Wine Vessel (Jia)
Unknown Artist
c. 1250–1046 BCE
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
h. 50.8 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
2005.54
About this artwork
This large wine vessel (or jia) is among those very rare, monumental pieces uncovered from Anyang, the last royal capital of the Shang dynasty (c.1700–c.1100 BCE). Probably very few monumental bronze vessels were ever made; each of them must have cost a fortune and was used to designate high-ranking (often royal) status. Even fewer have survived. This wine vessel was used for the ancestral rites of the Shang. Its three splayed legs supported the cup over a fire, suggesting that the wine might be...