The exhibition of Bronze Art will be one of the displays to mark the reopening of the National Museum of China on Sunday. The exhibits, many of which will be on public display for the first time, are set to grab the limelight for the wisdom epitomized through the works.
This wine vessel with intertwining dragon patterns on its body was discovered in 1951 in Henan Province. It stands out from its contemporaries for the design of its chain handle.
Yu Chenglong, Researcher of National Museum of China, said, "A chain handle was rarely seen on bronze wares. Its function was to make sure the lid didn't go missing. There's another detail to be noticed. You see the four ringlets on the lid? And here are another four on the neck of the vessel. If you link the two matched ringlets with ropes, the vessel could be tightly sealed. "
This bulky vessel may not look so attractive, but it functioned as a "refrigerator" in the ancient times.
Yu Chenglong also said, "This square vessel was found in 1955 in Anhui Province. It should be used together with another wine vessel put inside it. Ice was put into this square vessel to act as an antiseptic for the liquid in the wine vessel. So it was equivalent to a modern refrigerator."
Historic records show that China invented methods of retaining the freshness of food two to three-thousand years ago. And vessels like this obviously played a key role.