China, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BCE), Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE) / 600–500 BCE
Food Container (Gui)
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Food Container (Gui) as metalwork (China, Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BCE), Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE) · 600–500 BCE).
This ritual food vessel likely held grain like rice, millet, or corn in rites for worshipping the ancestors.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this metalwork as bronze.
The museum's collection notes: Openwork and sculptural designs elaborately transform the silhouette of this gui , a ritual food vessel with a square pedestal. The design exudes motion, exuberance, and baroque characters to a stately vessel form. Lotus-petal openwork encircles the cover, reinforcing the linear rhythms of the undulating wave patterns on the body. Two lively dragons, with eyes and mouth wide open and tongue straight out, are accompanied by two felines to form the arched handles.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtFood Container (Gui)Original explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.