55. LARGE ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL BASIN, PAN Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn Period (771-476 BC) AN ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL BASIN, PAN Eastern Zhou Dynasty, Spring and Autumn period (771-476 BC) With a broad shallow basin with a gently curved profile raised on a tall splayed pedestal foot, set with a pair of arched bridge handles, decorated around the foot and the sides with a cloud band design, the interior with a possibly later added twenty-eight character inscription. 44 cm (17 3/8 in) diam. (2). PROPERTY FROM A GERMAN FAMILY COLLECTION 德國家族珍藏 東周 春秋時期 青銅雙耳盤 Provenance: Collected in China between 1894 and 1922, then handed down in the family by descent. 來源 於1894年至1922年間得自中國，後經家族流傳至今 Pan were shallow basins used as ritual vessels to hold water. They were used in conjunction with a pouring vessel, he or yi, to form a set of vessels for the washing of hands. They would have been included in the ritual vessel sets used to perform the food and wine offerings to the ancestors. In fact, the same inscription appears on two bronze ding of the same period now in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Wang Wenchang, Qing tong qi bianwei san bai li, Beijing, 2009, vol.1, pp.156-159, no.124. According to the author, the inscription on the second vessel is later added while the inscription on the first vessel is contemporary with the date the vessel was made.