Gold Tub of Camia
The Gold Tub of Camia is a large, ceremonial plate resembling a bathtub minted out of pure gold. The plate was cast in the early 1700s to celebrate the independence of Camia from Themiclesia, bearing a traditional inscription of Themiclesia's ultimate legislative act applied to Camia, recognizing the sovereignty of the Camian monarchy. The plate was displayed at the royal then presidential palace between its creation and 1878, when it was destroyed by soldiers storming the palace in the coup d'état that year.
Physical properties
Inscription
The inscription was done after the vessel was minted, probably using a blunted knife with a mallet, carved bas-relief into the material. It is possible that an ink original was written onto the surface of the vessel before it was inscribed. The inscription is in the Great Script that was typical on vessels of investiture and large, ceremonial public inscriptions; this script was the original form of the Mengja script used during the Gojun dynasty (c. 17th — 10th c. BCE) in the same context. While the practice of inscribing investitures into nobility and high offices has waned in Menghe, it has persisted in Themiclesia. The following is a generally-accepted transcription of the inscription.
惟章節十二年三甲子，皇帝在建康宮，御史佑入昭昌王使。未旦，皇帝出閤，臨軒，皇帝呼相國命王，若曰：「余一人不敏，上公命卿、百尹庶僚用事，不克寧百姓，余聞昭昌靈微，王宣賢，惠厥民，歲出西方，永光王土，萬邦並獻，多士咸言，其朕乃命王昭昌，錫王車、衡、巿、袞、馬、弓、法冊。王畯臣厥人，毋癈文政。往寧厥邦。」王使拜稽首，受冊，出。旦，王使入，奠。皇帝命內史受。王暇作茲文母父尊彝，天子其萬年無冬，王敢對揚天子丕顯休，子子孫孫永用享。在三月。
On the third first-day [of the hexagenary cycle] of the twelfth year of Tjang-kik [1701], the Emperor [of Themiclesia] was at the Kien-k'ang Palace. The [President of] Tribunes ushered the King's envoy [into the Palace Hall]. Before dawn, the Emperor exited the pavilion gate and approached the balcony [of the dais]. The Emperor commanded the Chancellor to deliver his investiture to the King [of Camia], saying thus: "I, the solitary person, was incompetent. The high lords and invested counsels and the many officials and sundry servants in charge of affairs, they have been unable to pacify the people. I hear that Camia is a beautiful and sweet place, you, King, are renowned and conscientious, and you have benefited your subjects. Jupiter has appeared in the west and long shines over you, the King's, territories. A myriad states adjudge and the uncountable gentry all speak [on your behalf]. I now invest you as King of Camia and give you, King, chariot, belt, apron, embroidered robes, horses, bow, and books of law and history. King! Forever lord over your peoples, and do not abandon your ways and conquests. Go, placate your nation!" The King's envoy bowed and prostrated, then accepted the books and exited [the Palace Hall]. At dawn, the King's envoy entered [the Palace Hall] and offered gifts. The Emperor commanded the Inner Administrator to receive [the gifts]. Gra, King, thus makes for his great mother and father this sacrificial vessel. May the Supreme Geniarch have a myriad years, without end. The King ventures to extol the glorious benefaction of the Supreme Geniarch and desires his many sons and grandsons to use and joy [this vessel] in eternity. In the third month.
The inscription has been studied by scholars, particularly after the destruction of the vessel, for its political meaning. As it stands, many scholars believe it reveals information on the true nature of Camia's independence from Themiclesia in 1701, which was poorly documented and shrouded in mystery in both states, and especially in Camia when the military government has subsequently and dramatically mythologized the independence, emphasizing its role in the fruition whereof.
In the inscription, the King of Camia first identifies the Themiclesian sovereign as "Emperor" (ghwang-têgh); after the law books signifying his recognition as an independent monarch, the Themiclesian sovereign is instead addressed as "Supreme Geniarch" (t'in-tsje’). Though junta-era scholars did not make a distinction between the two terms, believing both indicated some sort of submission to Themiclesia, modern scholars have popularized the view that the former title "Emperor" indicated the source of authority, while the latter address already indicated political independence, though still recognizing the position of the Themiclesian sovereign as the head of the supreme dynasty in cultural terms. Scholars have also pointed out that the semantics of "Emperor" and "Supreme Geniarch" are quite different in pre-modern Themiclesia; the title "Emperor" saw more use in domestic, political contexts and indicated the position of the Emperor as the head of the administrative apparatus, while "Supreme Geniarch" asserted more of the cultural and traditional dogma of Themiclesia as the source of culture.