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 decorative axe

Bronze decorative axe

Bronze decorative axe discovered in Tomb 697 at the Hallstatt Cemetery in Austria.
The Three Legged Cauldron of the Shang Dynasty in China - Cleveland Museum of Art

The Three Legged Cauldron of the Shang Dynasty in China - Cleveland Museum of Art

The tripod collected by the Cleveland Museum of Art is a bronze artifact from the Shang Dynasty in China, dating back to approximately 1200 to 1100 BC. With its exquisite craftsmanship and unique design, it showcases the superb skills of bronze ware production during the Shang Dynasty. The tripod was not only a practical tool for cooking and storing food at that time, but also had important ceremonial and symbolic significance, often used in religious and sacrificial activities. Exquisite attention to detail reflects the aesthetic characteristics and cultural value of Shang Dynasty bronze art. Donated by the John Huntington Institute of Art and Technology Trust to the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Ancient Chinese Bronze Tripod - Minneapolis Museum of Art

Ancient Chinese Bronze Tripod - Minneapolis Museum of Art

Ding is a bronze container used for cooking and worship in ancient China, with a history dating back to the 11th century BC to the 10th century BC. The characteristic is a flat bottom, three legged support, and high artistic and historical value. During the Shang Dynasty, the legs of bronze tripods were mostly flat, usually designed in the shape of dragons. In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, tripod legs began to be popular in the form of birds. The tripod collected by the Minneapolis Museum of Art features a bird shaped design with three legs, standing on claws and tail, and decorated with cicada patterns above the legs. It reflects the bronze casting technology of ancient China, as well as the aesthetic and cultural beliefs of the society at that time.
Bronze water basin from the Goryeo period in South Korea - Cleveland Museum of Art

Bronze water basin from the Goryeo period in South Korea - Cleveland Museum of Art

It is a bronze water basin from the Goryeo period in Korea (918-1392), made around the 1100-1200s. The exquisite craftsmanship not only showcases the typical characteristics of Goryeo bronze ware in form, but also has exquisite character patterns and calligraphy engraved on its inner walls. These patterns and calligraphy not only have high artistic value, but also reflect the culture and aesthetic taste of the society at that time. This artwork is currently housed in the Cleveland Museum of Art and donated by the Leonard C. Hanna Foundation in 1985.
Ancient Chinese vases

Ancient Chinese vases

Chinese ancient vases are treasures of Chinese culture, with a long history and unique artistic charm. These vases are mostly made of ceramics, as well as materials such as bronze and jade, with various shapes, rich colors, and exquisite decorations. They are not only practical containers, but also works of art that showcase craftsmanship and aesthetic taste. The patterns on ancient Chinese vases are diverse, ranging from geometric shapes to flowers, birds, fish, and insects, from myths and legends to historical stories, reflecting the culture and life of ancient society. Over time, these vases have become sought after by collectors and art enthusiasts, as well as important materials for studying ancient Chinese history and culture.
Bronze alloy vase

Bronze alloy vase

Antique bronze vases are a type of art with a long history, usually carefully crafted from bronze alloy. This vase not only has practical functions for flower arrangement or holding liquids, but is also often used as a decoration to showcase exquisite craftsmanship and artistic value. The design of bronze vases is diverse and may include various patterns, decorations, and carvings, reflecting the cultural characteristics and aesthetic styles of their production period. They are cherished objects by collectors and art enthusiasts, and also important windows for understanding ancient civilization craftsmanship and technology.
Antique bronze vase

Antique bronze vase

Antique bronze vases are a type of art with a long history, usually made of corrosion-resistant alloys such as bronze, and have high artistic and collectible value. These vases not only showcase the superb casting skills of ancient craftsmen, but are often decorated with exquisite patterns and decorations, reflecting the cultural characteristics and social aesthetics of the time. Bronze vases were often used in ancient times to hold wine, water, or as sacrificial offerings, and their design and decoration were often related to religious beliefs and social status at that time. Over time, these antique bronze vases have become valuable materials for studying ancient civilizations, arts and crafts, and historical cultures.
Offering bronze sculptures of Bodhisattvas

Offering bronze sculptures of Bodhisattvas

The bronze sculpture dedicated to Bodhisattva was created in 596 AD and is now housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. This cultural relic represents the formation stage of Chinese Buddhist sculpture, which is a small, portable copper religious sacrificial statue. The characteristics of this cultural relic are linear clothing folds and a mandala (body halo) with flame patterns, which are only represented by engraved lines. These characteristics suggest that artists may have worked based on paintings or sketches brought back from holy sites in India.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, wine pots were used

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, wine pots were used

The Chinese Warring States period wine pot, from the 5th to 4th centuries BC, is now collected at the Minneapolis Museum of Art. During the Warring States period, a new trend of bronze decoration emerged, which used inlay techniques to depict more vivid painting scenes. Generally speaking, inlay involves inserting very thin gold, silver, or copper foil wires into thin lines engraved on the copper surface. The technique of decorating copperware with turquoise or even rarer turquoise has existed since the Erlitou Culture period. In the late Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, this technique, which now includes more gold and silver inlay, began to be widely used, and the most exquisite vessels and accessories, such as hooks, were made during this period.
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.
Minneapolis Museum of Art Double Eagle Wine Jar

Minneapolis Museum of Art Double Eagle Wine Jar

It is an ancient artifact from the 12th to 11th centuries BC, shaped like two eagle heads facing each other. This artifact may have been used in religious ceremonies or as a symbol of power, as eagles symbolize strength and freedom in many cultures. They may be used as containers, and sometimes as decorations or gifts. The design of the Double Eagle not only showcases the superb craftsmanship of the craftsmen at that time, but also reflects the artistic style and social beliefs of that era. These types of artifacts were discovered during archaeological excavations, providing valuable physical evidence for our understanding of ancient civilizations. Now collected at the Minneapolis Museum of Art.
Western Zhou bronze lamp holder

Western Zhou bronze lamp holder

The "Western Zhou Bronze Man Lamp Holder" is a Chinese cultural relic from the 5th to 4th centuries BC, currently housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. This cultural relic is made of bronze and embedded with metal. This small and exquisite figure statue has outstretched hands, and its curled fingers form a socket that was originally used to insert the pole of an oil lamp. During the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties (1600-771 BC), bronze figures were very rare, but now several bronze figures have been excavated from Zhou tombs in the late Warring States period as lamp sockets.
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.
Eastern Zhou copper bronze bell

Eastern Zhou copper bronze bell

This cultural relic is a copper musical instrument called the "Chinese Bronze Bell", made from the late 6th century BC to the early 5th century BC, and is now collected at the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. The shape of this bell is called "xi", which is one of the two common bell shapes found in tombs of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The "Liu" clock has a flat bottom, slightly convex sides, and a decorative hanging device at the top, usually featuring stylized animal images that can emit a single tone. The decoration of this clock is very rich. There are 36 evenly distributed protrusions on the clock body, shaped like coiled snakes. The suspension device is a pair of tigers wrapped around a snake.
Bronze Turkic wine jar

Bronze Turkic wine jar

The Turkic wine jar is a 5th century BC wine vessel, now housed in the Minneapolis Museum of Art in the United States. This storage container is part of an important hunting scene for the Hu people. They showcase the influence of nomadic art in northern China. The four main straps depict scenes of men hunting birds, deer, wild boars, and tigers with spears, knives, and bows and arrows. These pictorial scenes depicting human activities represent a revolutionary change in bronze art.
Carved Bronze Oval Ware

Carved Bronze Oval Ware

The engraved bronze oval vessel is a sphere-shaped vessel decorated with geometric patterns. The production period is the European (period) Bronze Age, made of bronze material, size height: 13.7 meters, diameter: 7.5cm, is now collected in the French National Archaeological Museum.
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.
Big Mouth Water Bottle (Cultural Relic of Haihun Marquis Tomb)

Big Mouth Water Bottle (Cultural Relic of Haihun Marquis Tomb)

The Haihun Marquis Tomb is located in Guanxi Village, Datang Ping Township, Xinjian District, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. It is the tomb of Liu He, the Haihun Marquis of the Western Han Dynasty. It is the best preserved, structurally complete, functionally laid out, and has the most complete sacrificial system of the Western Han Dynasty marquis cemetery in China so far. It is also the largest known area, rich in connotation, and relatively well preserved tomb of Han Dynasty local marquis levels in southern China. More than 10000 pieces (sets) of precious cultural relics such as gold, bronze, iron, jade, lacquered wood, bamboo slips, and wooden slips showcase the dream and glory of the Haihun civilization.
Bronze Pixiu

Bronze Pixiu

Xiaochen Yixi Zun

Xiaochen Yixi Zun

Xiaochen Yixi Zun is the most well-known Chinese collection in the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, USA, because many academic books and publications on bronze ware internationally regard it as a symbol of Chinese bronze ware and publish it on the cover of the book. Xiaochen Yixi Zun is one of the famous "Seven Treasures of Liangshan". The objects use realistic techniques and are completely unadorned. The overall shape is seamless, revealing a sense of innocence in the simplicity and richness. This artistic technique of seeing magic in simplicity has always been the highest pursuit of traditional Chinese aesthetics. The inscription describes the Shang king's conquest of the barbarians, and information about this war can also be found in oracle bone inscriptions from the Yin ruins.
Chinese antique bronze wine vessel owl jar

Chinese antique bronze wine vessel owl jar

Chinese antique bronze wine pot

Chinese antique bronze wine pot

Traditional Chinese pouring vessels and toasting cups

Traditional Chinese pouring vessels and toasting cups

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