# Wine Vessel (Hu) (lid)

- Date: c. 1000–900 BCE
- Medium: bronze
- Classification: Metalwork
- Dimensions: Overall: 46.1 cm (18 1/8 in.); without cover: 41.7 cm (16 7/16 in.)
- Culture: China, Western Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–771 BCE)
- Credit line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1944.61.b)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1944.61.b/1944.61.b_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This tall, slender bronze wine vessel, called a hu, has three bands of ornamentation: one above the foot, one around the neck, and one on the cover. Stylized birds or phoenixes are in the band around the neck, while the band on the cover and foot feature geometric dragons. The dragon and the phoenix may represent the Yin and Yang and would be equally appropriate on a bronze of either secular or religious purposes. It likely held liquids like wine at festive banquets or religious ceremonies.