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object 6 of 20 Table of Contents
Among the hundreds of objects found in Fu Hao's tomb were three ivory goblets, including this one. They were in the earth fill above the main coffin chamber. Both the ivory and turquoise inlay have been heavily restored, but the fact that these beakers have survived at all is surprising.
In Fu Hao's time an ivory object would have been a costly luxury item, probably for personal use. Oracle-bone inscriptions tell us that elephants were hunted in the Yellow River region, and several elephant skeletons have turned up in late Shang burials. The artist carved the goblet from a single, hollow tusk, narrowing the center to resemble a type of bronze drinking vessel (gu). The handle was carved separately and attached with pegs. The decoration is similar to that found on bronze vessels. In four horizontal bands facelike taotie stand out from a dense background of incised lines. The upper part of the handle forms the profile of a bird with a prominent beak. The beak's hooked shape accentuates the angular spiral patterns known as leiwen that are used throughout the vessel.
The bird handle recalls a similar bronze bird head found at Sanxingdui (see Bronze standing figure and Bronze human head with gold leaf) in Sichuan province. Animal forms such as this were popular in both the north and south.
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