The Gong 觥 is among the most ancient Chinese bronzes appearing from the Erlitou class site (c. 1900-1500 BCE) until sometime in the Western Zhou period (c. 11th century-771 BCE). It was made for offerings to divinities and straightly used for libations at rituals and sacrifices throughout the millennia in China.

Stable and graciously proportioned, this Gong 觥 has four legs, a lid in the form of a rhino head that stretches over the vessel's length and transforms into a goat's head, capping a small taotie mask mounted on the rhino tail. The heavy Gong 觥 has a deep round belly decorated with stylized reliefs of phoenixes surrounded by reentrant spirals on both sides in high relief. It has a rich patina in layers varying from malachite green to azurite in earthy red. Despite its high-quality cast, we attributed the Gong 觥 to a mid-century Chinese museum production.