Period: Shang dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.)
Dimensions: L.46.5 cm, H.36 cm, H. of Cover 13.7 cm
Provenance: No.5 tomb of Xiaotun, Yinxu, Anyang, 1976

The vessel takes the form of a standing animal, covered fully by decorations against the background of thunder patterns. The flanges were cast along the backbone, mandible, till the chest part. Three characters “Hou Mu Xin” were cast on the cover and the inside bottom. “Hou Mu Xin” was the honorary title of Fuhao, “Xin” was her posthumous temple name, this vessel was commissioned by her sons for sacrificial purpose.

As one of the wine containers in ancient China,Gong vessels, mostly in the animal’s shape, were popular in a period from the late Shang to early Western Zhou dynasty. The forms of the bronze of Shang and Zhou were in a great variety, and most of them were inspired from the nature, either phytomorphic or zoomorphic, realistically or abstractly carved as the motifs, normally the specific animals were taken for the ideal thematic shapes of the vessel, such as cattle, goat, bird, elephant, etc.,they were meticulously and vividly created, demonstrating the advanced bronze craftsmanship in Shang and Zhou times. The incorporation of the wine culture and bronze culture left the profound accumulations upon the unique traditional culture of China.