This wine-warming vessel, known as jia, is the earliest example of a Chinese bronze vessel in the museum collection. It reveals an already sophisticated bronze casting technology that would serve as the foundation for the later vigorous artistic developments of the Shang civilization. The use of bronze was a major turning point of the Chinese civilization. Bronze metallurgy flourished alongside other major developments in ancient China including cities, specialized craftsmanship, stratified social classes, and the invention of writing.