Tripod (Ding)

A bronze ding, a three-legged cooking vessel, stands on tapering hollow legs with two upright handles rising from the rim. The rounded body carries raised, angular taotie masks in registers of fine spiral and key-fret patterns. Its surface shows a mottled green patina with scattered reddish corrosion.

Look closer: Vertical ridges along the legs and handle edges show casting seams and corrosion.

Artist

Unknown

Date

c. 1250–1046 BCE

Medium

bronze

Source

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Size

3400 × 3310 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund