Exactly where and when bronze—an alloy of copper and tine—was first cast in ancient China remain open questions, but it is generally agreed that by 1600 BC bronze vessels were widely used in the numerous rituals that were distinctive characteristics of China’s first urban civilization. The ritual practices are not recorded in detail, but the various shapes of surviving bronzes make it evident that feasting and wine drinking were major components of the ceremonies, and inscriptions on some of the vessels indicate that they were frequently cast in honor of particular ancestors.

Elegant goblet-shaped drinking vessels like this one are among the most durable of Chinese Bronze Age forms. They were made throughout the Shang period and continued to be popular in the early decades of the subsequent Zhou Dynasty, before disappearing quite abruptly around 900 BC. The bottom section of the goblet features raised elements of an animal mask—horns, eyes, jaws—organized symmetrically around a central flange. The bladelike shapes that rise from the waist of the vessel give added emphasis to the dramatic, flaring-trumpet mouth. The precision of casting and the orderly arrangement of design motifs seen in this vessel are signal features of Shang dynasty bronzes.