Small Keding

[Small Keding]

The small Keding is 35.4 cm high, 33.6 cm wide, and weighs 12.54 kg
The tripod is round, with a large belly, two upright ears and hoof-shaped feet. The ears are decorated with three Kui patterns, the neck is decorated with steal curve patterns, the belly is decorated with cloud patterns, and the upper part of the foot is decorated with animal head patterns
The inscription on the inner wall of the vessel was cast in eight lines and 72 characters:
In September of the 20th and third year of the reign of the king, the king ordered the cook Keshe in Zongzhou
in Chengzhou, and in the year of the eighth division of Zhengzheng
in the year of the reign of the king, Keshe became my emperor’s “0004” season
Baozong Yi. Keqi’s daily use is “0005”. I
replaced Luxiu with Jiekang’s “0006”, Chunyou,
Meishou, Yongming, and Lingshou. Wannian
has no boundaries and can be used by its descendants, Sun Yongbao
The main idea of the inscription is that in September of the 23rd year of the king of Zhou, the king of Zhou was in Zongzhou (i.e., Haojing, located in today’s Xi’an). The king of Zhou ordered Shanfuke to go to the eastern capital of Chengzhou (located in today’s Luoyang) and issue an order to purge the king’s troops into the eighth division of Zhou. In the same year, Ke made this batch of precious Yi artifacts to commemorate his great grandfather’s “0004” season and put them in his ancestral temple. Ke used it to worship his ancestors every day, and at the same time, he publicized the profound beauty of his master King Zhou every day. It is used to pray for good health, blessings, longevity, long life and a good end. I hope that Ke will live forever and that the descendants of Ke will always treasure these Yi wares
The Little Keding is one of the bronzes unearthed in Famensi Village, Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province in the 16th year of Guangxu’s reign (1890). The owner of the device described in the inscription is “Shanfu Ke”, so it is called Keding, also called Shanfu Keding. To distinguish it from the big Keding, it is also called the small Keding. The small Keding is a typical copper tripod in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, with its powerful and thick shape and rough and smooth patterns


小克鼎铭文拓片