Barrel

Barrel

Round straight sided wood barrel with lid. A: Round cylindrical wood barrel is made up of 24 vertical slats. They are held together by tension small wood pegs between each one and by woven bands of bamboo strips. There are 5 of these bands. The bottom is made up of 4 pieces of woodcut to fit the circular shape. They rest on ridges cut into the slats. On two sides of the top of the barrel small pieces of wood are nailed on. Perpendicular to these pieces two slats rise above the rest. All of these fit the lid and hold it in place. B: The lid is made up of 6 slats of wood held by 2 cross pieces nailed on. The edges are cut to make in a circle. Written in black Chinese characters on top of the lid from left to right is: the weight: and then: To: "Shing Chang Lang" from :"Yuen Long Chen" of "Kwangtung China" C: Thin strips of bamboo tied in a ring possibly held the lid on.

1998.123