Date: Early Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC)
Provenance: Excavated from a hoard, Zhangzhainan Road, Zhengzhou, 1974
Measurements: Height: 86.5cm, Mouth diameter: 61cm

This vessel's body has been cast in a square shape and the rim has an angular edge, creating a structured and defined boundary. Atop the vessel are two arched handles; it has a deep body, with straight walls sloping inwards towards a flat base, supported by four hollow pillar legs. The insides of the handles are flat, with three concentric grooves on their exteriors. The four sides and four corners of the vessel are all decorated with animal-mask patterns. The sides and bases of all four walls of the body are decorated with rivet patterns, and the legs bear animal-mask and bowstring patterns. The masterful molding and casting, and simple archaic decoration of this ding vessel are rarely seen among Shang Dynasty objects. As such, this piece is of great significance for research into the politics, economics, and especially the casting technologies of the Shang period.

It was produced using the piece-mold technique, illustrating that this advanced casting technique had already been mastered by this period. As it was excavated among the remains of Shang city in Zhengzhou, it provides us with concrete evidence that furthers our understanding of the nature of this Shang settlement.