1-233-735 - The Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images

Bronze binding for vessel, with silver inlays, Eastern Zhou dynasty, China, c3rd century BC. This bronze binding has three small feet and would have encircled the lower part of a lacquer vessel, such as a zun. Similarly bound lacquer vessels are known from the 4th to 3rd century BC when they were popular, particularly in central and southern China. At first such cylindrical lacquer vessels were supplied with small bronze feet and handles directly applied to the lacquer surface. By the 3rd century, however, it was more usual to cast the feet as part of the bronze ring as here.