EARLY EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY, EARLY SPRING AND AUTUMN PERIOD, 8TH CENTURY BC

A bronze hu of similar proportions, which still retains its cover and the loop handles suspending from the dragon-head terminals flanking the neck, is illustrated in Zeng guo qing tong qi (Bronze Vessels from the State of Zeng), Beijing, 2007, pp. 100-1. The Zeng hu has a similar band of dragon scroll decorating the lower body, but unlike the current vessel, the band above on the shoulders is left undecorated. Similar dragon scroll can also be found on a lei/ling dated to the early Spring and Autumn period, 8th century BC, illustrated by Jenny So in Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. III, New York, 1995, pp. 202-5, no. 30. Also illustrated, figs. 30.3 and 30.4, are an yi and a pedestal gui, both dated to the 9th century BC and in the Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, which are decorated with dragon scroll similar to that seen on the current hu.