A rare inscribed bronze ritual food vessel and cover, ding, Western Han dynasty, the 5th year of Yuanshou, corresponding to 118 BC | 西漢武帝元狩五年（公元前118年） 青銅朝那銅鼎

The inscription "Zhu Na" refers to an ancient lake known by the same name before the Han dynasty, also called "Donghai Zi." Historically, it was revered alongside major rivers such as the Yellow River, Yangtze River, and Han River. Zhu Na is approximately located in what is now Guyuan County, Ningxia Province. According to the Si Ji  [Records of the Grand Historian: Fengshan] that Qin Shi Huang established a dedicated agency to regularly conduct rituals at Zhu Na. A stone unearthed in the Northern Song dynasty with inscriptions from the Warring States period about King Hui of Qin notes that the king conducted ceremonies at Zhu Na Lake to seek victory over the Chu state before their battles. The tradition of worshiping at Zhu Na persisted into the Han dynasty. In 1979, a bronze ding was discovered in Guyuan, bearing inscriptions that included "the twenty-ninth," "fifth year," "Zhu Na," and its capacity, indicating the existence of a set of multiple dings used even before Emperor Wu of Han began implementing reign names, see "Early Han Dynasty Bronze Ding Discovered in Ningxia Guyuan," Cultural Relics, 1982, Issue 12, p. 35. The present lot  is only the second known piece bearing the Zhu Na inscription, and it specifically dates to the fifth year of Emperor Wu of Han's Yuanshou era, which corresponds to 118 BC.

銘文中「朝那」，即秦漢以前名湖朝（音珠）那湫，亦稱東海子，歷史上是與黃河、長江、漢水並列祭祀的名水，處所大致在今寧夏固原縣。《史記·封禪》記載：「湫淵，祠朝那。」北宋出土秦惠王石刻《詛楚文》，文中記載秦王在秦楚交戰前於朝那湫祭祀神靈，禱求戰勝楚國之事。朝那祭祀的習俗延續至漢代，1979年固原出土一件銅鼎，銘文包含「第廿九」「五年」「朝那」及容量等字，說明此類朝那置鼎當有一套多件，且作器早在漢武帝開始使用年號之前，見《寧夏固原發現漢初銅鼎》，載於《文物》， 1982年，第12期，頁35。本拍品為目前僅見第二件帶朝那銘文作器，且有漢武帝元狩五年明確紀年。