Three ritual vessel shapes. The GU and JUE are wine vessels. Both are very ancient forms that were in use from the Neolithic-Erlitou period ( more than 2,000 BC ). The DING tripod was used for cooked food.
In the center, upside down, is the model for a wine vessel. The two sections of the mold, made of soft clay, are pressed against it to transfer the vessel's shape and decoration. The model is then trimmed away to form a core. The mold-pieces are reassembled around the core, leaving a space, which is filled with molten bronze.
Bronzes were made in ceramic piece-molds (right). The process began with a model, to which soft clay was applied. These clay pieces were removed in sections to form molds, which were reassembled around a core, whereupon molten bronze was poured into the space between the mold and the core. After cooling, the mold pieces were removed. Pre-cast sections of a bronze could be attachedan infinite number of variations could be created on the basis of a few standard shapes. Originally these bronzes were bright and shiny (their present dark patina is a result of burial and age).
Surface decoration could be made by carving into the mold (for raised relief) or into the model (for recessed designs). The narrow bands that characterized early bronze designs gave way to more expansive decorations, which by the late Shang period covered the whole vessel. A common Shang motif is the Taotie. ( Refer to another of my article about : What is " Taotie"?
Other zoomorphic designs consisted of various animal parts flowing into one another. By the end of the Western Zhou period, this imagery had begun to turn into purely abstract patterns, the meaning of which will probably never be known. They may have been symbolic of the spirits of the ancestors, protective devices, clan or lineage motifs, or perhaps they were associated with mythical beasts or supernatural entities.
Wonderful website
ReplyDelete