Exchange: CC 2 - MSE

CC 2 - MSE - Metal

This sword has a long blade with a tri-pointed tip. The center of the blade has a ridge running the length of it. The wooden handle has a V-shaped top.

Mbun
Short Sword
iron and wood
31 5/16 in x 3 3/4 in x 1 7/16 in (79.5 cm x 9.5 cm x 3.7 cm)
Gift of Susan B. and John F. Ullrich

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A bronze, multi-colored work that has two triangles that form an entrance way on one side.

Bruce Beasley
Offspring II
bronze
7 in. x 9 in. x 5 1/2 in. ( 17.78 cm x 22.86 cm x 13.97 cm )
Gift of the Estate of Anne L. McGrew

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square ding (ting) tripod with four legs, the body as well as the upper portion of the four legs is decorated with "t'ao-t'ieh" zoomorphic design. One of the leg was recast after the rest of the body has been completed, thus had a less refined craftmanship and joint line at its base. The double loop handles are also decorated with zoomorphic design. A group of three inscription is cast on the upper portion of the interior wall, which reads as Fu (father) Ji (day name), followed by an symbolic representation of a chariot, possibly a clan emblem. The interior is plain, the animal bone remains attached to the bottom and variations in patina patterns with a line running through the middle indicates that the vessel was once filled with cooked meat offerings, presumably in a Shang elite burial in late second millennium B.C.E.

Chinese
Fang ding (“square tripod” cooking vessel) with taotie mask and gui dragon design
cast bronze with malachite patina
10 3/8 in. x 7 5/8 in. x 6 1/8 in. ( 26.3 cm x 19.3 cm x 15.6 cm )
Museum purchase for the James Marshall Plumer Memorial Collection

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NOTE TO MSE COLLABORATORS: We have many works on display and in storage that would be useful for this topic. If MSE wants to include this topic, we can 1) survey the metalworks already on display throughout the museum; 2) determine what other examples we would need in Curriculum / Collection; 3) use works made of metal museum-wide for MSE curriculum. (We could also make some kind of digital or print guide to the gallery that lets the public survey metallurgy in the collection).