Eastern Zhou: late Spring and Autumn period, 6th century BC
North-central China: Shanxi province
Height: 35.6cm
Mouth diameter: 48.4cm
Weight: 13.5kg

Provenance:
Collection of John B. Kendrick II (1931–2021), Denver, Colorado, acquired between 1965-1990

Comparable examples were excavated at Liyu, Hunyuan County, Shanxi, and from the tomb of Zhao Qing in Taiyuan. Executed in the Houma style, this large ding with coiled dragon decoration dates to the Spring and Autumn period. Ding of this type, decorated with chilong dragons, were among the larger vessels within the Spring and Autumn ritual ding sets and are most frequently associated with the Jin cultural sphere. Comparable examples are preserved in the collections of the National Museum of Asian Art, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In both ornamentation and dimensions, the present vessel closely resembles the example in Houston, and the two may originally have formed a pair.