Ritual Altar Table (Jin)

This elaborate set of wine vessels demonstrates the splendor of Shang and early Zhou rituals. The group is said to have come from a tomb uncovered in 1901; shortly thereafter, it entered the collection of Duan Fang, a senior Manchu official and antiquarian of the late Qing period.

The pieces vary in style and execution. Although eleven are inscribed, only two groupings share identical inscriptions: the lidded wine containers (you, nos. 2, 3) and the tall wine container (zun, no. 4), and the spouted water vessel (he, no. 5) and one of the cups (zhi, no. 6).

A partial reconstruction of the set’s arrangement in the tomb may be established from corrosion outlines of the three principal vessels—the two wine containers (you) and the central tall wine container (zun)—that were etched onto the surface of the altar table. The diagram shows a hypothetical arrangement of the remaining objects. Even if this is accepted as the original grouping, the disparate inscriptions and vessel styles remain unexplained. Created around the time of the Zhou conquest of the Shang, and clearly produced by different foundries, the set may represent the accumulated wealth of a family shrine.

禁
1. Ritual Altar Table (Jin)
(24.72.1)

卣
2. Ritual Wine Container (You)
(24.72.2a–c)

卣
3. Ritual Wine Container (You)
(24.72.3a, b)

尊
4. Ritual Wine Container (Zun)
(24.72.4)

盉
5. Spouted Ritual Water Vessel (He)
(24.72.5a, b)

觶
6. Ritual Wine Cup (Zhi)
(24.72.6)

斝
7. Ritual Wine Container (Jia)
(24.72.7)

斗
8. Ritual Ladle (Dou)
(24.72.8)

爵
9. Ritual Wine Vessel (Jue)
(24.72.9)

觚
10. Ritual Wine Beaker (Gu)
(24.72.10)

觶
11. Ritual Wine Cup (Zhi)
(24.72.11)

觶
12. Ritual Wine Cup (Zhi)
(24.72.12)

角
13. Ritual Wine Vessel (Jiao)
(24.72.13)

觶
14. Ritual Wine Cup (Zhi)
(24.72.14)