The description of the Shang (c. 1700-c. 1050 BCE) and Zhou (c. 1050-221 BCE) periods in Chinese history as a Great Bronze Age stems from both the astonishing variety of shapes and motifs found in their ritual vessels and the sheer technical complexity involved in producing them. The Zhou, one of a number of peoples who inhabited parts of northwest China, defeated the Shang and established a capital in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. This early part of the dynasty is known as the Western Zhou (c. 1050-771 BCE).
Bronze vessels were items of luxury and power throughout the entire Zhou period, and changes in the types and decoration of these vessels illustrate the many cultural and political shifts that characterize this long and complicated era of Chinese history. The placement of the handles of this you bucket, from side to side rather than front to back, and its simple form help date this vessel to the early part of the Western Zhou in the 11th to early 10th century BCE. The shape of the bucket, the horned animals that mark the joint between the handle and the vessel, and the decoration of writhing narrow dragons against a background of thunderclouds (leiwen)--found on the handle, the lid, and along the top and bottom of the vessel--derive from the art of the late Shang period. The words fu gui, "Father Gui," are cast into both the cover and body of this bronze vessel; this may be a reference to the person who commissioned the piece.
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The description of the Shang (c. 1700-c. 1050 BCE) and Zhou (c. 1050-221 BCE) periods in Chinese history as a Great Bronze Age stems from both the astonishing variety of shapes and motifs found in their ritual vessels and the sheer technical complexity involved in producing them. The Zhou, one of a number of peoples who inhabited parts of northwest China, defeated the Shang and established a capital in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. This early part of the dynasty is known as the Western Zhou (c. 1050-771 BCE).<P>Bronze vessels were items of luxury and power throughout the entire Zhou period, and changes in the types and decoration of these vessels illustrate the many cultural and political shifts that characterize this long and complicated era of Chinese history. The placement of the handles of this <I>you</I> bucket, from side to side rather than front to back, and its simple form help date this vessel to the early part of the Western Zhou in the 11th to early 10th century BCE. The shape of the bucket, the horned animals that mark the joint between the handle and the vessel, and the decoration of writhing narrow dragons against a background of thunderclouds (<I>leiwen</I>)--found on the handle, the lid, and along the top and bottom of the vessel--derive from the art of the late Shang period. The words <I>fu gui</I>, "Father Gui," are cast into both the cover and body of this bronze vessel; this may be a reference to the person who commissioned the piece.</P>
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