Ritual Cooking Vessel

Ding are tripod vessels used for cooking offerings. This ding would have been one of a set, and the number of ding in the set would have defined the rank of the owner. Theoretically, nine ding were reserved for the king of the Zhou dynasty, but by this period the rulers of other states had usurped this privilege. The ornament consists of dragon heads with large horns and interlaced bodies.

Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust