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This zun, one of a pair, was among more than two hundred bronze vessels found in Fu Hao's tomb. Together the bronzes weighed more than 1.5 metric tons. Some were uncharacteristically large, while others took unusual forms. This one, for instance, has been made to resemble an owl or a parrot. Like most of the bronze vessels in Fu Hao's tomb, it was intended to hold wine.
The zun's two front legs and broad tail form a tripod, which balances the weight of the vessel at the back. The back of the head forms a lid. Angular and round spiral shapes abound, many of which, on closer inspection, appear to be serpents. Writhing snakes make up the bird's wings, and a serpent with bottle-shaped horns perches above the handle. Taotie-like motifs appear under the handle and on the bird's upward-turned eyes. An owl face can be seen above the tail feathers, and a smaller bird appears to peek out between the two main horns at the top of the vessel. Zoomorphic designs such as these were a late Shang preference. The wealth of designs that cover the surface of the zun is also characteristic of late Shang style, but its sculptural conception is not. It is possible that the vessel's casters were attempting to create a southern-style animal-shaped vessel that still conformed to Shang taste. The results are both innovative and unusual.
In truth, it is hard to say exactly what kind of bird this is, but its identification as an owl is bolstered by the fact that Fu Hao's posthumous name, Si Mu Xin, is cast on the vessel. The hooting sounds of owls may have been associated with the spirits of the dead, though this owl seems more playful than ominous.
Differences in status are clearly revealed by comparing the size of bronzes from Fu Hao's burial with those found in the grave of a person of lesser rank. But size is not the only way one vessel can be made to stand out from other works. It is possible that the very uniqueness of Fu Hao's owl zun was itself a sign of status. The scale drawing on the left illustrates a bronze from the tomb of Fu Hao; the one on the right shows the same type of vessel from the burial of a person of much lower status. Adapted from Yinxu qingtongqi (Beijing 1985), figs. 27, 54. |
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