The dou (斗) measuring vessel. The way to measure grain by volume rather than by weight goes back at least to the Warring States. In different periods, attempts were made to standardize these values somehow, and even so, they were extremely variable, depending on the province and dynasty.
This square vessel is presumably from the Qing era. The design is inspired by the Tang poem depicting a fisherman who fell asleep under the moon, leaving his boat floating on the water.
Black lacquer and mother-of-pearl. Exhibited at the Shanghai Museum of Art.
LOOK AT THIS VASE I MADE IN MY CERAMCS CLASS IT WAS REALLY HARD AND THERE WERE SO MANY RISKS BUT I DID IT AND NOTHING WENT WRONG ITS A MIRACLE
(also i know NOW it looks like ferrofluid, but it was actually not the intention from the start LOL)
If you're curious as to the inspo + process, it was inspired by this minoan jug on the left! It was made in two parts, and was originally supposed to be sleeker, longer, and smaller spikes but uhh look I'm not very good at ceramics LOL. So the size of the spikes and the more round shape.. already not on purpose, a byproduct of my lack of skill.
There was a lot of waffling on what colors I wanted to do, I had floated Squeakoid colors (white base, colorful spikes), all black, tenmoku (black but breaks brown), as well as half and half.
I decided on black in the end because DARK GOTH VIBES and my teacher felt the shape was so much already that simple black would highlight the silhouette and not be too busy.
And that's how in the end it turned into a ferrofluid vase by accident LMFAO
I was always amazed by the elaborate surrealism in ancient bronze. The examples are not limited to this famous Square Humanoid Ding (人面銅方鼎). My friend calls it "Shang era TV-set."
Animalistic motifs are common in household items and especially ritual items of the Shang and Zhou eras. However, such Janus-like vessels were rare even in those good old days.
Color unbottled: Light streaming through the window releases the beauty of colored glass in a collection of decanters and containers arranged by designer Jorge Letelier.