Gui (food vessel) with the Inscription "Jia"

Date: Early Western Zhou dynasty (11th century BCE)

Dimensions: Height 29.8 cm, Diameter of mouth 22.5 cm

Gift of Tang Zugu and Song Jingwen, 1959

Description

Gui, as a food vessel, had gradually become a major artefact in the bronze sacrificial wares after its advent in the early Shang. By the mid-Western Zhou, the use of Gui was gradually institutionalized. The number of vessels used was clearly regulated according to the rank of the user, usually in even numbers matched with Ding
Bird-like patterns are often used to adorn the rims on the rectangular walls of the vessels of the late Shang and early Zhou, such as the belly part of square Ding and the stand of Gui
The inscription of the only word Jia found in the inner base is the name of the owner. This is an example of the Zhou people marking with Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

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