FLAT ‘BIANHU’ PLATE WITH GARLIC BULB ON TOP

Description Cereal wine container, with short neck and large flattened oval-shaped body on a high rectangular foot. This bianhu maintains a classical shao the classic shape with the addition of a neck with a hexalobed decoration (also called “garlic head”) just below a very short straight edge. The internal diameter of the neck is constant, the decoration is therefore obtained by thickening the walls of the bottle. This technical detail is typical of the bronzes of the 3rd century, while later the lobes became hollow. On the other hand, the straight edge instead characterizes the productions of the early Han dynasty. The oval of the belly is underlined, on the two faces, by two concentric grooves and a raised central part. The foot is hollow with recessed edges and the bottom has, on the outside, an annular hook in the centre.