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Tripod Food Container (Ding) with Cloud Pattern

2nd century BC

Not on view

Used as a ritual container for food, the ding tripod was one of the most important status symbols in ancient China. The present example reflects the Han trend of using lacquer instead of bronze for making such vessels. It further exemplifies the high-quality lacquerware produced in official workshops in Sichuan during the early Western Han. It bears a mark reading “made in the city of Chengdu,” the capital of Sichuan.

Tripod Food Container (Ding) with Cloud Pattern, Lacquer over wood, China — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

西汉漆鼎

Title: Tripod Food Container (Ding) with Cloud Pattern

Period: Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)

Date: 2nd century BC

Culture: China

Medium: Lacquer over wood

Dimensions: H. 9 7/16 in. (24 cm); Diam. 9 3/4 in. (24.7 cm)

Classification: Lacquer

Credit Line: Lent by Hunan Provincial Museum

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Asian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.