Jue (wine vessel)
Datemid-2nd millennium BCE
Maker
Chinese
Label TextThe Shang-dynasty bronze industry developed a unique technology known as piece-mold casting. This object now has a green patina from age, but it was originally gunmetal in color and likely part of a larger set of vessels for offering wine and food in ritual sacrifice. The distinctive shapes of bronze vessels and their zoomorphic (animal-like) decorations comprise a solemn spectacle of the ruler’s power.
Object number62.101
ProvenanceJoseph L. Brotherton; Herbert and Dorothy Brink, by 1962; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 1962
Exhibition HistoryNew York, New York, Asia Society, Ritual Vessels of Bronze Age China, 1968.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Chinese Metalwork, June 23 - Nov. 27, 1988.
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.Published ReferencesKnight, Michael. "Early Chinese Metalwork in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum." Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1989; no. 1, pp. 3-6, illus. cover.
Rogers, Millard B. "Recent Acquisitions of the Seattle Art Museum," in Archaeology, Vol. 17, no. 4, December 1964; pp. 262-269, illus. b&w 265.Credit LineGift of Herbert Brink
Dimensions9 1/8 x 6 3/4 in. (23.18 x 17.15 cm)
MediumCast bronze