An archaic bronze ritual tripod food vessel (Liding), late Shang dynasty | 商末 青銅饕餮紋鬲

Bronze tripod food vessels were among the most significant ritual objects associated with authority and supremacy. Owners of such were of elite social status, such as high officials or clan leaders. Among the many variations, liding is a combination of round form of ding vessels and the distinct three-lobed body of li. Both li and ding have functional and ceremonial purposes, primarily used in cooking and serving food. 

Compare a similar vessel sold in these rooms, 10 December 1985, lot 10; another, illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji [Complete series of Chinese bronzes], vol.6, Beijing, 1997, pl.77; and a third example in the van der Mandele Collection, illustrated in H.F.E. Visser, Asiatic Art in Private Collections of Holland and Belgium, De Spieghel, Amsterdam, 1947, pl.2.