An Offering Silver for the Grand Ceremony from the Southern Sung Dynasty
Weight: 395 grams/10 taels
Date: 1203 A.D.
Inscriptions: 嘉泰三年．大禮銀
The 3rd Year of Jia Tai
The Offering Silver for the Grand Ceremony
In addition to their regular tax levies, local governments during the Southern Sung Dynasty were obliged to submit offering gold, silver or silk to the emperor, especially for the following two occasions: the emperor's birthday, and the ceremony of heavenly god worship. Those obligations ultimately were born by taxpayers.
The worship of "南郊祭" (Worship in the Southern suburb) was obviously the most important one among all, therefore, it was also named as "大禮" (The Grand Ceremony). The Grand Ceremony took place once every 3-5 years or 8-9 years.
This piece inscribed with 嘉泰三年,大禮銀 (The 3rd Year of Jia Tai, Silver for the Grand Ceremony) is a rare dated specimen cast and designated for the specific purpose, and is also assumed to be part from the recent Nanjing excavation.
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