This is a scaled replica of the cultral relic Da Ke Ding from Shang period (approximately 17 century B.C. ~ 11 century B.C.). As an important bronze vessel for ceremony, Ding was used to symbolize social status and power of the owner. In addition, it served as cooking and banquet utensils and sacrificial offerings to ancestors. Unearthed from Famen Temple, Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province in 1890, now preserved in Shanghai Museum.

 

Da ke Ding belonged to an elite called Ke in the late Western Zhou. Measured 93.1 cm high and 201.5 kg, this Ding is huge and heavy. Its mouth rim is decorated with animal mask motif and its belly with smooth wave-like patterns. 290 characters, neatly engraved on the inner wall, are typical representative of bronze inscriptions during the mid and late Western Zhou dynasty. The inscriptions told the story that the King granted elite Ke with a noble title and lots of land and slaves because of his forefathers' merits. This Ding has been regarded as an important object to study economic system during the Western Zhou dynasty.

 

Three main categories of bronze artifacts exist: ritual vessels, luxury items and sometimes placed in tombs and weapons. Production quality peaked in the late Shang (B.C. 1600~B.C.1100) period. One characteristic form was the Jue, a ritual vessel standing on three legs, apparently intended for the warming of wine. The surfaces of most ritual vessels were commonly covered with stylized surface decoration. The most common motif was a mythical creature lacking a lower jaw known as the taotie mask. Many vessels carried inscriptions indicating why they had been cast and explaining their intended use.

 

The bronze replicas are made with the same lost wax method as the Shang artisans used thousands of years ago. Each item is modeled off the historical relic. Some original size products’ molds are from the original relics provided by Zhou Yuan Bronze Museum.

 

 

Chinese bronze artworks,

Size: 14.99cm*14.99cm*18.03cm

Weight: 3.5kg