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“Ritual Vessel (zun or gui) In The Shape of a Rhinoceros” as seen via poor cellphone camera lenses on the first Sunday of the month (otherwise known as free admission day sponsored by Target) at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.

Didactics say:

Probably late 1100s – 1050 BCE
China; reportedly Shouchang, Shandong Province
Shang Dynasty (approx. 1000 – 1050 BCE)
Bronze
The Avery Brundage Collection, B60B1+

During the latter part of the Shang dynasty, Shang power focused on the city of Anyang. The majority of ceremonial vessels cast there come from a standard set of shapes. These sets of shapes usually have richly decorated surfaces and short inscriptions.

What is interesting about the rhinoceros vessel is that it is a natural form that is not adorned with any decorations. In addition to that, the inscription inside of it is lengthy and detailed in comparison.

One of the reasons why this piece was compelling to me was because it was a rhino. I was taking the museum's Acoustictour which involved the information desk handing you a giant walkie-talkie remote kind of thing. You'd start from the top most floor and there are pieces through out the museum with a picture of headphones and a number next to them. You'd punch in the number on the remote and put it up to you ear and there would be a little information recording for you to listen to, following the numbered pieces results in a tour of the spread of Buddhism in Asia. So I'm walking through the tour and most of the pieces are statues and sculptures of various gods and figures of Buddhism, then all of the sudden right in between all these figures is... a rhino. Yeah.


Unfortunately you can barely make it out thanks to my awesome (not) cellphone camera. But basically it refers to a successful military campaign waged by the last king of the Shang dynasty and a sacrificial ceremony performed in an ancestral shrine. Cowry shells, money at the time, were given in gratitude by the king to an official who assisted in the victory. The official used the cowry shell money to have the vessel made to pay homage to the gods.

I would like to end on the note to be wary of the free Sundays at the Asian Art Museum! It was much, much more crowded than usual. I couldn't even get into one of the Afghanistan exhibits because it was so full, bummer!