Gui food container of Grand Preceptor Wang, Southern Song to Ming dynasty, 12th-17th century-China Archive

Image Number: C1A000151N000000000PAG
Dynasty: Southern Song dynasty
Category: Bronzes
Function: Sacrificial vessels
Material: Mineral/Metal/Bronze
Description:
The whole device is made into a round rectangle with a cover. There are four animal shaped buttons on the top of the cover, which encircle the feet. The top surface of the cover is decorated with two animals with symmetrical diagonals, the body is decorated with crooked patterns and tile patterns, and the outsole is decorated with grid patterns. The shape of the whole product is similar to the popular “baby clothes” at the time of two weeks. Both the lid and the inner bottom have the inscription “Master Xiaoshiwang Zuo Yi”, which is obviously copied from the “Grand Master Zhou Wang Gui” in the “Xuanhe Bogutou”. This artifact is one of the “Ten Artifacts of the Zhou Path” awarded to the Imperial College in the 34th year of Qianlong’s reign (1769). It is called the “Zhou Alliance Gui”.