Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
This food vessel exhibits a new decorative trend of metropolitan Western Zhou foundries. Zoomorphic images became increasingly abstract and subject to linear elaboration. The dominating animal mask (taotie) of the Shang is here transformed, dissolved, and dissected into intricate patterns of curving bands and median grooves. The design is abstract but not devoid of symbolic contents and functions. A smooth and even gray-green patina--the result of natural corrosion during burial--covers the outside and creates a new visual impact on the surface decoration.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
136665
label
Hollow-Legged Tripod (Li Ding)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
136665
contentType
object
title
Hollow-Legged Tripod (Li Ding)
description
This food vessel exhibits a new decorative trend of metropolitan Western Zhou foundries. Zoomorphic images became increasingly abstract and subject to linear elaboration. The dominating animal mask (taotie) of the Shang is here transformed, dissolved, and dissected into intricate patterns of curving bands and median grooves. The design is abstract but not devoid of symbolic contents and functions. A smooth and even gray-green patina--the result of natural corrosion during burial--covers the outside and creates a new visual impact on the surface decoration.
date
late 900 BCE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60740111
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Diameter: 27.7 cm (10 7/8 in.); Overall: 23 cm (9 1/16 in.)
cul
China, Shaanxi province, Xi'an, Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–771 BCE)
accession
1961.203
Source extras
tec
bronze
tombstone
Hollow-Legged Tripod (Li Ding), late 900 BCE. China, Shaanxi province, Xi'an, Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–771 BCE). Bronze; diameter: 27.7 cm (10 7/8 in.); overall: 23 cm (9 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift from various donors by exchange and the John L. Severance Fund, 1961.203
collection
China - Zhou Dynasty
citations
citation
Ho, Wai-Kam. “Shang and Chou Bronzes.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 51, no. 7 (September 1964): 175–187.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 7, pp. 182 and 187
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 245
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 245
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 325
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 7
creditline
Gift from various donors by exchange and the John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:58:39.621000
sourceId
136665
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Zhou Dynasty
med
bronze
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
2045dc97c96c5fa8