Silver and copper-inlaid bronze wine vessel, hu

This hu, or ritual wine vessel, is decorated with recessed panels cast in low relief surrounded by ‘rope twist’ borders, a form of decoration thought to have been influenced by the rope-slung containers carried by nomads, and evident on a number of vessels dating from the earlier Spring and Autumn period (770-475 BC). The long neck, rarely found in vessels of this type, is finely decorated with bands of silver inlay.