Minneapolis Institute of Art

Gu wine vessel

China

Date

12th-11th century BCE

Medium

Bronze

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The gu is a tall bronze wine beaker with a refined, elegant silhouette. It reached peak popularity in the Shang era (c. 1600–1046 bce) and gradually disappeared by the Eastern Zhou period (770–256 bce), possibly due to Zhou criticism of excessive alcohol consumption. This example is decorated with taotie (composite animal) masks, while the dense spiral background pattern, known as leiwen, is characteristic of Shang bronze casting traditions. China, Asia

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