A celadon jade archaistic 'dragon' vessel, yi, 17th century 十七世紀 青玉仿古龍紋匜

Hugh M. Moss Ltd., Hong Kong (label).

Hugh M. Moss Ltd，香港 （標籤） 

The present jade vessel is known as a yi named after an archaic bronze pouring vessel of similar shape. Bronze yi appeared as a ritual vessel form during the late Western Zhou period and continued in popularity until the Warring States period. The function of yi has been documented since the earliest stages of Chinese history: yi were used together with water basins, pan, in ritual ceremonies to cleanse hands. Compare a related jade pouring yi vessel, Ming dynasty, illustrated in Studies of the Collections of the National Museum of China: Jade, Beijing, 2007, pl.210.

此玉匜器型仿自青銅匜，匜是先秦時代禮器之一，用於沃盥之禮，為舉行禮儀活動洗手所用。周朝沃盥之禮所用水器由盤、盉組合變為盤、匜組合。參照一件明代的玉匜，著錄於《中國國家博物館館藏文物研究叢書：玉器卷》，北京，2007年，圖版210。