Chinese Offering Brass Set With Jiaobei

Description

Vintage ceremonial brass set for offering drinks atop the altar table. It comes with  a well etched countertop and three offering cups. The offering cups are used to fill with rice wine or tea during the ceremony. What is offered depends on the deities. The characters in the center indicates — 金玉滿堂 which means: house full of gold and jade (treasures). Which would mean that it’s a Taoist set that was used in a private temple or house shrine.

There are extended shelves on both sides of the countertop. They are for placement of a set of jiaobei (筊杯), which are divination tools. Jiaobei are used in pairs by being thrown to seek divine guidance, in the form of a yes or no question. They are made out of wood or bamboo, carved into a crescent shape, and often painted in red. Each block is round on one side (known as the yin side) and flat on the other (known as the yang side).

Dimensions: 2.5″ x 12.5″ x 4″