle to buttress it to the body. A thin, rope-pattern ring decorates the lower neck. The three legs are hollow inside, each molded with a pointed foot.Exhibition HistoryRising Dragon: Ancient Treasures from China, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, October 6, 2007 - February 10, 2008.
Tripod ewers of this type are commonly found in tombs of the Longshan culture located in northeast and central China. The hollow legs were efficient for heating liquid—probably grain wine—over a fire. Since their tall, unstable proportions and fragile construction would have made them impractical for everyday use, such vessels were likely used in a ritual context, probably for pouring libations to the ancestors.
J. J. Lally & Co.;
Purchased from J. J. Lally & Co. by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2006.
Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 285, cat. 2 [repro.].
Colin Mackenzie, with contributions by Ling-En Lu, Masterworks of Chinese art: the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, Mo.: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2011), 22-23, cat. 1 [repro.].
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Ceramics: highlights from the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Museum, 2016), 13 [repro.].
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