Anthropomorphic tank element

This tubular object is decorated on both sides with a stylized face or mask. The one made up of two prominent eyes under wide eyebrows, on either side of a marked nasal bridge, evokes the representation of a man or a hybrid being halfway between man and taotie, here recalled by the spiral elements at its top. The human figure is part of the repertoire of Shang and Zhou bronzers. However, it remains quite rare and its possible meanings, which are the subject of many conjectures, are likely to vary according to the nature of the bronzes and the iconography.

Unfortunately, although several objects of the type of the one in the Cernuschi museum are listed in public or private collections, their exact function remains partly hypothetical. The discovery of a comparable bronze in a chariot pit at Baoji, in Shaanxi, simply allows us to suppose that they are end pieces adorning a chariot element, probably the drawbar judging by the internal diameter of the parts. . Mineralized traces on the top of the bronze in the museum suggest that it was in contact with basketwork when it was buried.

Cartel:

Anthropomorphic tank element
Shang Period (c. 1550 – c. 1050 BC), Anyang Period (c. 1300 – c. 1050 BC), China
Bronze
H.17,5 cm x W.14,3 cm x D.7,3 cm
MC 8422

Gift of the Society of Friends of the Cernuschi Museum, 1938