This is a replica of the decorated ritual cauldron qie qu wen ding 竊曲紋鼎. The original dates to the Shang dynasty and is in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. 'The ding is a cooking vessel for meat. The meat was placed in the body of the vessel and it was stood in the fire on its three feet. The feet of the ding, the design of which shows the influence of pottery manufacture, are pointed. The shape is typical of early Chinese bronzes' (description supplied by the National Palace Museum, Taipei). The logo of the National Palace Museum, Taipei is on the base.