This bronze lidded ritual wine container (zun), crafted in the form of a bird, dates to the Eastern Zhou dynasty around the 5th century BCE.

Such vessels were used in ceremonial contexts, often for holding wine during ancestral rites, which played a central role in maintaining social order and honoring lineage in early Chinese society.

The vessel’s intricate decoration, with finely cast patterns and stylized motifs, reflects both the technical mastery of Zhou bronze-casting and the symbolic significance of animal forms in ritual art. Birds were associated with communication between heaven and earth, reinforcing the zun’s role as a mediator in sacred offerings.

Today, this masterpiece is housed in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it stands as a remarkable example of early Chinese ritual bronzework, combining functionality, symbolism, and artistic sophistication.