Boar-Shaped Bronze Zun ( Wine Vessel )

The Boar-shaped Bronze Zun unearthed in Chuanxing Mountain of Jiuhua Village in Xiangtan County in 1981 is in vivid boar shape with strong legs, round buttocks and belly, 40cm high and 72cm long. The boar is standing up, with an oval hole on its back. A lid is arranged on the hole, with a standing bird as its lifting handle. On the head the beast mask is cut in intaglio; the surface of belly, back and cover is decorated with scale and shell pattern; inverted Kui pattern is cast on the limbs and buttocks. The vessel with an empty tubular belly has the capacity of thirteen liters.
It is the only relics in the existing bronzes of Shang Dynasty that is in the shape of a boar. Apart from its vividness, what’s more distinctive of the vessel is that the holes on the front and rear elbow are in alignment and there are circular tubes in the diameter of 1.4cm therein. It is speculated that ropes can thread through the circular tubes, thereby facilitating the moving of the bronze, from which we can see the full consideration into the shape design.