Gong - a popular wine vessel in the late Shang Dynasty, often used in rituals to worship ancestors and gods.
This goblet is light brown in color, made from local jade, and has been completely covered with color. It is finely polished inside and out, and has a warm patina.
There is a phoenix carved on each side of the vessel, with an upturned beak, round eyes, a long crown, wings folded at both sides of the body, claws stretched forward, and a gorgeous double-negative line carved phoenix tail with cloud patterns behind it.
There is a twelve-character inscription on the foot of the ring. There are characters such as "king", "sun", "worship", and "ritual". It is undoubtedly a sacrificial vessel.
The handle of the goblet is a round tiger sculpture. The tiger is baring its teeth, with round eyes and bright eyes, and its ears are back. The tiger's back is muscular and decorated with shield-shaped patterns, and the joints are decorated with double negative line rolling cloud patterns. The tiger's tail is thick and powerful, and there are negative lines on the tail to depict tiger skin patterns. The overall carving is very careful.
The whole vessel is gorgeously decorated, combining relief, high relief and round carving in one, and is very exquisite. The shape of the vessel is smooth and majestic, reflecting the superb craftsmanship of the Shang Dynasty craftsmen and the romantic inner world of the people of that period.
Dimensions: Length 124mm (4.88") Width 64mm (2.52") Height 101mm (3.98")
Weight: 354g (0.78lb)
