Images d un royaume disparu : Note sur les bronzes historiés de Yue et leur interprétation

Among the famed "pictorial bronzes" of the fifth and early fourth centuries BC, one group of vessels stand out for being hammered, rather than cast, and for featuring decoration that is incised in punctate lines. These unusual bronzes were probably manufactured in the southeast coastal region of China. Their decoration, illustrating drinking feasts, archery contests, and hunting scenes, reflects the distinctive local culture of that area. Among other things, they document the usage of drinking horns, which are not commonly encountered in other parts of China during this period. Such drinking horns can be identified among the funerary ceramics (mingqi) found in the characteristic tumuli of southeast coastal China; a hitherto enigmatic type of footed bowls with many-holed covers may be identified as vessels designed for placing a set of drinking horns; and some equally enigmatic many-holed bronze disks with pictorial décor likely served as inset covers of similar vessels made of bronze.Thote Alain. Images d un royaume disparu : Note sur les bronzes historiés de Yue et leur interprétation. In: Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, vol. 17, 2008. Studies in Chinese Art History — Études sur l'histoire de l'art chinois. En hommage à Lothar Ledderose. pp. 93-123