OC 017 · Ritual vessel (fangyi) · Asia

A lidded bronze wine container

A square bronze box with a roof-shaped lid, covered in raised animal-face patterns
Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via The Met Open Access.
Number on this site
OC 017
What it is
Ritual vessel (fangyi)
Made
12th century BC
Period
Shang dynasty
Material
Bronze
Size
25.4 cm high
Now held by
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Museum number
1974.268.2a, b

A square container for wine with a lid shaped like a roof, its sides covered in raised patterns of animal faces.1

Where it sits in human time

Made about 3,180 years ago. On this strip, each step to the right is ten times closer to today.

300,000 years ago10,0003,0001,000100nowA lidded bronze wine container

Seen in

Filed under

Sources for this page

Every number on this page comes from one of these. How we check.

Last reviewed 12 November 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

  1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rectangular wine container (fangyi). Shang dynasty, 12th century BCE. Collection record 44776, Open Access (CC0). www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/44776Used for: A lidded wine container, 25.4 cm high. Checked 12 November 2026.