This impressive cauldron, a wedding gift, is one of the true masterpieces of piece-mold casting. The delicate interweave, fine lineation and granulation exhibited here have seldom been equaled even in modern foundries. Because the carved ceramic piece-molds used to make these utensils were destroyed in the casting process, they were not reused. However, there is a nearly identical sister piece to this vessel in the Freer Gallery of Art. Both vessels are inscribed "The esteemed chien of the Son of the ruler of Chin." Chih was a ruling family of the Chin state which was conquered in 453 b.c. It is reported that the two vessels were unearthed in 1938 at Hui-hsien in Honan province.