Two-thousand-year-old repatriated bronze food containers

Does this pair of early Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) bronze food containers remind you of your electric hot pot? They are bronze xu (盨), ceremonial vessels for holding grain like millet and rice. Each piece features beast-shaped handles and comes with a perfectly fitting lid. The lid keeps the food moist and can be flipped over to serve as a separate container.

Intricate motifs adorn both the lids and the bodies and the inscriptions reveal their owner: Oldest Prince Ke Fu of the Zeng State. Repatriated to China in 2019, these artifacts are now housed at Hubei Provincial Museum, revealing elements of aristocratic life more than 2,000 years ago.