Bronze Lei


  Length: 31.5 cm, width: 31.5 cm, height 35.4 cm, weight 4.2 kg. Unearthed from Pit No. 2 at Sanxingdui. This Shang Dynasty bronze vessel was used to hold sacrificial offerings for deities. It features a square-edged lip with a narrow rim, straight mouth and neck, a gently curved sloping shoulder, a straight belly tapering inward toward the flat base, and a slightly flared ring foot. The neck is wrapped with three raised cord patterns, while four vertical flanges on the shoulder, belly, and foot divide the decor into four symmetrical sections. Four curly-horned ram heads are cast onto the shoulder's edge and walls. Cloud-thunder patterns form the background for motifs across all sections: the shoulder displays elephant-trunk dragons, the belly repeats the shoulder's upper-edge design and centers on a zoomorphic mask flanked by inverted masks along the flanges, with an eye-and-cloud band below. The foot has four square openwork panels aligned with the flanges, eight small perforations along its lower edge, and a double-row eye motif.was used to hold sacrificial offerings for deities. It features a square-edged lip with a narrow rim, straight mouth and neck, a gently curved sloping shoulder, a straight belly tapering inward toward the flat base, and a slightly flared ring foot. The neck is wrapped with three raised cord patterns, while four vertical flanges on the shoulder, belly, and foot divide the decor into four symmetrical sections. Four curly-horned ram heads are cast onto the shoulder's edge and walls. Cloud-thunder patterns form the background for motifs across all sections: the shoulder displays elephant-trunk dragons, the belly repeats the shoulder’s upper-edge design and centers on a zoomorphic mask flanked by inverted masks along the flanges, with an eye-and-cloud band below. The foot has four square openwork panels aligned with the flanges, eight small perforations along its lower edge, and a double-row eye motif.