Gui Food Vessel, 11th Century BCE

Gui Food Vessel, 11th Century BCE, now in the collection of the Minneapolis Institue of Art. Description from artsmia.org: *'This gui demonstrates the inventiveness with which Western Zhou artisans adapted Shang forms. The main body is a standard gui with a deep bowl, while the looped handles on either side of the body are innovatively rendered in the form of an elephant’s head and trunk. The bow displays the wings of a bird in relief, and the projection at the bottom contains the bird’s curled tail and its feet descending almost to rest on the tail. The elephant head has large C-shaped ears, raised trunk, and protruding tusks.'* For more information, visit https://collections.artsmia.org/art/1141/gui-food-vessel-china