Pete Tillman
Shang dynasty fangyi, 12th century BC. Cincinatti Art Musum
A fangyi was a Chinese bronze vessel in the form of a small hut or granary, per the Brittanica. The little "hat" is a knob in the form of a hipped roof, to lift the cover. Archaeologists call this sort of thing a ceremonial object, meaning "we don't really know what those people used it for." Some people argue for a wine offering, others for food. They're found as grave goods, so it's reasonable to suppose the offering was to sustain the deceased in the afterlife.
The design is an animal mask, which likely means this was southern Shang, per the Met catalog.
Fangyi were made with ceramic piece molds. The simple square shape of the fangyi with its four corners has suggested to many observers that the flanges (ridges that rise above the surface of the vessel) mask the area where the ceramic piece molds were connected.
Refs: www.britannica.com/art/fangyi
www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/asian-art-museum/aam-...
A nice old Met museum catalog of a 1997 show, mostly PRC loan stuff. I reviewed it at Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3048354171
Shang dynasty fangyi, 12th century BC. Cincinatti Art Musum
A fangyi was a Chinese bronze vessel in the form of a small hut or granary, per the Brittanica. The little "hat" is a knob in the form of a hipped roof, to lift the cover. Archaeologists call this sort of thing a ceremonial object, meaning "we don't really know what those people used it for." Some people argue for a wine offering, others for food. They're found as grave goods, so it's reasonable to suppose the offering was to sustain the deceased in the afterlife.
The design is an animal mask, which likely means this was southern Shang, per the Met catalog.
Fangyi were made with ceramic piece molds. The simple square shape of the fangyi with its four corners has suggested to many observers that the flanges (ridges that rise above the surface of the vessel) mask the area where the ceramic piece molds were connected.
Refs: www.britannica.com/art/fangyi
www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/asian-art-museum/aam-...
A nice old Met museum catalog of a 1997 show, mostly PRC loan stuff. I reviewed it at Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/review/show/3048354171