Beyond Ritual Vessels: Artistic Innovation, Casting Technology, and the Social Life of Bronze Boxes in China during the Late Western Zhou to Early Spring and Autumn Periods
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70088/7xea4v35Keywords:
bronze boxes, bronze art, bronze casting technology, aesthetic transformationAbstract
Through a comprehensive review of the bronze boxes dating from the late Western Zhou to the early Spring and Autumn period, this study analyzes the societal context that gave rise to the emergence of these vessels, including transformations in the social power structure, the decline of the Zhou royal house, and the rise in the power and status of the regional lords. As the powerful regional states grew wealthy, the spiritual demands and aesthetic pursuits of the regional lords and the aristocrats correspondingly transformed. The bronze boxes of this period thus functioned as non‐ritual daily‐use objects of the aristocracy and afforded spiritual pleasure to the regional rulers, satisfying their pursuit of beauty in everyday life. Because these square boxes predominantly employed animal sculptures and human figures as decoration, the required level of craftsmanship was exceptionally high; consequently, their production techniques remained a regional casting technology, circulating primarily in the royal domain centered on southern Shanxi, where the handicraft industry was relatively well developed.References
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