African

Ancient Mediterranean

Asian

European and American

Art since 1900

Asian Art

Ancient Chinese religion centered on communion with ancestral spirits through feasting and sacrifice. Bronze vessels like this wine cup therefore had ritual functions, and the elaborate ornamental designs on them undoubtedly had religious significance. The leaf-like forms decorating the upper part of the vessel are highly stylized depictions of the cicada, an important image in ancient Chinese art. The cicada, which spends years underground and then emerges, sheds its skin, and enters a new phase of existence, may well have been seen as an emblem of the transition from this life to the spirit life beyond the grave. Lower down on the stem of the vessel are fierce mask faces called taotie, another common motif which was probably felt to have a protective function.