Zeng Hou Yi Zun-Pan
We brought digital design and handwork together to reproduce this intricate bronze form at a larger scale.
History of the original
Dating to the early Warring States period, the Zeng Hou Yi Zun-Pan was excavated from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in Suizhou, Hubei, in 1978. The original is held by Hubei Provincial Museum. It comprises a zun vessel and a pan basin, with intertwined dragon and serpent forms creating layered openwork around the rims and the basin handles.
Our practice
In 2017, we undertook an enlarged reproduction of the Zeng Hou Yi Zun-Pan, scaling the original pan’s 58 cm opening to 2.2 m. The change of scale required us to reconsider ornament, connections and assembly. We combined digital design, 3D printing, CNC forming and precision lost-wax casting, working through wax refinement and metalwork to translate the design into components that could be made and assembled.
Project
Enlarged reproduction
Project year
2017
Original pan → enlarged work
58 cm → 2.2 m
Studying the whole and its details
We study the Zeng Hou Yi Zun-Pan through close observation and 3D scanning of our bronze reproduction in the exhibition hall. This helps us examine its overall form and intricate openwork. The workshop records below document the enlarged reproduction made in 2017.
Digital design and hand refinement
We used digital methods to develop the complex form, then refined the wax components by hand. Models on screen and forms in the workshop had to be considered together, particularly where ornament and connections met.
From components to metalwork
We carried the design into component production and assembly. Shell mould drying, metalwork and the larger Zun-Pan components record the contribution of the team across successive stages of making.