Used to contain ritual wine.
The jar is divided into 3 parts: mouth, body and base. The mouth is in trapezium, engraved with three line of Han characters:
御製
(Made by the Emperor)
明命己亥
(Minh Mang, Ky Hoi Year)
倣周螭首方壺
(Adapted from the squared kirin-head of Zhou Dynasty)
The two handles are in the shape of kirin head spraying water. The body and the base are in trapezium. The front part of the body is divided into 4 squares with 4 poetic sentences in Han characters:
日思夜思
(Thinking days and nights)
為民憂之
(Caring for the people)
弗敢逸豫
(Without any entertainment)
以保邦基
(To protect the home country)