GUI AND TSUBA
by Joan K. Yanni
Editor's Note: Cases flanking the entrance to the Asian Gallery contain artifacts important in the culture where they originated. Libby Clay has researched two of them.
A GUI (pronounced gway) was one of many forms of Chinese ritual vessels used for serving food. Each vessel had its own distinctive shape and use. Though many were similar, no two were exactly alike.
The Gallery's gui was produced during either the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1500-1066 BCE) or the Shou Dynasty (ca. 1066-221 BCE). New archeological finds keep pushing back the beginning of the Bronze Age in China, so it is impossible to supply single dates for the beginning or end of the period. 221 BCE is a handy, if arbitrary, ending date, for it was then that the ruler of the principality of Qui (pronounced Chin) united all of China under a single rule. Our name for China derives from the name of Qui's state.
MAG's gui was used specifically for serving steamed grain in a ceremonial function, as in offerings to ancestors. It is made of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. During the Shang and Shou dynasties, bronze was regarded as a semiprecious material, and its use was restricted to ceremonial or military purposes. Ordinarily bronzes were not made to be placed in a tomb (as were our clay musicians), but used for above-ground rituals. The percentage of tin, which determined the color of a given vessel, varied greatly in Chinese bronzes. The silver-gray color of our vessel seems to indicate a large percentage of tin.
Most of these bronze ceremonial vessels are decorated with animal-like images, more fantastic than real. The Gallery's gui has two flanges attached to the bowl, across from each other and centered between the handles. Each flange serves as the nose of an imaginary animal mask, called taotie or tao-tieh. The round, projecting eyes of two confronting dragons, seen in profile, serve as the eyes of two taoties. The tops of the handles also have taoties.
To make the vessel, the Chinese poured molten metal directly into clay "piece molds," a process called the "direct method of casting." Clay molds could be made in multiple sections, then keyed together to produce the final mold into which the molten bronze was poured. Only a people with a long and advanced ceramic tradition could have made these elaborate molds. Decorations for a piece such as MAG's were cast at the same time as the vessel and attached later.
SAMURAI AND TSUBA: A Samurai was a member of the warrior class in feudal Japan, and a sword was an essential component of the warrior's dress. Used initially in feudal warfare, by the Edo period (1615-1868) the sword had become mainly an article of personal adornment and status.
The tsuba was the hand guard for a Samurai sword, designed by master craftsmen to express the distinctive virtues of its owner. Unlike early Chinese and European sword guards, which usually are wrought into the blade, the Japanese tsuba is a distinctly separate piece of metal. The Gallery has nine tsubas on view and others in storage.
Everything which pertained to the sword was regarded with reverence by the Samurai. The sword was considered part of his personality, and people tended to judge his character by his weapon. The tsuba was second in importance only to the blade itself. It was so important, in fact, that it was the custom to have it consecrated by Buddhist priests.
The tsuba started as an oval form, corresponding to the shape of the closed hand that grasped the sword. It had three functional qualities: strength, lightness, and appropriate form to protect its owner's hand. It had a central opening where the tang of the blade was inserted into the hilt.
As the sword began to serve a more symbolic, ritualistic purpose, tsubas became more aesthetically pleasing—a creative vehicle for artistic expression. A wealthy Samurai might have as many as five sets of sword furniture. In the Edo period there were about 2 million Samurai carrying both long and short swords, each equipped with a tsuba.
The Samurai themselves evolved just as tsubas did. Originally they were exclusively an aristocratic warrior caste; later the term included all members of the warrior class that rose to power in the 12th century and dominated the Japanese government until 1868. The ideal Samurai was supposed to be a stoic warrior who followed an unwritten code of conduct (Bushido) which held bravery, honor and personal loyalty above life itself. Ritual suicide (hari-kari) was considered a respected alternative to dishonor or defeat. The Samurai class lost its privileged position when feudalism was officially abolished in 1871.
The Samurai culture produced such uniquely Japanese arts as the tea ceremony and flower arranging that continue today.
No comments:
Post a Comment