ancient chinese bronze - 中國青銅史

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First created. Feb 2009. Version 2.0 Aug 2010. London. Jerry Tse All rights reserved. Available free for non-commercial and non-profit use only Ancient Chinese Bronze 1300 BC - 200 AD Ancient China Mainstream Bronze ??? Sanxingdui Bronze, Sichuan Dian Kingdom Bronze, Yunan

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Mainstream Bronze Archaeology in China began about the first decade in the 20th century. Within this short time, it has revolutionalised our understanding of the ancient China. It makes the past come alive again. In particular, the discovery of ancient bronze away from the ‘Chinese cradle’ of the Yellow River paints a picture of a multi-cantered civilization, developing in along different lines. Face mask. 11-12C BC. Zhou. Face on Ding. 1000 BC. Shang. Chariot Face. c1000 BC. Zhou.

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1300 - 1000 BC Hunan, Southern China

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1300 - 1000 BC Hunan, Southern China

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Shang 1300 - 1050 BC Central China

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Central China Shang 1300 - 1050 BC

Shang - Helmet : 

Shang - Helmet Jiangxi, Southern China Shang 1200 - 1050 BC Helmet. C1200-1050 BC. Late Shang. Jiangxi Provincial Museum, Nanchang. Found in 1989 at Dayangzhou, Xin’gan, Jiangxi, together with some 1300 articles.

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Central China Zhou 1100 - 1000 BC

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Central China Zhou 1100 - 1000 BC

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Central China Zhou 1100 - 900 BC

Shang – Face Ding : 

Shang – Face Ding Hunan, Southern China c1000 BC Human Face, Ding. c 1000 BC. Bronze. Hunan Provincial Museum, China. Unearthed in 1959, Huangcai, Ning Hsien, Hunan. ?????? ?? - ????????

Shang – Face Ding : 

Shang – Face Ding Hunan, Southern China c1000 BC

Shang - Face : 

Shang - Face Henan, Central China Shang. 1000 BC Human Face. 1000 BC. Bronze. Unearthed in His Pei Kang site, Anyang county, Henan, China. Usage unknown. It was designed to hang on wall.

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Central China Zhou 700 - 600 BC

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Central China Zhou 700 - 500 BC

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Central China Zhou 700 - 500 BC

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Central China Zhou 700 - 500 BC

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Central China Zhou 600 - 400 BC

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Central China Zhou 500 - 400 BC

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Central China Zhou 500 - 400 BC

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Central China Zhou 400 - 200 BC

Western Han : 

Western Han Hebei, Central China Han 173 - 159 BC A gilded palace lamp. 173-159 BC. Bronze. 48 cm high. Western Han. Hebei Provincial Museum. Found in Royal Tomb, Mancheng Country, Hubei, Wuhan, in 1958. The base of the lamp can be turned to direct the light. Smoke from lamp was channeled through the sleeve to the base to be dissolved in water.

Eastern Han : 

Eastern Han Gansu, Western China East Han 173 - 159 BC Galloping Horse. Late 2C- Early 3C (Eastern Han). Bronze. Gansu Provincial Museum. Lanzhou. Found in Leitai, Wuwei, Gansu in 1969. ???? ?? ??

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Sanxingdui Bronze Previously unknown, these bronze objects were unearth at Guanghan, Sichuan, in 1986. The bronze are dated between 1200 – 1000 BC. Little is known about the people, who created these objects. They left nothing in the historical record, not even in myth. Archaeology shows that they lived in a walled city founded in 1600 BC. The size of their city was equal to the Shang capital Ao, in scale and in development. ??? ?? ??

Sanxingdui - Mask : 

Sanxingdui - Mask Sichuan Western China Sanxingdui 1200-1000 BC

Sanxingdui – Imaginary Being : 

Sanxingdui – Imaginary Being Sichuan Western China Sanxingdui 1200-1000 BC

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Sanxingdui – Bird Head Sichuan Western China Sanxingdui 1200-1000 BC

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Sanxingdui – Human Head Sichuan Western China Sanxingdui 1200-1000 BC

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Sanxingdui – Human Head Sichuan Western China Sanxingdui 1200-1000 BC

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Sanxingdui - Lei Sichuan Western China Sanxingdui 1200-1000 BC

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Sanxingdui – Mash with ornamental forehead and protruding pupils Sichuan Western China Sanxingdui 1200-1000 BC

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Sanxingdui – Standing Man Sichuan Western China Sanxingdui 1200-1000 BC

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Sanxingdui - Sichuan Western China Sanxingdui 1200-1000 BC

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Dian Bronze ?? The Dian lived around Lake Dian in northern Yunnan around 4C BC to 109 BCE, around same time the Warring States and Han Dynasty. The Dian buried their kings at Shizhaishan, which was unearthed in 1954. ?? ??? ??

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Jinning Yunnan, China Dian 100 BC - 100 AD

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Dian Yunnan, China Dian 100 BC - 100 AD

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Dian Yunnan, China Dian 100 BC - 100 AD

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Dian Yunnan, China Dian 100 BC - 100 AD

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Dian Yunnan, China Dian 100 BC - 100 AD

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Dian Yunnan, China Dian 100 BC - 100 AD

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Metal artifacts from elsewhere A brief reminder of other ancient cultures in the world, about the same time.

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2340 BC Akkad, Mesopotamia

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C 1325 BC New Kingdom, Egypt.

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16C BC Mycenae, Greek

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460 BC Ancient Greek

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From our very brief look at the bronze artifacts from ancient China. It is clear that they are fairly distinctive from other parts of the world. They played an important part in Chinese in religious rituals (ancestral worship). The most highly prized are generally the sacrificial and wine vessels. These vessels were elaborately covered by with symbolic and abstract patterns. This is contrast to bronzes discovered elsewhere, in most case used for agriculture, warfare and statues. The Book of Rituals (Li) describes these vessels in great details, prescribing how, whom and who could be used these bronzes. So many of these bronzes became status symbols for their owners. Bronze from southern China tends to be more naturalistic, indicating different cultures and religion at work. Over 10,000 piece of inscribed bronzes before Qin have been uncovered. Only about a quarter date to the Shang Dynasty. The majority belong to the Zhou Dynasty when bronzes were more diverse in style. Music by Loreena McKennitt from her album ‘The Book of Secret’.

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Index Dian Bronze Sanxingdui Bronze Mainstream Bronze Elsewhere

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The End