Early Western Zhou Dynasty The deep U-shaped body supported on three columnar legs, the flat everted rim set with two small upright loop handles above a band of kui dragons encircling the vessel beneath the rim on a ground of leiwen, the remainder of the body cast with a diagonal grid, each diamond-shaped unit defined by an individual leiwen border and with a central circle, a single pictogram cast to the well, the interior cast with a two-character inscription reading Yiran 乙冉, the sage-green patina with patches of malachite encrustations. 19.6cm (7 6/8in) high.