Dui (vessel)

A dui is a type of Chinese ritual bronze vessel used in the late Zhou dynasty and the Warring States period of ancient China.

Many of these carvings assume biomorphic forms, depicting typical animal imagery found throughout ancient China such as cats, snakes, dragons or birds.

[4] Types coming out of the Late Eastern Zhou are spherical in form and possess three animal masks in relief; the heads are situated symmetrically around the lid, mirroring the three ding-like feet supporting the base.

Simple linear patterning covers the vessel in clearly defined registers, while high-relief rope bands separate the basin from the lid.

Curvilinear patterns accentuate the shape; the more prominent bands of decoration portray symmetrical bird figures with intertwining bodies encircling the vessel.

[4] In the middle of the Spring and Autumn period, people gradually began to use the dui as a warming and serving food vessel.

[7] In the Warring States Period, the form was changed to an oval and the lid was transformed to reflect the body in a mirror image.

[1] The Chen Hou Yinqi dui (陳侯因齊敦), cast by King Wei of Qi (r. 356–320 BCE), bears an inscription containing the earliest attestation of the Yellow Emperor in the historical record.