Jia (vessel)
The jia (Chinese斚, Pinyin jiǎ ) is a type of Chinese ritual bronzes, which is characterized by a cup-like vessel sink on three slender legs. Early precursor forms of this type of ceramic vessel originate from the Neolithic period. From the Chinese Bronze Age they were usually made of bronze, sometimes also made of ceramic. They served as a cult vessels for alcoholic beverages and were used for libation.
Description
The jia is a typical tripod vessel of small to medium size. His legs are spread evenly and continuously around the vessel body. Depending on the location and time of manufacture, the shape of the legs between cylindrical or triangular in cross-section legs without decor or flat, stylized dragon-shaped legs varies with preparation of anatomical features in relief. The vessel body is relatively wide and has a stocky, he can rise relatively straight or even be bulbous. It is also possible that the vessel has a neck that is never sold particularly strong, but may be visually emphasized by a decorative band. The lip of the vessel generally has a slight widening, which significantly exceeds in Jia without severe vessel body the diameter of curvature of the abdomen. Are also typically a handle that is perpendicular on one of the two legs and often mushroom-shaped attachments on the vessel lip, which are generally arranged on the other two legs. As with most ritual vessels are also available for jia rectangular examples that caught the prefix (Chinese方, Pinyin catch) carry, so Fangjia with four legs. The motifs of the surface decor draws from the collection of the usual for the Chinese Bronze Age representations of taotie, dragons, cicadas, swirl circles and leiwen as background or area decor. Some early examples bear no decoration.
Meaning and function
Possible precursor forms of jia or similar type vessel jue are already known from Neolithic sites in China, such as the Zhejiang Province of the fourth millennium BC. These are also three-legged, of small to medium sized and have a stocky body of the vessel. However, they are distinguished by strongly tapered necks and the absence of the typical mushroom-shaped lip essays. The first jia in its typical form from the material bronze come from the Erlitou culture and therefore one of the first types of ritual bronzes at all. Even if a written record of the use of the vessels and the precise holding of sacrificial rites are missing, the result is the use as a ritual vessel from the archaeological context and from later written records. The shape of the jia, which a spout is missing - in which similar object type jue it exists - implies the use to Libationszwecken and not for pouring or transferring fluids. The use of alcoholic beverages, in turn, can be inferred from textual sources.