China
Wine Flask (Bian Hu)
INV-2349
ChinaHan dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220), 1st century B.C./A.D.
Wine Flask (Bian Hu)
China
Chinese (culture or style)bronzemetal
Date
Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220), 1st century B.C./A.D.
Medium
Bronze with incised decoration
Dimensions
22.5 × 26.3 × 8.3 cm (8 7/8 × 10 3/8 × 3 1/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection
This unusual variation of the canteen-shaped container is lightly chiseled with a combination of geometric patterns, birds, and gazelle-like creatures. The distinctive technique and style of surface decoration seen on this vessel associate it with bronzes excavated in far southern China, near modern Vietnam. Under occupation by Han rulers, bronze foundries in this frontier area produced intriguing bronzes in which Chinese styles are blended with those of the native, non-Chinese tribes.
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