Ritual Food Vessel
| Culture | Chinese |
|---|---|
| Title | Ritual Food Vessel (You) |
| Date | 1045–900 BCE |
| Medium | Bronze |
| Dimensions | Overall: 9 3/4 x 4 1/2 in. (24.8 x 11.4 cm) Overall1 (foot): 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm) |
| Credit Line | Gift of James and Marvelle Adams in honor of William Lowe Bryan, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 60.76 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
A pail-shaped vessel a lid and a bail handle terminating in a dragon's head with horns. It is inscribed with two pictographs in the center of vessel and on the inside of the lid..
The you is a lidded vessel used in performance of ritual feasts to honor the dead and their ancestors. Vessels such as these which would have held wine or other liquids, were buried with the deceased so that they might continue to honor their ancestors in the afterlife. The Chinese believed that the afterlife was much like the present life and one’s commitments, pleasures, and concerns didn’t end with death.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
Request this image
The Eskenazi Museum of Art provides images of its collection, free of charge, upon request.
This artwork is under copyright protection. You can request the image and it will be emailed to you when the request is complete.
Cite this page
"Ritual Food Vessel | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=60.76