东周青铜器蟠虺纹初探

Preliminary Exploration of the Panhui(Coiling Snake)Motif on Eastern Zhou Bronzes

蟠虺纹是东周时期青铜器上常见的纹饰之一,顾名思义是由蟠绕的“虺”所构成的纹饰。对蟠虺纹的关注古已有之。

This study classifies 443 pieces of panhui(coiling snake)-patterned bronzes into two types,based on different coiling styles:type A,characterized by a double-loop pattern,and type B,featuring a T-shaped pattern.The panhui pattern emerged during the early Spring and Autumn period and prevailed from the mid-Spring and Autumn period through the early Warring States,declining after the mid-Warring States period.Type A panhui pattern has two core distribution areas:the Chu and Jin states,while type B is only found in the areas of the Three Jin and western and eastern Zhou states.Decorative bands composed of type A panhui patterns,triangle patterns,and downwards leaf patterns were primarily applied to vessels for dining,wine,water,as well as musical instruments and chariot accoutrements,whereas type B was mostly used to decorate dining vessels and musical instruments.The panhui pattern evolved from patterns of interconnected animal eyes,representing simplification and transformation with strong ornamental characteristics,its symbolic significance considerably attenuated in comparison to earlierdecorative motifs.