Ritual Liquor Container with Grain Stalk Motif

Gai is a type of liquor container that was used to serve liquor on the table outside the Spirit Hall in the Main Hall and Yeongnyeongjeon Hall, Hall of Eternal Peace at the Royal Ancestral Shrine. It was used to contain aromatic alcohol for the ritual procedure. There were four different kinds of drinking ja r: Gyei, Joi, Gai, and Hwangi, each representing a season. The ears of rice, harvested in autumn, are engraved on Gai, and Gai was used for autumn and winter rites. Until late Joseon Dynasty, all liquor containers, mentioned in the Illustrated Book of Ritual Vessels, were in simple forms of the “U”-shaped body, with engraved patterns. They were placed on the liquor table without saucers.