Among the treasures of the Luoyang Museum is a bronze ding amalgam-gilded with silver and gold patterns. It was too beautiful to be a cooking vessels.
Bronze Ding Intertwined With Gold And Silver Patterns 错金银铜鼎
Bronze ware | Warring States Period (475-221 BC) | Dimensions – H: 16.5cm | Luoyang Museum Collection, Excavated from a tomb of the Warring States Period at Xiaotun village in wester suburban of Luoyang 1979 銅器｜战国（公元前475～前221年）｜通高 16.5厘米｜洛阳博物馆藏，1979年洛阳西郊小屯村窖藏出土
The cover acts a dome to the ding and perfectly joins the body, forming a spherical shape. There is a short spout at the front of the ding, with gilt handles on both sides and three hoofed legs that was typical during the Han dynasty.
The whole body is decorated with gold and silver four-petal flowers and triangular cloud patterns. The layout of the pattern along the whole ding is symmetrical and harmonious, the four-petal pattern is very rare, and the ring holder is also rare. The wrong gold and silver are symmetrical and harmonious, the decoration is gorgeous, and the shape is exquisite and exquisite. It is a typical example of the wrong gold and silver process in the Warring States period.
On the cover is an animal motif ring holder, which is quite unusual for a ding cast during that period. In fact, it is the only one excavated so far from a Warring State tomb.
What is really unique about this Ding is the short spout called liu 流. It is not known what it was doing there as the purpose of the ding was a food vessel but it was theorised for pouring out the meat soup as the main technique of cooking meat was boiling.
What are Dings 鼎 and what are they for
Ding 鼎 are prehistoric and ancient Chinese cauldrons standing upon legs with a lid and two fancy facing handles. They were used for cooking, storage, and ritual offerings to the gods or to ancestors.
Ding Cauldron With Stylised Animal Mask 變形獸紋鼎
Bronze Ware | Warring States Period (c. 5th-3rd century BC) | Dimensions – H: 22.2cm, D: 15.4cm | National Palace Museum Collection 銅器｜戰國（公元前475～前221年）｜全高22.2、口徑15.4公分｜國立故宮博物院藏
Ding developed organically during the late Neolithic period as a solution to the issue of heating food over a fire. Their tripodal design—the word ding literally translates to tripod—allowed them to be placed right over a fire and distanced them sufficiently such that one need not cook themself at any point during food preparation. The earliest ding were made of clay, had no handles, and had relatively little in the way of surface carving or painting. Their shape appears to have varied widely which can be attributed to the large span of time and numerous cultures encompassed by China’s Neolithic period.
Amalgam-Gilt Ding Cauldron With Three Animals On The Lid 鎏金三犧鼎
Bronze Ware | Warring States Period (c. 5th-3rd century BC) | Dimensions – H: 10.9cm | National Palace Museum Collection 銅器｜戰國（公元前475～前221年）｜高10.9公分｜國立故宮博物院藏
With the advent of bronze casting during the Xia and Shang dynasties, ding were cast in metal for the first time, but bronze and ceramic ding were made concurrently throughout their production. Bronze dings are one of the most important vessels used in Chinese ritual bronzes. They were made in two shapes: round vessels with three legs and rectangular ones, often referred as square ding 方鼎 with four legs.
With the advent of amalgam-gilding as a decorative feature during Western Zhou period, the function of dings as a cooking utensil diminished and by Western Han, that function was taken over by Mou 鍪, and dings were relegated to a container. Since it is not used for cooking, many other materials are used for dings, including jadeite and stones carved ones in later periods.
About Chinese National Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese National Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
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