Tripod with four animal-shaped handles and legs in the form of animal heads

The main types of pottery manufactured in Henan during the Zhou were made of gray or dark brown clay, sometimes containing sand. The hu produced during the Warring States, in contrast to that of the Spring and Autumn period, was the result of technically advanced, well-controlled wheel-throwing and hand-sculpting methods. During the same time, the embellishment of the body with a chalky white slip or colored pigments became a new trend. Ceramic hu reflect the fashion then-current in the Central Plains of replacing bronze ceremonial vessels with ceramics renditions.