Sumptuously inlaid bronze tubes were designed as fittings for weapons, scepters, and chariots. This bottle-shaped fitting may have formed part of the axel cap for the wheel of a ceremonial chariot. In its remarkable fluency, the inlaid design of volutes and spirals was largely inspired by contemporary lacquer painting.
Credit: Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection
Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period (480–221 B.C.), 4th/3rd century B.C.
Bronze inlaid with gold and silver
12.1cm
1945.212
Image and text courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago, 2019
Where you'll find this
Art Institute of Chicago
Permanent collection