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Which animals commonly appeared as motifs on Shang bronze vessels?
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Chinese bronzes
Bronze gu from Anyang, Henan province, China, Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 bce); in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Mo.
Shang bronze vessels frequently featured a variety of zoomorphic motifs. The most prominent of these is the taotie, a masklike creature often depicted as a single face or as two stylized creatures juxtaposed.123
Other animals commonly appearing as motifs on these vessels include:
- Tiger12
- Cicada12
- Snake12
- Owl1
- Ram1
- Ox (or water buffalo)12
- Bird12
- Dragon2
While the exact symbolic meaning of these creatures remains a subject of scholarly debate, they are often interpreted as potential shamanistic familiars, totemic emblems, or protective spirits. In some instances, the vessels themselves were crafted in the full form of a bird or animal.12