Date: Late Shang (13th - 11th century BC)
Dimension: Length 31.5 cm, Height 29.5 cm, Length of base 12 cm, Width 16.7 cm
Weight: 4,840 g
Material: Bronze

• Object Type：
  • BRONZE
• Location：
  • Ancient Chinese Bronze Gallery
• Tag：
  • gong wine vessel late shang bronze

At the front of the Gong lid is the head of an imaginary animal, with a pair of giraffe's horns, a pair of rabbit's ears and glaring eyes. Behind each horn, there is a small snake. On the central ridge of the lid, there is a small dragon carved in relief, with a long body and a curled tail. On the rear end of the cover is carved an ox head with protruding horns, pricked ears and corked tongue, corresponding to the ox head handle. A large-sized phoenix pattern decorates the belly part, in regal and solemn air. Other phoenixes are decorated on the ring foot, the back of the big phoenix and lids and other parts, in different shapes and picturesque disorder. The vessel is exquisitely cast and decorated, giving strong mystical overtones. 
Gong, a ritual wine vessel, comes in two forms. The whole vessel is either shaped like an animal, often an ox or ram, or the lid of the vessel is shaped as a mythical creature while the body is jug-shaped with a ring foot. This piece belongs to the second type. With no background pattern on the vessel, it was a new trend in the ornamentation of the bronzes of the late Shang dynasty.