Activity

Ancient China: Design Your Own Bronze Vessel

Duration

15–20 minutes
Downloads

Design Your Own Bronze Vessel (PDF)
Grade Levels

High School (9-12), Middle School (6-8)
Regions

China
Academic Topics

Beliefs, Looking at Art, Rituals & Celebrations
Academic Subjects

Art History, Visual Arts

View Gallery

2 Photos

Click though the gallery to view artwork

Ritual vessel in the shape of a rhinoceros, probably 1100–1050 BCE.

Ritual food vessel (fangding), approx. 1042–1021 BCE.

Ritual vessel in the shape of a rhinoceros, probably 1100–1050 BCE.

Ritual vessel in the shape of a rhinoceros, probably 1100–1050 BCE. China; unearthed in Liangshan, Shandong province, Shang dynasty (approx. 1600–1050 BCE). Bronze. Asian Art Museum, The Avery Brundage Collection, B60B1+. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

Ritual food vessel (fangding), approx. 1042–1021 BCE.

Ritual food vessel (fangding), approx. 1042–1021 BCE. China, Western Zhou period (approx. 1050–771 BCE). Bronze. Asian Art Museum, The Avery Brundage Collection, B60B2+. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

At the Asian Art Museum, most objects from the Shang Dynasty (1600–1050 BCE) come from tombs. These objects and the tombs themselves are among the only surviving physical records from early China and are the main source of what we know about the people of that time.

Many bronze vessels from this period are inscribed with text that commemorates important achievements or events. The inscription inside the museum’s bronze rhinoceros describes how a king rewarded a member of his court, while the inscription inside a square food vessel celebrates victory in battle. In this way, the bronzes are like trophies we might make today.

If you were to design a bronze vessel for a friend who has done something important for you, what shape would you make it? How would you decorate it? Would you use designs like the ones on the bronze vessels in the museum? What would you inscribe on it?