Jian water basin, 500-400 BCE, 8 7/8 × 20 1/4 × 20 5/16 × 17 3/16 in., lb. ( × × × cm, kg), Bronze, China, 5th century BCE, This jian, a large bowl-shaped vessel with a deep body and heavy rim, is decorated with a dense serpentine pattern and four attached animal-head ring handles. The interlocked serpentine relief appears in three bands encircling the neck and the main body, separated by a frieze of braided ropes. Intertwined dragons wriggle within these bands, their bodies embellished with incised spirals and meanders. The vessel bears an inscription

---

Size: 6436px × 4831px
Location:
Photo credit: © Penta Springs / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: , 500-400, 5th, amusement, animal-head, attached, bands, basin, bce, bears, bodies, body, bowl-shaped, braided, bronze, century, china, decorated, deep, dense, dragons, embellished, encircling, frieze, handles, heavy, incised, inscription, interior, interlocked, intertwined, jian, large, lb, lord, main, meanders, neck, pattern, reads, relief, rim, ring, ropes, separated, serpentine, son, spirals, vessel, wall, water, wriggle, zhi