This covered food dish rests on three long legs, which take the form of elephant heads. The elephants’ eyes and trunks are clearly visible. The elephant motif was particularly appropriate for a ritual food vessel during the Eastern Han period, when elephant meat was eaten and the trunk was considered a special delicacy. Native elephants lived in central and southern China before the 14th century bce, and Indian elephants continued to inhabit Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hunan provinces at least into the 13th century. Today, a few surviving elephants live on preserves in Yunnan province.