Ritual food vessel with lid (dou)

Known in pottery as early as the Neolithic period, this particular shape was not adapted by bronze casters prior to the 6th century BCE, although dou with vertical sides are known since the late 10th - early 9th century BCE.

The surface decoration consists of four bands of waffle pattern of a common type, three on the cover and a large one on the bowl. The crown of the lid and the foot display in openwork an intricate design of intertwined snakes treated in a relatively realistic manner. The small, almost frail, circular handles are plain.