Chinese ritual bronzes

They were produced for an individual or social group to use in making ritual offerings of food and drink to his or their ancestors and other deities or spirits.

On the death of the owner of a ritual bronze, it would often be placed in his tomb, so that he could continue to pay his respects in the afterlife; other examples were cast specifically as grave goods.

The bronzes were likely not used for normal eating and drinking; they represent larger, more elaborate versions of the types of vessels used for this, and made in precious materials.

[2] At least initially, the production of bronze was probably controlled by the ruler, who gave unformed metal to his nobility as a sign of favour.

[3][4] The technology of bronze production was described in the Kao Gong Ji, compiled some time between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC.

The majority of surviving Chinese ancient bronze artefacts are ritual forms rather than their equivalents made for practical use, either as tools or weapons.

As with other early civilisations (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus), Shang settlement was centered on river valleys, and driven in part by the introduction of intensive agriculture.

Typical Shang period bronzes contain over 2% lead, unlike contemporary coppers of the Eurasian Steppe.

[7] In the case of Shang period bronzes, various sites, from early to late Shang period, numerous samples of the bronze alloy are characterized by high radiogenic lead isotope content (derived from both uranium and thorium decay), unlike most known native Chinese lead ores.

The earliest archaeological evidence of lost wax casting in China was found in the 6th century BC, at the cemetery of Chu in Xichuan, Henan province.

[12] Bronze Jin, cast using traditional piece-mould techniques, is further embellished by adding prefabricated ornate open worked handles, which are produced through a lost wax process and then attached.

Although lost-wax casting was never used to make large vessels, it became more and more popular between the late Eastern Zhou and Han dynasties.

Wax, which is easy to shape and carve and which melts away under the proper conditions, has been the most commonly used material for this purpose since antiquity.

The appreciation, creation and collection of Chinese bronzes as pieces of art and not as ritual items began in the Song dynasty and reached its zenith in the Qing dynasty during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, whose massive collection is recorded in the catalogues known as the Xiqing gujian and the Xiqing jijian (西清繼鑑).

Within those two catalogues, the bronzeware is categorized according to use: The most highly prized are generally the sacrificial and wine vessels, which form the majority of most collections.

[15] The earliest form of the taotie on bronzeware, dating from early in the Erligang period, consists of a pair of eyes with some subsidiary lines stretching to the left and right.

[16] It reached its full development as a monster mask at around the time of king Wu Ding, early in the Late Shang period.

[17] The typical taotie pattern is usually interpreted as a full-face round-eyed animal face ("mask"), with sharp teeth and horns, although the degree to which this was the intended meaning is sometimes disputed.

Beginning in the 1930s and culminating in 1953, the art historian Max Loehr identified a developmental sequence of five decorative styles found on pre-Zhou bronze vessels.

[20] In Loehr's Style I, vessels were decorated with lines carved into the mould, which the piece-mould process made accessible.

It was at this time that Central Plains bronze techniques spread over a wide area, and new regional styles emerged in the Yangtze valley.

Late Style III objects introduced undulating relief to make the elaborate designs more readable.

The motifs now had a clear shape, and the imaginary taotie and dragon were joined by images of birds and animals from nature.

[38] Vessels of the early Western Zhou were elaborations of Late Shang designs, featuring high-relief decor, often with pronounced flanges, and made extensive use of the taotie motif.

[39] By the mid-10th century BC (middle Western Zhou), the taotie had been replaced by pairs of long-tailed birds facing each other.

[42] New types of vessel began to be introduced during the early 9th century BC, initially in western Shaanxi, then quickly spreading to the central part of the province.