Ornament in the Form of a Coiled Snake

Culture: Chinese
Dynasty: Western Zhou dynasty, 1050–771 BCE
Date: late 11th–10th century BCE
Material: Bronze
associated with: Xicun, Henan province, China, Asia
Classification: Jewelry & personal accessories, metalwork
Collection: Asian Art
Current Location: On View, Gallery 233
Dimensions: height: 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm)
width: 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm)
depth: 9 1/8 in. (23.2 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of J. Lionberger Davis Art Trust
Rights: Public Domain
Object Number: 124:1951

NOTES

The coils of this rare, cast bronze ornament are rendered as a volute swirling about the head of a snake. The body of the creature is slender, its width gradually narrowing to the point of the tail. The whole of its length is hemispherical in cross-section, its edges molded in a single step. The expression of the snake is alert, its eyes and nose both emphasized by their projection. A pair of spiraled horns provides the snake with a penetrating look, and a diamond-shaped design ornaments its head.

Only two other Western Zhou bronze ornaments of this kind are known—one in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and another in the Musée national des Arts asiatiques—Guimet, Paris.

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