| Gong with Bird and Animal Decoration ,Late Shang Dynasty (C1200-1100BC) wine vessel. Height 31.4cm, it is now a collection of Freer Gallery of Art, USA. The whole bronze vessel is decorated with over 20 set of birds, animals and human figures. Except for dragon head, phoenix, weird bird, taotie, the others all appear in pairs or even numbers. All the decorations are distributed symmetrically or so arranged as to form a belt. Most of the weird animals are from mythology or legends. It makes the vessel all the more magnificent and mysterious that all such birds are used to decorate one single vessel. |
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