Elephant-shaped bronze zun ( wine vessel )

This Zun is a kind of wine vessel in the shap of an elephant. The nose of the elephant connected with its belly could be used as a flowing mouth. It can be filled with wine from an oval opening on the back of the elephant. It is a bronze vessel with both artistic and practical value. Among several Elephant-shaped Bronze Zuns we found, this is the only one for which we know the exact unearthed place. Although the Elephant-shaped Bronze Zuns collected by the Freer Gallery of Art in the USA and National Museum of Asian Art-Guimet in France are unearthed from Hunan province, we don’t know clearly where they were unearthed. While the body of this vivid Elephant-shaped Bronze Zun is shorter than a real elephant since craftsmen intentionally shortened the body when making it, the artwork still looks vivid and lively, reflecting the skill of the craftsmen. The body of the elephant is covered with designs of dragon, phoenix, tiger and beast masks. The most remarkable part are the designs of a phoenix and tiger on the nose of elephant, which not only resulted in elegant phoenix and tiger designs but also kept the original feature of the elephant’s nose. So its decorative art is really special and unique.
At the top of the design, two small elephants with curled noses stand on the two sides of the bronze Nao. The left, middle and right sides are decorated with six tigers, six fishes and eleven nails. The design of the elephants is abstract and mysterious, but looks very vivid and realistic. With complicated and breathtaking design, this is a masterpiece of bronzes of Shang Dynasty.