Dimensions: Height:13cm; diameter of mouth:15cm

Origin: Collected in 1984

This object was a standard measure in the State of Chu.

A square frame on one side of its exterior was inscribed with 59 Chinese characters in seal script in six lines regarding the imposition of taxes and levies as well as the payment of officials’ salaries, showing the correspondence in the system of official posts between county-level government and the Central Government. Additionally, such an inscription implies that the local authorities attached great importance to casting bronze measures. The Chinese character “Luo” in the inscription referred to a county in the State of Chu, the ancient Miluo City in Hunan Province.

Numerous bronze measures of the State of Chu have been excavated. In terms of the number of characters and the content recorded, this bronze measure is the most valuable.