Simuwu Yin Collection of the National Museum of China
The Simuwu Dafang Ding is the heaviest bronze artifact from the late Shang Dynasty in China. It was unearthed in Anyang, Henan in 1939. It is named after the three characters "Simuwu" cast on the inner wall of the abdomen. Some people also interpret it as "Stepmother Wu", and Stepmother Wu is one of the wives of King Wu Ding of Shang Dynasty. The tripod has a dignified shape and gorgeous decorations. The rectangular belly is decorated with animal face patterns on all four sides and the upper part of the feet. The ears are decorated with double tigers biting human heads on the outside. The four legs are hollow. It is 1.33 meters high, 1.10 meters long, and weighs 875 kilograms. It is cast with a pottery mold, and the tripod body (including the hollow tripod legs) is cast in solid form. Its alloy composition is: 84.77% copper, 11.44% tin, 2.76% lead, and 0.9% others. The Simuwu Ding is the largest and heaviest bronze ware ever discovered in ancient China. It is also the only one found in the world, reflecting the extremely high level of the bronze smelting and casting industry in the Shang Dynasty. Now in the National Museum of China.
