Covered tripod cauldron (ding)
2nd-1st century BCE
Description
Cold-painted funerary ware simulating an inlaid bronze or lacquered vessel; bowl-shaped container supported by three cabriole legs terminating in hoof-shaped feet; two rectangular handles rising vertically from the rim; domed lid pierced with three small rectangular openings for the insertion of finial ornaments (now lost); dark gray earthenware with geometric cloud-scroll decoration painted in unfired polychrome pigments, including white, off-white, ochre, green, blue, orange, and red; interior of container and lid covered with cold-painted red pigment; remnants of small animal bones, other burial materials, and a flat bronze ring (that may have been used to anchor the now-lost ornaments from the lid) were found inside. One of a pair with 2006.170.172.A-B.
Dimensions
H. 22.3 x W. 29.2 x Diam. 24.3 cm (8 3/4 x 11 1/2 x 9 9/16 in.)
Provenance
[J. J. Lally & Co., New York, August 1999] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (1999-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.
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