An Introduction to Chinese Bronze Ritual Vessels
The Bronze Age in China, began at around 2000 BC saw the growth and development of a civilization that would sustain itself for another 2000 years. In China, much like other societies, the mechanism that generated social cohesion was ritualisation. Early rituals, as most of the paraphernalia, were made in bronze and used to hold offerings of food and drinks to the ancestors of the past. These rituals carried a significant importance to social functions allowing historians and archaeologists to read into the forms and decorations of these objects and provide some insight into the concerns of their society.
Cast using ceramic molds, these Bronze Ritual vessels were more than just elegant objects of status, but symbols of power and commanding respect. The molds were imprinted with designs, then cut or carved down to allow for the bronze to be poured into the empty space. Since the ceramic piece molds had to broken to release the bronze, each piece was unique. During the Shang (1600 – 1046 BC) and Zhou dynasties (1045 – 256 BC), the precise, intricate designs and motifs that cover the surfaces evolved and developed. Experimentation with hammering shapes and forms appeared to have developed from these ceramic prototypes.
During the Shang Dynasty, one of the most distinctive characteristic images that decorated these Bronze Ritual vessels is the Taotie; a frontal animal-like mask with the primary attribute of a pair of prominent pair of eyes, often protruding in high relief. The Taotie can also include jaws, fangs, horns, ears and eyebrows. Various versions include a split animal-like-body with legs and tail. Other motifs for the Shang Ritual Bronze vessels were dragons, birds, bovine creatures and a variety of geometry patterns.
