Chinese ritual bronzes

Yǒu with zigzag thunder pattern, Early Zhou, Shanghai Museum
Burial pit at Tomb of Lady Fu Hao, as it is now displayed
Shang Gū (觚), a tall wine cup

Sets of ritual bronzes are the most impressive surviving objects from the Chinese Bronze Age. Being from around 1650 BCE, they were deposited as grave goods in the tombs of royalty and the nobility, and were evidently produced in very large numbers, with documented excavations finding over 200 pieces in a single royal tomb. They were produced for an individual to use in ritual offerings of food and drink to his ancestors in family temples or ceremonial halls over tombs, or rather ritual banquets in which both living and dead members of a family participated; early literary records speak of these. On the death of the owner they would 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.[1]

The ritual bronzes were probably 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. Apart from table vessels, weapons and some other objects were made in special ritual forms. Another class of ritual objects are those, also including weapons, made in jade, which was probably the most highly valued of all, and which had been long used for ritual tools and weapons, since about 4,500 BCE.[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]

Usage

Bronzes (simplified Chinese: 青铜器; traditional Chinese: 青銅器; pinyin: qīng tóng qì; Wade–Giles: ch'ing t'ong ch'i) are some of the most important pieces of ancient Chinese art, warranting an entire separate catalogue in the Imperial art collections. The Chinese Bronze Age began in the Xia Dynasty (ca. 2070 – ca. 1600 BC), and bronze ritual containers form the bulk of collections of Chinese antiquities, reaching its zenith during the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BC) and the early part of the Zhou Dynasty (1045–256 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. Weapons like daggers and axes had a sacrificial meaning, symbolizing the heavenly power of the ruler. The strong religious associations of bronze objects brought up a great number of vessel types and shapes which became regarded as classic and totemic and were copied, often in other media such as Chinese porcelain, throughout subsequent periods of Chinese art.

The ritual books of old China minutely describe who was allowed to use what kinds of sacrificial vessels and how much. The king of Zhou used 9 dings and 8 gui vessels, a duke was allowed to use 7 dings and 6 guis, a baron could use 5 dings and 3 guis, a nobleman was allowed to use 3 dings and 2 guis. Turning to actual archaeological finds, the tomb of Fu Hao, an unusually powerful Shang queen, contained her set of ritual vessels, numbering over two hundred, which are also far larger than the twenty-four vessels in the tomb of a contemporary nobleman. Her higher status would have been clear not only to her contemporaries, but also, it was believed, to her ancestors and other spirits.[4] Many of the pieces were cast with inscriptions using the posthumous form of her name, indicating there were made especially for burial in the tomb.[5]

Classification of pieces in the Imperial collection

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. Often these vessels are elaborately decorated with taotie designs.

Sacrificial vessels

The Houmuwu ding (Chinese: 后母戊鼎; pinyin: Hòumǔwù dǐng), the largest ancient bronze ever found

Wine vessels

Two Jué on either side of a Gū, all from the Shang dynasty

Food vessels

Dui vessel with geometric cloud pattern, Warring States period, Hubei Provincial Museum.
Pan food vessel, here in a legless style
Covered Food Container (dou), 6th Century B.C.[6] The Walters Art Museum.

Water vessels

Musical instruments

Weapons

Measuring containers

Ancient money

Miscellaneous

A bronze mirror (Jiàn) from the Warring States Period (475 - 221 B.C.)

Notes

  1. ↑ Rawson, 44-60
  2. ↑ Rawson, 44-60
  3. ↑ Rawson, 33-34
  4. ↑ Rawson, 33
  5. ↑ "Excavations at the Tomb of Fu Hao", accessed August 4, 2007, National Gallery of Art, Washington
  6. ↑ "Covered Food Container". The Walters Art Museum.

References

Further reading

External links

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