Song/Ming Dynasty Of rectangular shape, the vessel and cover are flat-cast in impercetable shallow relief with a dense ground of stylized bird motifs and coiled cells, the spreading corner supports similarly cast and with a cut-out section in the apron, thickly-cast on both sections of the fu with a pair of mythical animal-head handles, the cover alone, cast with four evenly-spaced small animal-mask tabs around the rim, under a polished dark patina. 13 1/2in (34.3 cm) across the handles