Liding Food Vessel, 12th-11th Century BCE

Liding Food Vessel, 12th-11th Century BCE, now in the collection of the Minneapolis Institure of Art. Description from artsmia.org: *'The prototype of the bronze vessel known as li was a coarse pottery version of the same shape and name, made in the later Neolithic period (c. 3000–2000 BCE). These pots served as cooking vessels, mainly for porridge, and featured three prominent hollow legs shaped like pointed lobes. These hollow legs formed an extension of the interior cavity and were designed to expose the contents of the pot to heat most effectively...In this example, low, narrow flanges, corresponding to the legs, form the central ridges in taotie (composite animal) masks on a ground of squared spirals. The new type of vessel, with its combined characteristics of a li and a ding, is named li-ding.' * For more information, visit https://collections.artsmia.org/art/1113/liding-food-vessel-china