LATE SPRING AND AUTUMN PERIOD, 6TH CENTURY BC

A jian and cover of similar shape, but with the design cast in relief, is illustrated by J. So, Eastern Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, The Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1995, p. 19, fig. 11. According to So, the shouldered jian shape originates in Henan. Another jian, but without a cover, and with larger ring handles, is illustrated by T. Lawton, Chinese Art of the Warring States Period, Freer Gallery of Art, 1982, p. 37. The lizards cast in relief on the interior of the cover that form a whorl pattern are a very unusual feature.