{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/2/context.json","@type":"sc:Manifest","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/gettysburg/iiif/cf9adb16-9c4c-4db3-8609-1af1035ce6eb/manifest","label":"gaa_jue-or-libation-cup_65h4_65h4","metadata":[{"label":"Identifier","value":"gaa_jue-or-libation-cup_65h4_65h4"},{"label":"Citation","value":"Object Name, Date Original (if known), GettDigital: Asian Art Collection, Special Collections / Musselman Library, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Access Date, Link to Item"},{"label":"Repository","value":"Special Collections and College Archives, Musselman Library, Gettysburg College"},{"label":"Inventory Number","value":"65H4"},{"label":"Part of","value":["Asian Art GettDigital Collection"]},{"label":"Provenance","value":"The Estate of Prof. Frank Kramer"},{"label":"Genre","value":["Artifacts"]},{"label":"Date Original","value":"c. 1700-1050 BCE"},{"label":"Era","value":["Attributed to the Shang dynasty"]},{"label":"Measurement","value":"Height: 19.5 cm; Width: 17.8 cm"},{"label":"Medium","value":["Bronze, surface of emerald-green patina with traces of earthy incrustation","Metal"]},{"label":"Country of Origin","value":["China"]},{"label":"Description","value":"The Late Shang to the early Western Zhou period is often referred to as the 'Period of Brilliance' that marks the high point of Chinese Bronze Age, due to a relatively stability of central political power. It was the era in which the Jue form of ritual wine-drinking vessels was most encountered.* The strong sense of spirituality and the feeling of the peace of the time are well expressed in this remarkable Jue. Jue is one of the ritual wine-drinking bronze vessels for the élite class that was used exclusively in sacrifices and rituals.** It was used to warm wine for libation.*** The stiff and compact body carries a sense of refrainment with a flat bottom, supported by three blade-shaped legs. The raised tail and restrained spout transform the Jue to a lively upright bird ready to soar upwards. Two short rectangular posts are flat on the outer face and rounded on the inner face; they are uneven because one had been broken and insecurely mended with some white substance. The fractured joints between the body and the post caps indicate that they were cast separately. They stand on opposite sides of the rim, holding conical finials bearing a whirligig pattern carved in sunken incised lines; this is less visible on one post, due to heavy corrosion. The limited decoration of the vessel focuses on the upper section of the body that contains a narrow and single register ornamented with a tiger motif rising from a background of dense spirals lei-wen (or 'thunder pattern'). It is bordered with a small repetitive circle motif and bisected by a flat handle that is accentuated by the head of an archaic dragon. As part of the late Shang bronze ornaments, this combination of abstract animal figurative, geometrical form, and the lei-wen, almost always represents the conjuration of a cosmological myth. There are visible flaws on the ornament band and behind the handle. The seams are more visible on the outer faces, especially at the band of decoration. This Jue projects a sense of fierceness and reverent awe due to the effects of the restrained decoration and the simplicity of the design. Prehistoric bronzes, as in the case of this vessel, were mostly found from large hoards or graves, evidently indicated on the inner and outer surfaces covered with emerald-green patina and traces of earthy incrustation. Its exceptional exquisiteness lies in the sense of austerity of the shape and design, the aesthetic sense of technical gaucherie and the rough encrustation of beautiful emerald-green patina on the surface formed during centuries of burial.**** * In some earlier catalogues and textbooks, the term Jue is spelled Chüeh. ** From the Li Ki (or Book of Rites, original attributed to Chou Kung, Yuan edition, 1322 A.D.), the principal source on religious cult in prehistoric China. *** The name \" libation cup\" is probably derived from the T'ao Shuo (by ChuYen, in 6 volumes, book IV dealing with Ritual Vessels and general descriptions.) **** Patina is the substance on the surface appearance of bronzes, produced either intentionally by an artists/craftsman, or as a result of corrosion that has occurred over time. A Chinese bronze may contain both. In his dissertation Reflections of Early China: Decor, Pictographs, and Pictorial Inscription, Yang Xiaoneng categorized three idiosyncrasies of bronze decoration that flourished during the late Shang and early Zhou periods: 1) animal motif (such as animal mask, dragon, and phoenix) or an animal-shaped vessel often made from the parts of several different creatures (already created by prehistoric craftsmen) 2) various motifs occur on a single bronze in a fantastic composition of general plastic forms and the surface motifs that condense the spirit of the wild world (often a zoomorphic vessel in the round such as bird-shaped vessel) 3) non-natural, unequivocal, and undistinguishable animal masks taotie. Bronze decor, including abstract or sophisticated images, composite or hybridized motifs, and designs of groups of animals all were animated by religious interactions and developments of late prehistoric China and the polytheism of the Early Bronze Age. It is a generic pictorialization of pantheistic creature veneration and an incarnation of zoomorphism of the spiritual world of those societies."},{"label":"Title","value":"Jue or Libation Cup"},{"label":"Rights","value":"Materials available through GettDigital encompass a wide range of works, many of which are in the public domain. However, some items may still be protected by copyright or other intellectual property rights. Users are responsible for determining the copyright status of materials and ensuring compliance with all applicable laws when reproducing or publishing these works. Items in our GettDigital Collections are for educational use. For assistance in understanding rights, obtaining permissions, or requesting files for publication or research purposes, please contact us at <a href=\"www.gettysburg.edu/special-collections/ask-an-archivist\">www.gettysburg.edu/special-collections/ask-an-archivist</a>"},{"label":"Reference URL","value":"http://cdm16274.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p4016coll6/id/2195"}],"description":"Jue or Libation Cup","sequences":[{"@type":"sc:Sequence","canvases":[{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/gettysburg/iiif/cf9adb16-9c4c-4db3-8609-1af1035ce6eb/canvas/_1","@type":"sc:Canvas","label":"Jue or Libation Cup","height":2280,"width":1872,"images":[{"@type":"oa:Annotation","motivation":"sc:painting","resource":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/gettysburg/iiif/cf9adb16-9c4c-4db3-8609-1af1035ce6eb/full/full/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","format":"image/jpeg","service":{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/context.json","@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/gettysburg/iiif/cf9adb16-9c4c-4db3-8609-1af1035ce6eb","profile":"http://iiif.io/api/image/2/level2.json","tiles":[{"width":1024,"scaleFactors":[1,2,4]}]},"height":2280,"width":1872},"on":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/gettysburg/iiif/cf9adb16-9c4c-4db3-8609-1af1035ce6eb/canvas/_1","metadata":[]}],"thumbnail":{"@id":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/gettysburg/iiif/cf9adb16-9c4c-4db3-8609-1af1035ce6eb/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","@type":"dctypes:Image","height":500,"width":500}}]}],"thumbnail":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/gettysburg/iiif/cf9adb16-9c4c-4db3-8609-1af1035ce6eb/full/500,500/0/default.jpg","logo":"https://iiif.quartexcollections.com/gettysburg/iiif/logo"}