Bronze Cup of the Shang Dynasty

Bronze Cup of the Shang Dynasty

Jue, also known as Jue Cup, is an ancient type of drinking vessel in Chinese bronze ware. According to historical records, noble people were granted titles as a reward by ancient emperors when they divided the feudal lords. Later on, "jue" became the abbreviation for "title", and "promotion to a higher rank" came from this. The cup of nobility is in hand, occupying the favorable timing, location, and people's harmony, symbolizing the victory over difficulties, invincible in all directions, promotion to higher positions, and celebration of victory.
Bronze Tripod Cauldron of the Shang Dynasty

Bronze Tripod Cauldron of the Shang Dynasty

The "Shang Dynasty Bronze Tripod" is a tableware from the 12th to 11th centuries BC, currently housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. The prototype of the tripod is a rough pottery of the same shape and name made during the Erlitou Culture period (around 3000-2000 BC). The edge of this tripod has thunder patterns, which is a symbol of copper casting in the Shang Dynasty.
Shang Dynasty wine vessels

Shang Dynasty wine vessels

Gou is a wine vessel from the 12th to 11th centuries BC, currently housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. This work is a tall wine glass, with its trumpet shaped top gradually narrowing to the slender center, and then expanding again to the slightly outward turned bottom. Archaeological evidence shows that bronze spears first appeared during the Erligang period of the Shang Dynasty. The gradual decline of wine vessels may be related to King Zhou's denigration of alcohol consumption, as he believed that excessive drinking led to the collapse of the Shang Dynasty. This temple is decorated with a variant of the gluttonous mask. The entire vessel has a tight spiral background pattern, known as the thunder pattern, which is a symbol of copper casting in the Shang Dynasty.
Bronze wine vessels for sacrificial offerings in the Shang Dynasty

Bronze wine vessels for sacrificial offerings in the Shang Dynasty

The "Shang Dynasty Sacrificial Wine Vessel" is a Chinese cultural relic dating back to the 12th to 11th centuries BC, currently housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. This cultural relic is made of bronze. Its dimensions are 27.62 × 12.7 × 11.75 centimeters and it weighs 1.3 kilograms.
Late merchant bronze three-legged jue wine vessel

Late merchant bronze three-legged jue wine vessel

Jue is a vessel used in ancient China to serve warm wine in ancestor worship rituals. It is ovoid and supported by three spreading triangular legs, with a long curved beak on one side and a balanced handle on the other. Many examples have one or two ring handles on the sides and two column protrusions on the top, which may be used to enable people to lift the vessel with a belt. They are usually gorgeously decorated and have gluttonous decorations.
Shang Dynasty Bronze Gong Wine Ware

Shang Dynasty Bronze Gong Wine Ware

It's a ritual used to hold wine. It was mainly made during the reign of King Wu and King Zhao in the late Shang Dynasty (1300-1046 BC), and during the early Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-977 BC). Found in Anyang, this deep, boat-shaped wine-tipper demonstrates almost perfect craftsmanship. On the lower part of the handle and side are carved Taotie masks.
Shang Dynasty Bronze Beast Faced Pattern Square Cauldron

Shang Dynasty Bronze Beast Faced Pattern Square Cauldron

Fangding "means a square cooking utensil with two ears and four feet. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, it was popular and commonly used as sacrificial vessels, such as the excavated animal face milk nail patterned square cauldron, Simuwu square cauldron, and Hedang square cauldron.
Shang Dynasty Sanxingdui bronze ware "Shang Bronze Man Head"

Shang Dynasty Sanxingdui bronze ware "Shang Bronze Man Head"

This cultural relic is a bronze ware from the Shang Dynasty, with a human head of Fang Yi. It comes in two types: flat topped and round topped, with large or vertical ears and perforated earlobes. Garlic nose, wide mouth, and thick neck. Wrap the hair backwards and add braids or hair accessories to the back of the head. It is currently collected in the Sanxingdui Museum.
Late Shang Dynasty marble sculpture "Double sided bird faced tube of marble carving"

Late Shang Dynasty marble sculpture "Double sided bird faced tube of marble carving"

This pole decoration with two owl heads is the same as R005055. The owl faces on opposite sides are identical and separated by carved lines. The shape of the head is a top heavy, top light trapezoid. The curved beak of an owl is presented in deep relief and decorated with raised lines and jagged edges. The owl's horns, ears, and chin are depicted in low relief. The owl has eyes engraved in the shape of "chen". The top and bottom of the cultural relic are not decorated, with a diamond shaped top and an oval shaped bottom. Passing through the middle of the artifact is a tubular hole with parallel grinding tool marks on its inner wall, and it is suspected that the hole was created using tubular drilling technology.
Bronze ware from the Shang Dynasty, "Wine Vessel Gu"

Bronze ware from the Shang Dynasty, "Wine Vessel Gu"

This wine vessel is currently housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. Gu wine vessel is a tall and elegant wine glass with a compact shape, with a trumpet shaped top, gradually narrowing in the middle, and slightly expanding outward at the bottom. Archaeological evidence shows that bronze wine vessels first appeared during the Erligang Culture period of the Shang Dynasty (1500-1300 BC). Gu wine vessels were most popular during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC), but became relatively rare in the early Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-977 BC) and gradually disappeared during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BC).
The cultural relic of the Shang Dynasty, "Bone shaped Artifacts"

The cultural relic of the Shang Dynasty, "Bone shaped Artifacts"

It is a bone artifact unearthed from the Tomb of Shang Wang No. 1001, possibly made of elephant leg bones, with a complete lower end and a damaged upper end, and a rounded triangular cross-section of the body. On one of the corners of the body, there are two vertically arranged perforations at the lower position of the middle decorative band, which may be used to install handles. The decoration can be roughly divided into three parts. The upper and lower ends of the object are decorated with animal face patterns, the middle part is decorated with the main decoration of Taotie, and the two sides of the triangular pattern below are decorated with inverted dragons. Going further will be the Shen character decorative strip. These patterns are surrounded by dense cloud and thunder patterns, and the carvings are very exquisite. First stored at the Central Institute of Historical Research.
Cultural relic from the late Shang Dynasty, titled 'Turtle Belly Armor with Inscriptions on Zhu Bu'

Cultural relic from the late Shang Dynasty, titled 'Turtle Belly Armor with Inscriptions on Zhu Bu'

This oracle bone belongs to the first Wu Ding divination of the Late Shang Dynasty, which records the divination results of the virtuous man "Wei" on the day of "Bingzi". He used the direct question 'I will receive a good harvest (I will have a good harvest)' and the reverse question 'I will not receive a good harvest (I will not have a good harvest)' to predict whether the crops will have a good harvest this year. The divination inscriptions are usually engraved next to the divination signs, and they usually avoid the divination signs, which is called "avoiding signs"; This edition is inscribed with divination or engraved on divination signs, known as "criminal signs", and currently exists at the Central Institute of Historical Research.
Fang Ding from the Late Shang Dynasty

Fang Ding from the Late Shang Dynasty

This Fangding (food container) from the late Shang Dynasty in the 11th century BC is now in the collection of the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. This square tripod, also known as the 'square tripod', showcases an interesting development in tripod design. Although it is still a square box shaped container standing on four columnar legs, the decoration shows a tendency towards abstraction, which may have been influenced by contemporary textile design.
Bronze ware from the Shang Dynasty, titled 'Fuhao Haozun'

Bronze ware from the Shang Dynasty, titled 'Fuhao Haozun'

This cultural relic is a bronze vessel called "Fuhao Haozun", which is one of the two owl shaped statues from the Shang Dynasty. This owl shaped statue was discovered in 1976 at the Fuhao Tomb in Anyang City, Henan Province, China. The owl shaped statue is divided into two parts: the detachable owl head and the hollow body of the bird. Animal shaped vessels are almost the only known bronze sculptures from the Shang Dynasty. This owl is one of the oldest and most naturalistic surviving owl shaped statues. Its form showcases the influence of Anyang, the capital of the Shang Dynasty, in the north, but the style and casting techniques of the vessels indicate that it is related to the bronze tradition of the Yangtze River region in southern and central China. The cultural relics are currently collected in the National Museum of China.
Bronze ware from the Shang Dynasty, known as the 'Bronze Pavilion'

Bronze ware from the Shang Dynasty, known as the 'Bronze Pavilion'

This Chinese cultural relic is a wine vessel called "斝", produced in the 13th to 12th centuries BC. It is collected at the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. 斝 is a ceremonial vessel used for ancestor worship, which is made of both pottery and copper. It can be quadrupedal or quadrupedal, with two cylindrical protrusions on the mouth edge, which may be used to hang the vessel above a heat source. Yan first appeared in the Neolithic Age (5000-2000 BC) and was very common in the Shang and early Western Zhou dynasties, but disappeared in the mid Western Zhou period.
Late Shang Dynasty Bronze Square Cup

Late Shang Dynasty Bronze Square Cup

This square cup is a cultural relic from the late Shang Dynasty (13th century BC to 12th century BC), currently housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. Cup is one of the earliest Chinese bronze wares, dating back to the Erlitou period (2000 BC to 1600 BC). Archaeological excavations have found that there are more toasts and cups (another type of wine cup) than cauldrons (vessels used to hold food). Drinking was popular during the Shang Dynasty and early Western Zhou Dynasty (1600 BC to 977 BC), but gradually lost favor in the late Western Zhou Dynasty (885 BC to 771 BC) and eventually disappeared.
Late Shang Dynasty Bronze Cup

Late Shang Dynasty Bronze Cup

This bronze wine vessel is a relic from the late Shang Dynasty (13th century BC to 12th century BC) and is currently housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. This deep boat shaped decanter showcases almost perfect craftsmanship.
Shang Dynasty Bronze Vessel "Sacrifice to Tripod"

Shang Dynasty Bronze Vessel "Sacrifice to Tripod"

This tripod is a relic of China's Shang Dynasty (1600 BC -1046 BC) and was made from 1200 BC to 1100 BC. The overall size of this bronze vessel is 14.3 x 12.5cm and is currently in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This tripod has a pattern composed of silkworms and cicadas, which is a typical form and decoration of the late Shang Dynasty. In ancient China, bronze vessels such as the tripod were used to worship the food and meat of ancestors in sacrifices. These bronzes have become the main academic research objects in Chinese history and are precious art treasures.