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Ritual food vessel (fangding)
Ritual food vessel (fangding)

Ritual food vessel (fangding)

Place of Originprobably Shaanxi province, China
Date1050-900 BCE
PeriodWestern Zhou period (approx. 1050–771 BCE)
MaterialsBronze
DimensionsH. 10 1/4 in x L. 7 3/8 in x Diam. 6 in, H. 26 cm x L. 18.7 cm x Diam. 15.2 cm
Credit LineThe Avery Brundage Collection
Object numberB60B954
DepartmentChinese Art
ClassificationsMetal Arts
On View
On view
LocationGallery 14
InscribedA thirty-four character inscription cast inside the vessel can be translated as follows: "On the day gengyin of the first quarter of the second month, at Zongzhou (the capital) Lu (?) Zhong presented XX with a pair of chariot feather-pennants and a horse. To extol (my) lord's bounty, (I) used (these) to make for Ji Gong this precious sacrificial vessel."
More Information

Bronze Decoration of the Western Zhou Period

There was a riot of new types of decoration at the beginning of the Western Zhou period, as the leaders attempted to find their own artistic and ritual vocabulary. The pieces in this case show various solutions to these issues. Some are heavily ornamented with taotie (a kind of mythical animal) masks, dragons, birds, and large, heavy flanges; others have no surface decoration. It is hard to imagine that these pieces were made at approximately the same time by the same culture.