Western Zhou Dynasty (900-800 B.C.).
It was unearthed at Famen city (Renjia Village, FuFeng county), in Shaanxi Province.
Size : height 167 mm, width 115 mm. Weight : 1000 g approximately.
This Square ding was used to cook meal or meat. Serial ding are a suite of ding arranged in an order descending of size. Their number then indicated the social status of the owner. The Emperor (called the son of the Heaven) possessed nine up to twelve ding, all the other noble ones were obligatorily to have some less than him (according to the row which they occupied). This container is one of most significant bronze vessel during the dynasties Shang and Zhou.
