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gong

Bronze vessel of the type called gong. The vessel is shaped like a sauce-boat with a lid. Its body, oval in cross-section, stands on an oval foot-ring; the jug is waisted where body and handle join. This junction is covered by a bottle-horned dragon head; a diamond-patterned body lies each side of the vessel. Other creatures decorate the lid. Large animal faces in relief cover the two ends, their openwork horns standing upright. In the space between the heads small snake-like dragons lie against a fine leiwen ground either side of a dividing flange. The decoration around the lower part of the body is in complete contrast. Creatures in profile, one on each side of the vessel, are suggested by large eyes surrounded by a maze of scrolls and quills without a background of leiwen.

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    British Museum
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  • Repository:British Museum