‘JUE’ TRIPOD FOR CEREAL WINE

Description Ritual bronze vessel (jue) designed to hold and consume - perhaps even heat - cereal wine. It has a cylindrical body with a rounded bottom, held by three pointed feet that diverge downwards. The rim widens considerably upwards and ends in a long, pointed lip on one side and in a long, wide spout on the other. Two small pilasters are also on the rim: they have a triangular section while the knobs present a vortex decoration. The decoration, rather coarse, is in relief and consists of a single central band, the continuity of which is broken only by the attachment loop. On the side opposite the loop, the decoration consists of a singular variant of the taotie mask, characterized by two eyes placed on the side and above which are present two more shapes (maybe another set of eyes?)