Square Ting Vessels of 
"Registrar Ta"
Early Western Chou Dynasty
(1122-770 B.C.)
Overall height        26.4cm
Width of mouth      19.7cm
        Each  of  these  two 
vessels of  identical  style
has an  inscription cast on 
its   inner   wall,  one  of  41 
characters,  the other of  40
characters.  These  recount
how  a  registrar named Ta 
was given a white horse by
the Chou monarch, and that
he  made these vessels both
to record  the event and to 
inform his ancestor I-ting.