20 ASIAN ART Chinese Art ETERNAL


OFFERINGS CHINESE RITUAL


BRONZES FROM THE MINNEAPOLIS


INSTITUTE OF ART By Martin Barnes Lorber T


his an exciting and rare exhibition of archaic bronzes and later related material


because of two reasons: the fact that they are long-famous and that they have never been exhibited outside of the halls of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA). Now they are being exhibited at the Ringling Museum of Art, having travelled from their home in the far north to a venue in the deep southeast, providing an easier access for a large part of the country. Te exhibition comprises over 80


works of art from the MIA’s collection of archaic material. Not only are they remarkable for their quality and range, but because there are so many of them in one location. Tey comprise 71 archaic bronzes vessels and related works of art as well as 12 later works of art in bronze, jade and porcelain, created in imitation. Te subject of the


archaic Chinese bronzes, is highly complex because of its ritual, societal and other functions and as a brilliant introduction and explanation of China’s first great culture. Due to the studious and highly academic work by the curatorial staff at the MIA, there is a number of highly informative wall texts that are displayed with the bronzes. Tey cover all the categories of works of art


exhibition, principally as explanatory text to the various uses these bronzes had in early Chinese culture as well as an introduction to the culture at the time. Tere are sufficient details contained in them to satisfy even the most knowledgeable of visitors, but at the same time the texts are clear enough and welcoming enough to visitors who may never have encountered archaic bronzes before. Some of the categories covered are


their role in ancestral rites, as symbols of power and supremacy, as vessels for burial, as luxury items and art objects. Fortunately for us, there is a most welcome explanation on how inscriptions on bronzes can reveal more detail on the nature of rituals in which they were actually used. In addition there will be a section that explains the procedure of creating these bronze objects, a visual ‘how- did-they-do-that?’ It is a complicated and a fascinating procedure and one that is largely unchanged today. Even though the shapes of archaic


vessels are normally given names in their English equivalent, the Chinese actually have precise names for 96 specific shapes. Tere are 26 of these


and is a powerful protective symbol. It probably derives from the ancient Hindu demon, Kirtimukha, who was created as something of a super- demon to destroy the demons rampaging on earth. Having done his job, Vishnu was concerned that it itself may become unreliable,


so


Vishnu ordered the demon to devour itself. It began with its own feet and continued until it reached its armpits, at which time Vishnu ordered him to desist because he decided that the demonic face could be used over doorways and in


other places to


Celestial horse, Han dynasty, 1st/2nd century, bronze, 113.98 x 87.63 x 36.83 cm. Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton


exhibition,


specific shapes in this exhibition and these do not include names for objects such as spearheads,


ritual knives, displayed in the


supports, belt hooks, clothing buckles and the like. Te shapes represented are: libation vessel: jue; wine vessels: you, zun, gong, gu, lei and fangijia; food vessels: gui, li, li-ding, xu, fang-ding, dou, yu, and shengding: steamer: yan; water vessels: pan, yi and jian; storage vessel: hu; bells: bo and yongzhong. China was not the first culture to


discover how to make bronze, an alloy of copper, tin and lead, but was the first to create numbers of bronze objects, objects that soared to heights of size,


design, libation vessels, sophisticated


manufacture and quality. Bronzes first appeared in the Erlitou Culture (circa 2100-1600 BC), mainly in the form of


jue, of rather


spindly form and most lacking any decorative motifs. Te Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BC) followed and 500 years later, without much evidence of development of bronze forms and decorations,


gloriously large and


highly sophisticated bronze vessels appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Attention should be called to two


types of symbolic decoration which is seen on many Shang and later bronzes. Lei wen are square, concentric spirals arranged in rows as background for other designs. Tey were probably derived from Neolithic petroglyphs and incisions on pottery, probably as ancient protective symbols that are found worldwide. Te other is tao- tieh,


or ‘monster mask’ as it is


sometimes called. It is the ferocious, snarling face of a leonine type beast


ASIAN ART SUMMER QUARTER 2017


protect all of those within. It would appear that the Kirtimukha belief and iconography travelled to China and was incarnated as tao-tieh. It can be seen frequently on the sides of bronzes with a vertical flange depicting its nose


Tis ‘bronze age’ lasted through the


late Shang dynasty, Western Zhou dynasty (1046-771 BC), the Eastern Zhou dynasty (771-256 BC), which included the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) when the empire began to crumble, the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) with its wars of competition, the brief Qin dynasty (221-207 BC) of unification and modernization of society, and the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), after which works of art in bronze changed to small,


‘heavenly horse’ in the


Wine vessel (zun), in the shape of an owl, late Shang dynasty, 13th/12th century BC, Bronze, 31.75 x 20.96 cm. Bequest of Alfred F Pillsbury. All photos: Minneapolis Institute of Art


elements such as openwork edges to legs and flanges, small sculptural elements that rose well above the surface and the like. Decoration created by engraved designs filled with gold or silver foil came into fashion, but the result was a complex interference with the purity of the shape of the vessel itself. Also during Zhou,


especially


Western Zhou in the Warring States period, taste and demand arose for personal jewellery and ornaments, especially garment clasps and belt hooks in gold and gilt bronze with inlays in gold and silver and applied stones, especially turquoise, probably imported along the Silk Road from modern-day Afghanistan. In ancient China, the practice of


worshipping ancestors was almost a daily activity because the belief that there was life after death meant that there was a vital connection between the


Communal temples were built for ritual ancestor worship and bronzes were


created to serve in these


ceremonies. Tese formal affairs honoured the lives and virtues of the deceased, but also the debt that the living owed the dead for serving as examples on how to lead a correct and virtuous life. Bronzes, such as the ding,


rather simple utilitarian


objects or large sculptural works, such ‘money trees’ chariots with drivers and quadriga of horses as well as the prancing


exhibition. Te preceding Qin dynasty is known for little art-wise, except for the well-known ‘terracotta army’ which is sculpturally remarkable, but static, as opposed to the dynamic sense of movement in the bronze ‘heavenly horse’, vehicle for afterlife.


important as a transportation in the Te Qin/Han periods are being


brilliantly covered now, through 6 July, in the Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 BC-AD 220) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It received extensive coverage in the recent April 2017 issue of the Asian Art Newspaper. With the advent of the Zhou


dynasty, bronzes took on another purpose, that as symbols of display to show the ranks of the owner. In Shang bronzes, the decoration was limited to the surface and served as the symbolic elements connected to the vessel itself. In Zhou, the decoration became something in and of itself, comprising


important part of China’s first cultures


Bronze is an


had powerful symbolic meanings. Legend had it that the Yu the Great, ruler


of the Xia dynasty which


preceded Shang, had nine ding cast to represent the nine states of ancient China so that the ding itself became a symbol of state power and the right to rule.


Besides their use in ancestral deceased and the living.


worship, rites of spirit worship and as symbols of status and power, bronzes could, it was believed, that when buried with the deceased, continue to serve in the afterlife. We are familiar with archaic bronze vessels as burial objects, but some aristocrats and all commoners at the time could not afford the expense of bronzes. Frequently complete sets of ritual vessels were made in fired pottery. Tere is, however, one complete set made of lead, which I have personally seen, at the Heritage Museum in Norfolk, Virginia. Until the emergence of Buddhism


as a strong factor in Chinese beliefs during the Eastern Han dynasty (88- 220), the main belief during Shang and Zhou was spirit worship and the hierarchy of beings. Tis concept was based on the belief that the ‘best’ (or ‘anointed’, as it were), sat at the top of the social pyramid in order to help and protect those below. In China it meant that hierarchy began in the heavens and descended to the people through the conduits of the king and the royal court. Bronzes in this case served the purpose of maintaining this order on earth and in the afterlife and these bronzes of multiple forms and decoration also served the purpose of acknowledging, through ceremonies, offerings and sacrifice, the powers invested in those of high rank. Hence the great variety of bronzes in this exhibition. Bronze musical instruments, especially sets of bells,


became


Ritual bell (bo), Warring States period, 6th/5th century BC, bronze 62.55 x 46.04 x 35.56 cm. Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton


important accompaniments to rites connecting the living to the dead. Inscriptions on these bells, particularly during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046-771 BC), are great indicators of the culture of the period. One such inscription reads, ‘I made this set of harmonically tuned chime bells. Use it so as to please and exalt those who arrive in splendour [the living] and to let the accomplished men of former generations [ancestors] rejoice’. Tey were also important in regulating the social order because it was believed that without musical harmony, different social classes would not be harmonious, with each knowing his


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