Inscriptions on ritual vessels, 11th century BCE

Commentary

Inscriptions on ritual vessels, 11th century BCE

A deep bowl with handles, mounted on a square base, this is one of the principal types of bronze vessel used during the Western Zhou period (c. 1050 - 771 BC) in rituals to honour ancestors. The second-oldest preserved form of Chinese writing are the inscriptions contained in some of these vessels commemorating military or political events and achievements. A six-character inscription on the interior of this vessel associates it with the state of Yong, whose territory was given to a sibling of the Western Zhou king, and is now part of the Henan province in north China. These bronzes are therefore historical documents in their own right. The history and ownership of individual vessels can be traced through reproductions of the inscription: rubbings of bronze inscriptions were gathered and published from the 11th century AD onwards, often accompanied by line drawings or rubbings of the complete vessel (an example can be found here).

Text credits: derived from Ashmolean Museum.