The bronze gui vessel with for handles, of which decorated series relief or round buffalo head pa... more The bronze gui vessel with for handles, of which decorated series relief or round buffalo head patterns, are rare. Up to now three vessels have been found, two unearthed at tombs in Zhifangtou and Shigushan in Baoji separately, another one collected in the Freer Gallery of Art said unearthed at Daijiawan in Baoji, this paper tries to link them through the found technology. Zhifangtou one its handles were pre-casts and joining body with interlock structure, and other two their flanges were pre-casts too which the author has identified a technical feature for southern foundry of Shang. The paper concludes those gui vessels were found at Anyang and the casters were successors of the founder who had been removed from southern foundry, suggests their date is late Shang.
This paper discusses the brass objects unearthed in the Neolithic sites, the earlest two pieces d... more This paper discusses the brass objects unearthed in the Neolithic sites, the earlest two pieces date in 5th Millenium BCE. Comparing the early brass remains unearthed around Mediterranean with their archaeometallurgical researches, this paper suggests they had been occasionally smelted by cementation process of copper with zinc ore, not from smelting of mixed ores of copper and zinc.
The aim of this paper is to consider two groups of bronze ritualvessels by focusing on technolog... more The aim of this paper is to consider two groups of bronze ritualvessels by focusing on technology as well as provenance, style elements, and chronology. The first group includes three gui vessels with four handles and two guiwith two handles, all with buffalo heads on the handles. The second group is comprised of four you vessels and one yi vessel, allwith unusual three-dimensional protrusions on the bodies of the vessels. One was scientifically excavated at Baoji, Shaanxi province, and the others were said to have beenunearthed there, but now are held in museums outside of this area. All likely date to the late Shang to early Western Zhou period. The three gui with four-handles feature a similar typology and decorative patterns, and their handles are pre-cast, all factors thatsuggest they have similar origins. One excavated from a tomb atZhifangtou, Baoji, has handles designed with a self-lock structure to reinforce its connection to the body. Another now collected in The Freer Gallery of Art, has an unusual construction of flange segmentsthat were pre-cast, and this structure is similar to that of several early bronze vessels thought to have been cast in southern China. The two gui vessels with two-handles could be understood as more simpleversions of the four-handled vessels. In the second group, a you vessel, in the Freer Gallery of Art may be paired with one in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Both youfeature a similar process used to manufacture pre-cast protrusionsthat attach through a self-lock structure, similar with that of the four-handledguinoted above. Another you vessel in the Shanghai Museum, has pre-cast protrusions but without the self-lock structure. A fangyiin the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums not only has similar patterns, protrusions and flanges but also post-like hooks on the cover. Still another fangyirecently unearthed in Baoji hassimilar hooks but no protrusions. The technological consistency demonstrated in these bronze vessels suggests there was a special casting technique practiced in this time period and in the location where they were created. It is likely that thistechnique of separate castingwas initiated in the Changjiang Valley since the earliest examples occur in objects unearthed at a Lijiazui tomb in Panlongcheng, Hubei province. Twovessels found at this tomb have handles cast-on the body with a rivet structure created in order to reinforce the connection of the handle. This technique was perfected with the addition of a banding structure seen in a group of bronze unearthed at Dayangzhou in Xin'gan, Jiangxi province. In Henan province at Anyang a few bronze objects were produced with cast-on handles along with rivet structures. I suggest that the concept of the rivet withbanding structures in the casting-on techniquelikely is the source of the self-lock structure pre-casting used in the Baoji examples, but it is not yet clear how the procedure was transferred. The earliest example of a pre-cast flange (also the earliest example of pre-casting), is a jia vessel unearthed at Hejiacun in Qishan close to Baoji. Yet it should be noted, that this same structure occurs in several objects unearthed at Dayangzhou, and it is likely that it isa technical feature of southern bronze casting during the Shang period. This jia vessel from Heijiacun with its cast-on handle along with a rivet structure also is related to a gui vessel from Panlongcheng. Since this technical feature is most often linked to vessels of the southern style bronze during the Shang period, it is reasonable to believe that the Hejiacunjia, and another one jiawith same style and technology in the Freer Gallery of Art, wereimported from southern China. The two groups of bronze vessels discussed in this paper feature a special method of casting-on, and this technology can be connectedto objects unearthed in southern China, yet the gap in time and in geographic location between the Xin’gan and Panlongcheng examples and the four-handled guiin Shaanxi is problematic. Clay molds unearthed at the foundry site of Xiaomintun in Anyang, indicate that it is possible that the gui with four-handles, the three you and the fangyi with protrusions were cast at Anyang. The bronzecasters possessed knowledge of processes used in southern foundries, and they produced objects that were not meant for Shang royalty but rather for tribes beyond the capital. After the Zhou overturned Shang, they moved the bronze casters to the Zhou's foundry in Shaanxi, and there with their knowledge of techniques that originated to the south,they continued to create vessels incorporating these special features.
The bronze gui vessel with for handles, of which decorated series relief or round buffalo head pa... more The bronze gui vessel with for handles, of which decorated series relief or round buffalo head patterns, are rare. Up to now three vessels have been found, two unearthed at tombs in Zhifangtou and Shigushan in Baoji separately, another one collected in the Freer Gallery of Art said unearthed at Daijiawan in Baoji, this paper tries to link them through the found technology. Zhifangtou one its handles were pre-casts and joining body with interlock structure, and other two their flanges were pre-casts too which the author has identified a technical feature for southern foundry of Shang. The paper concludes those gui vessels were found at Anyang and the casters were successors of the founder who had been removed from southern foundry, suggests their date is late Shang.
This paper discusses the brass objects unearthed in the Neolithic sites, the earlest two pieces d... more This paper discusses the brass objects unearthed in the Neolithic sites, the earlest two pieces date in 5th Millenium BCE. Comparing the early brass remains unearthed around Mediterranean with their archaeometallurgical researches, this paper suggests they had been occasionally smelted by cementation process of copper with zinc ore, not from smelting of mixed ores of copper and zinc.
The aim of this paper is to consider two groups of bronze ritualvessels by focusing on technolog... more The aim of this paper is to consider two groups of bronze ritualvessels by focusing on technology as well as provenance, style elements, and chronology. The first group includes three gui vessels with four handles and two guiwith two handles, all with buffalo heads on the handles. The second group is comprised of four you vessels and one yi vessel, allwith unusual three-dimensional protrusions on the bodies of the vessels. One was scientifically excavated at Baoji, Shaanxi province, and the others were said to have beenunearthed there, but now are held in museums outside of this area. All likely date to the late Shang to early Western Zhou period. The three gui with four-handles feature a similar typology and decorative patterns, and their handles are pre-cast, all factors thatsuggest they have similar origins. One excavated from a tomb atZhifangtou, Baoji, has handles designed with a self-lock structure to reinforce its connection to the body. Another now collected in The Freer Gallery of Art, has an unusual construction of flange segmentsthat were pre-cast, and this structure is similar to that of several early bronze vessels thought to have been cast in southern China. The two gui vessels with two-handles could be understood as more simpleversions of the four-handled vessels. In the second group, a you vessel, in the Freer Gallery of Art may be paired with one in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Both youfeature a similar process used to manufacture pre-cast protrusionsthat attach through a self-lock structure, similar with that of the four-handledguinoted above. Another you vessel in the Shanghai Museum, has pre-cast protrusions but without the self-lock structure. A fangyiin the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums not only has similar patterns, protrusions and flanges but also post-like hooks on the cover. Still another fangyirecently unearthed in Baoji hassimilar hooks but no protrusions. The technological consistency demonstrated in these bronze vessels suggests there was a special casting technique practiced in this time period and in the location where they were created. It is likely that thistechnique of separate castingwas initiated in the Changjiang Valley since the earliest examples occur in objects unearthed at a Lijiazui tomb in Panlongcheng, Hubei province. Twovessels found at this tomb have handles cast-on the body with a rivet structure created in order to reinforce the connection of the handle. This technique was perfected with the addition of a banding structure seen in a group of bronze unearthed at Dayangzhou in Xin'gan, Jiangxi province. In Henan province at Anyang a few bronze objects were produced with cast-on handles along with rivet structures. I suggest that the concept of the rivet withbanding structures in the casting-on techniquelikely is the source of the self-lock structure pre-casting used in the Baoji examples, but it is not yet clear how the procedure was transferred. The earliest example of a pre-cast flange (also the earliest example of pre-casting), is a jia vessel unearthed at Hejiacun in Qishan close to Baoji. Yet it should be noted, that this same structure occurs in several objects unearthed at Dayangzhou, and it is likely that it isa technical feature of southern bronze casting during the Shang period. This jia vessel from Heijiacun with its cast-on handle along with a rivet structure also is related to a gui vessel from Panlongcheng. Since this technical feature is most often linked to vessels of the southern style bronze during the Shang period, it is reasonable to believe that the Hejiacunjia, and another one jiawith same style and technology in the Freer Gallery of Art, wereimported from southern China. The two groups of bronze vessels discussed in this paper feature a special method of casting-on, and this technology can be connectedto objects unearthed in southern China, yet the gap in time and in geographic location between the Xin’gan and Panlongcheng examples and the four-handled guiin Shaanxi is problematic. Clay molds unearthed at the foundry site of Xiaomintun in Anyang, indicate that it is possible that the gui with four-handles, the three you and the fangyi with protrusions were cast at Anyang. The bronzecasters possessed knowledge of processes used in southern foundries, and they produced objects that were not meant for Shang royalty but rather for tribes beyond the capital. After the Zhou overturned Shang, they moved the bronze casters to the Zhou's foundry in Shaanxi, and there with their knowledge of techniques that originated to the south,they continued to create vessels incorporating these special features.
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The three gui with four-handles feature a similar typology and decorative patterns, and their handles are pre-cast, all factors thatsuggest they have similar origins. One excavated from a tomb atZhifangtou, Baoji, has handles designed with a self-lock structure to reinforce its connection to the body. Another now collected in The Freer Gallery of Art, has an unusual construction of flange segmentsthat were pre-cast, and this structure is similar to that of several early bronze vessels thought to have been cast in southern China. The two gui vessels with two-handles could be understood as more simpleversions of the four-handled vessels.
In the second group, a you vessel, in the Freer Gallery of Art may be paired with one in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Both youfeature a similar process used to manufacture pre-cast protrusionsthat attach through a self-lock structure, similar with that of the four-handledguinoted above. Another you vessel in the Shanghai Museum, has pre-cast protrusions but without the self-lock structure. A fangyiin the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums not only has similar patterns, protrusions and flanges but also post-like hooks on the cover. Still another fangyirecently unearthed in Baoji hassimilar hooks but no protrusions. The technological consistency demonstrated in these bronze vessels suggests there was a special casting technique practiced in this time period and in the location where they were created.
It is likely that thistechnique of separate castingwas initiated in the Changjiang Valley since the earliest examples occur in objects unearthed at a Lijiazui tomb in Panlongcheng, Hubei province. Twovessels found at this tomb have handles cast-on the body with a rivet structure created in order to reinforce the connection of the handle. This technique was perfected with the addition of a banding structure seen in a group of bronze unearthed at Dayangzhou in Xin'gan, Jiangxi province. In Henan province at Anyang a few bronze objects were produced with cast-on handles along with rivet structures. I suggest that the concept of the rivet withbanding structures in the casting-on techniquelikely is the source of the self-lock structure pre-casting used in the Baoji examples, but it is not yet clear how the procedure was transferred.
The earliest example of a pre-cast flange (also the earliest example of pre-casting), is a jia vessel unearthed at Hejiacun in Qishan close to Baoji. Yet it should be noted, that this same structure occurs in several objects unearthed at Dayangzhou, and it is likely that it isa technical feature of southern bronze casting during the Shang period. This jia vessel from Heijiacun with its cast-on handle along with a rivet structure also is related to a gui vessel from Panlongcheng. Since this technical feature is most often linked to vessels of the southern style bronze during the Shang period, it is reasonable to believe that the Hejiacunjia, and another one jiawith same style and technology in the Freer Gallery of Art, wereimported from southern China.
The two groups of bronze vessels discussed in this paper feature a special method of casting-on, and this technology can be connectedto objects unearthed in southern China, yet the gap in time and in geographic location between the Xin’gan and Panlongcheng examples and the four-handled guiin Shaanxi is problematic. Clay molds unearthed at the foundry site of Xiaomintun in Anyang, indicate that it is possible that the gui with four-handles, the three you and the fangyi with protrusions were cast at Anyang. The bronzecasters possessed knowledge of processes used in southern foundries, and they produced objects that were not meant for Shang royalty but rather for tribes beyond the capital. After the Zhou overturned Shang, they moved the bronze casters to the Zhou's foundry in Shaanxi, and there with their knowledge of techniques that originated to the south,they continued to create vessels incorporating these special features.
The three gui with four-handles feature a similar typology and decorative patterns, and their handles are pre-cast, all factors thatsuggest they have similar origins. One excavated from a tomb atZhifangtou, Baoji, has handles designed with a self-lock structure to reinforce its connection to the body. Another now collected in The Freer Gallery of Art, has an unusual construction of flange segmentsthat were pre-cast, and this structure is similar to that of several early bronze vessels thought to have been cast in southern China. The two gui vessels with two-handles could be understood as more simpleversions of the four-handled vessels.
In the second group, a you vessel, in the Freer Gallery of Art may be paired with one in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Both youfeature a similar process used to manufacture pre-cast protrusionsthat attach through a self-lock structure, similar with that of the four-handledguinoted above. Another you vessel in the Shanghai Museum, has pre-cast protrusions but without the self-lock structure. A fangyiin the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums not only has similar patterns, protrusions and flanges but also post-like hooks on the cover. Still another fangyirecently unearthed in Baoji hassimilar hooks but no protrusions. The technological consistency demonstrated in these bronze vessels suggests there was a special casting technique practiced in this time period and in the location where they were created.
It is likely that thistechnique of separate castingwas initiated in the Changjiang Valley since the earliest examples occur in objects unearthed at a Lijiazui tomb in Panlongcheng, Hubei province. Twovessels found at this tomb have handles cast-on the body with a rivet structure created in order to reinforce the connection of the handle. This technique was perfected with the addition of a banding structure seen in a group of bronze unearthed at Dayangzhou in Xin'gan, Jiangxi province. In Henan province at Anyang a few bronze objects were produced with cast-on handles along with rivet structures. I suggest that the concept of the rivet withbanding structures in the casting-on techniquelikely is the source of the self-lock structure pre-casting used in the Baoji examples, but it is not yet clear how the procedure was transferred.
The earliest example of a pre-cast flange (also the earliest example of pre-casting), is a jia vessel unearthed at Hejiacun in Qishan close to Baoji. Yet it should be noted, that this same structure occurs in several objects unearthed at Dayangzhou, and it is likely that it isa technical feature of southern bronze casting during the Shang period. This jia vessel from Heijiacun with its cast-on handle along with a rivet structure also is related to a gui vessel from Panlongcheng. Since this technical feature is most often linked to vessels of the southern style bronze during the Shang period, it is reasonable to believe that the Hejiacunjia, and another one jiawith same style and technology in the Freer Gallery of Art, wereimported from southern China.
The two groups of bronze vessels discussed in this paper feature a special method of casting-on, and this technology can be connectedto objects unearthed in southern China, yet the gap in time and in geographic location between the Xin’gan and Panlongcheng examples and the four-handled guiin Shaanxi is problematic. Clay molds unearthed at the foundry site of Xiaomintun in Anyang, indicate that it is possible that the gui with four-handles, the three you and the fangyi with protrusions were cast at Anyang. The bronzecasters possessed knowledge of processes used in southern foundries, and they produced objects that were not meant for Shang royalty but rather for tribes beyond the capital. After the Zhou overturned Shang, they moved the bronze casters to the Zhou's foundry in Shaanxi, and there with their knowledge of techniques that originated to the south,they continued to create vessels incorporating these special features.