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China

Wine Flask (Bian Hu)

Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220), 1st century B.C./A.D.
Bronze with incised decoration
26.3 × 8.3 cm (10.4 × 3.3 in)

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● On view now — Gallery 132

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This unusual variation of the canteen-shaped container is lightly chiseled with a combination of geometric patterns, birds, and gazelle-like creatures. The distinctive technique and style of surface decoration seen on this vessel associate it with bronzes excavated in far southern China, near modern Vietnam. Under occupation by Han rulers, bronze foundries in this frontier area produced intriguing bronzes in which Chinese styles are blended with those of the native, non-Chinese tribes.

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