Cultural Relics Prohibited from Being Exhibited Overseas --5

Shi Qiang Pan (Water Container)

Time: Western Zhou Dynasty (about 1,100 BC-771 BC)
Specification: 16.2 centimeters high, 47.3 centimeters in caliber, 8.6 centimeters deep
Excavation: Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province, in 1976
Collection place: Zhouyuan Fufeng Administrative Office of Cultural Relics
This vessel is one of 103 bronzes from Hoard 1 at Zhuangbai in the area known as the Zhou Yuan, which has yielded the largest number of bronze vessels in all of China. Inscriptions on the Zhuangbai vessels refer to five generations of the Wei family. The vessels document changes in the nature of ritual objects and styles of decoration.
The pan vessel seen here, with its bird motifs, belongs to the middle of the Western Zhou period. A lengthy inscription inside the basin makes it one of the most important ancient bronzes. The 284 characters are presented in two parallel halves. One side is a poetic description of the first seven Zhou kings. The other describes four generations of the Wei family, ending with a wish for long life and continued merit in the service of the Zhou kings.
The inscription identifies members of the extended family. We know that the first ancestor was related to the ruling house of the Shang dynasty. By submitting to King Wu of Zhou, the family was rewarded with a plot of land in the Zhou Yuan area. The vessel's owner (Shi Qiang) speaks of his current duties as royal scribe. By documenting his family history, Qiang was underscoring his family's connections to the Zhou court.