Late-Early Western Zhou Dynasty, circa 12th – 11th century BC The body is bulbous in form raised with three column-like supports and cast with raised relief on the upper section of the body with a register of kui dragons, with stylised elongated bodies confronted on and separated by two flanges, decorated with a series of rounded boss like motifs with central dotted circle with almost swirl like surround, held by a U-shaped handle rising from the rim. These forms of powerful bronze ritual vessels were a highly prized possession of important members of Chinese society, used on an altar to disband rites to their ancestors to gain favour and positive luck away from evil. Bronze vessels referred to as ding vessels were used as cooking pots, reserved for offerings of food to ancestors. The ruler controlled the supply of copper and tin, thus showing this object was made for someone of high social status within society. For similar see: The Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art: 43.27.2. A. Martin, “American Mandarin,” Connoisseur, November 1984, p. 99. Size: L:195mm / W:145mm; 985g Provenance: Private collection of a London doctor; formerly in a Somerset Estate collection; acquired from Hong Kong galleries in the early 1990s.