TOU

Pinyin Dou, type of Chinese bronze vessel produced during the middle and late Chou dynasty (c. 900256/255 BC). It is a food container consisting of a circular bowl supported on a short stem rising from a flaring base. There are two ring-shaped handles on the rim at opposite sides of the bowl. Another shallow bowl serves as a lid. While there may be a predecessor among Neolithic pottery forms (c. 30001500 BC), the bronze tou is known only from the middle and, especially, late Chou periods, when the surface decoration was richly patterned and embellished.