Artwork Page for Tripod (Ding)

Details / Information for Tripod (Ding)

Tripod (Ding)

鼎

1000s BCE

China, Western Zhou dynasty

(c. 1046–771 BCE)
Medium
bronze
Measurements
Overall: 57.4 cm (22 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2003.2
Public Domain
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Location
241A Arts of Ancient China
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Did You Know?

Bronze tripods of the ding-type were vessels made in sets of different sizes to be used in rituals, in which grain and meat was offered to the spirits of the ancestors.

Description

Large and majestic, this tripod gives the effect of overpowering force. Three animal masks (known as taotie) with coiled creatures are aligned in the decorative frieze. With the gaze of the staring eyes, the animal masks assert a religious presence and are meant to instill fear. Bold images of the ram embellish the three legs of the vessel.

Bronze cauldrons (ding) like this were made for offerings of food to ancestral spirits in sacrificial and funerary rites performed by the rulers or members of the aristocracy. The ding, in particular, assumed additional significance as the symbol of political power and legitimacy. As signs of status in a stratified society, such highly valued bronzes were cast by its makers with the wish to be "forever treasured for ten thousand years, by sons' sons and grandsons' grandsons."
A tripod bronze vessel features a rounded body and two vertical, rectangular handles. Covered in a mottled patina of turquoise blue, muted green, and dark brown, a wide band of stylized animal patterns in high relief wraps around the rim. Similar motifs adorn the top of three thick, tapering legs. Vertical ridges divide the geometric patterns, while the weathered surface exhibits a crusty texture resulting from centuries of bronze corrosion.

Tripod (Ding)

1000s BCE

China, Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–771 BCE)

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