This liquor jar with a dragon motif held wine that was served to the king during the post-ritual stage of partaking sacrificial food from the ritual table. Embossed on the surface of the jar is a pair of four-clawed dragons ascending from a rock with a flaming jewel between them.

The jar presumably belonged to Yeongnyeong-jeon (永寧殿, Hall of Eternal Peace), the annex hall of Jongmyo (宗廟, Royal Ancestral Shrine ) since its body and lid each bear an inscription “永”, the first character of the hall name. Traditionally and similar to normal family shrines, a royal ancestral shrine was supposed to enshrine spirit tablets of the progenitor of the royal or imperial line, and up to four previous generations of the current sovereign. However, the royal ancestral shrine of the Joseon dynasty kept the spirit tablets of its great rulers permanently, following the ancient Zhou dynasty (c.1046-256 B.C.E.) tradition of permanently enshrining spirit tablets of their ideal rulers, King Wen (文王) and King Wu (武王). The spirit tablets of the Joseon kings who were not deemed to be ideal rulers were moved to the annex after four generations.

The Yeongnyeong-jeon was initially constructed as a separate shrine since there were no chambers left when the spirit tablet of King Jeongjong had to be enshrined in 1421, the 3rd year of King Sejong’s reign. The spirit tablets of four generations of ancestors of the first King Taejo first moved out to Yeongnyeong-jeon after its completion, and the hall further enshrined all other kings and queens who moved out of Jongmyo’s main hall when their period was up. Rituals for the rulers enshrined in the annex were held twice a year, officiated by a representative official of the king on the lunar New Year’s Day and in the seventh lunar month.