Fuhao Owl Zun

"Fuhao" Owl Zun, bronze ware, late Shang Dynasty, 46.3 cm in height, 16 kg in weight. It was unearthed from Fuhao's Tomb in Yinxu, Anyang, Henan in 1976 and is now in the Henan Museum.

There are two "Fuhao" Owl Zun, the other one is 45.9 cm in height and 16.7 kg in weight. The shape, decoration and inscriptions are basically similar. They are a pair and are now in the National Museum of China.

The overall shape of the Owl Zun is an owl with its head held high and its chest puffed out (owl, also known as owl, owl, is a general term for owls in ancient China.), with small ears and a high crown, round eyes and a wide beak, wings close together, and strong feet and a drooping wide tail forming three fulcrums. (Figure 1) There is a handle behind the owl's neck, and a quarter-circular opening is opened behind the head, with a lid on top. There is a standing bird at the front of the lid, and a dragon behind the bird. (Figure 2) The body of the owl-shaped vessel is decorated with elaborate patterns, with thunder patterns as the background, and cicada patterns, two-headed monster Kui, Taotie patterns, and coiled snake patterns are used interchangeably. The surface of the beak and the chest are decorated with cicada patterns, and there is a two-headed monster Kui on each side of the neck, and a coiled snake on the front of each wing. The back of the neck and the lid are decorated with Taotie patterns, and there is an owl under the handle and on the tail. The inner wall below the mouth of the Fuhao Owl Zun is inscribed with the two characters "Fuhao". (Figure 3)

Figure 1 Side view of the "Fuhao" Owl Zun

Figure 2 Lid of the "Fuhao" Owl Zun

Figure 3 Inscription on the inner wall of the "Fuhao" Owl Zun

The "Fuhao" Owl Zun is the earliest bird-shaped bronze zun discovered in China. The maker combined rich imagination with reasonable exaggeration, and cleverly used animals as the theme to shape it into a practical ritual vessel, which not only reflects real life, but also has artistic generalization. The vivid shape and elaborate decoration of the owl-shaped zun reflect the unique religious feelings and aesthetic concepts of the Shang Dynasty ancestors and are rare works of art. (Figure 4)

Figure 4 Line drawing of the "Fuhao" owl-shaped zun