lei wênn.
/ˌleɪ ˈwɛn/, U.S. /ˌleɪ ˈwɛn/ Ceramics.
A spiral fret motif often used to form a background or decorative filler on ancient Chinese bronze or ceramic wares.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > pottery or ceramics > [noun] > Chinese pottery > markings on
nien hao1820
lingzhi1904
lei wên1922
1922 A. L. Hetherington Early Ceramic Wares of China ix. 59 The old hieroglyphic for thunder was a simple spiral; but, as a series of circular signs is more difficult to engrave than a series of square ones, it was changed into a ‘quadrangular spiral’ and two of these combined make the design known as lei wên or ‘thunder pattern’.
1958 W. Willetts Chinese Art I. iii. 165 The spiral appears in a variety of forms... It is the device called by the Sung cataloguers lei wên or ‘thunder pattern’.
1971 Ashmolean Mus. Rep. Visitors 1970 61 Small bronze Chüeh, single band of lei-wan around the waist.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XIV. 918/2 The lei-wen,..which resembles the Greek key fret..and is sometimes used on the later ceramic wares, appears on bronzes as early as the Shang and Chou dynasties.
1980 Catal. Fine Chinese Ceramics (Sotheby, Hong Kong) 204 Carved with a central band of taotie (t'ao t'ieh) reserved on a leiwen ground.
1990 Antique Collector May 106/3 Pieces tended to be decorated throughout, the background with a leiwen motif setting off taotie masks or zoomorphic ornaments such as dragons or cicadas.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1997; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1922