ARTH183 1st EditionExam # 2 Study Guide Lectures: 11 -20 Lecture 11 (September 29th)Shang-Dynasty China Bronzes“Tripod Wine Vessel (Jia).” Bronze. Shang Dynasty, 1300-1200 BCE: Jia are usually three-legged, held wine that would have been ladled out; wine was served warm, so its height may have been so it could be placed over coals. Two post features (often seen on Shang bronzes) areof unknown use-maybe for lifting out of fires? This saggy, pear-shaped form is characteristic of late Shang bronzes; it is fairly small, but some bronzes were very large-Totally covered in designs, including taotie with thunder pattern background. Handles also often feature animal heads. Taotie=“animal mask” feature, a large and important motif whose meaning is not really known (decorative vs. symbolic significance); looks like an animal face split in half, has a nasal ridge, eyes, usually a horn, upper jaw, claws, and trailing parts on the side, possibly meant to be a paw and tail. “Thunder pattern”=abstracted square spirals (doesn’t actually represent thunder).-The labor-intensive and complex piece-mold casting technique is native to China (developed without Western influence); encourages forms with contained silhouettes, prompting the need to develop ways to create more complex forms“Wine Vessel (Guang) in Form of Composite Animal.” Bronze. Shang Dynasty, 1300-1200 BCE: Shows imagination of the Shang people in merged animal form; these vessels where the form is treated sculpturally are fairly unusual-Has animal mask on lid, then an owl face, a tail in the form of some snub-nosed animal, a big wing that is actually composed of a serpent…every inch of the piece is covered in imageryShang Dynasy large tomb mounds (tumuli) made them very easy to identify and rob, so most of the tombs of Shang kings have been looted-one tomb that survived was that of Lady Hao, consort/wife of the king Wu Ding. The tomb was excavated in 1976. Lady Hao seems to have held a very important position and active role, and is mentioned in some oracle bone inscriptions-Tomb consisted of rectangular pit with entrance ramps; contained a wooden coffin within a larger wooden container, 16 sacrificial human victims, 6 dogs, over 1600 objects and a bunch of cowrie shells (used for currency)-“Owl-Shaped Wine Vessel (Zun).” Bronze, Tomb of Lady Hao. Shang Dynasty, ca. 1200 BCE: Has interior inscription showing it was made for Lady Hao. A lidded tripod vessel whose 3 legs are made up by the owl’s legs and tail. A snake makes up the form of the wing, 1 handle is in the form of a creature, there is a duck on the head, another owl face on the bottom,and multiple other zoomorphic forms included. Zun are not usually sculptural, so this is unusual.Bronzes at SanxingduiMoving outside of the Shang kingdom, there are other cultures making their own art;they probably had contact with the Shang, but are all unique and create distinct works. The site at Sanxingdui in Sichuan province is a fairly recent archaeological discovery of pits with animal remains dating back to the time of the Shang Dynasty but outside of the Shang kingdom. Objects inside the pits include bronzes and elephant tusks.-“Standing Figure.” Bronze. Shang era, ca. 1300-1100 BCE: Earliest large-scale sculpture seen in China (8 feet tall); also unique and rare for being a sculpture of a human figure(we are not sure of the subject)*Very abstracted representation: body is very long, thin, and square-shaped; arms are strangely positioned and hands are strangely formed, leading to belief the figure must have been holding something at one time (maybe one of the elephant tusks). The figure stands on a plinth on top of upside-down animal mask forms, very elevated. It wears a cap and several layers of clothing, some with patterns similar to what you would have seen in Shang bronzes (shows there was probably interaction between the 2 cultures). The face is highlyabstracted (large, almond-shaped eyes, triangular wedge nose, two horizontal lines for mouth), looking more like a mask than a real human faceAnother thing that sets apart the pits at Sanxingdui is that everything was just thrown in the pits and burned as some sort of sacrifice, a practice not seen outside of this southwestern area during the Shang Dynasty.Lecture 12 (October 1st)Qin-Dynasty ChinaInner China was not united and consisted of multiple kingdoms in the period before the Qin; the period immediately before the Qin is called the “Warring States Period.” The Qin emerge out of this era of conflict as the 1st imperial dynasty of China. The 1st Qin emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, gives us the Chinese term for “emperor” and creates a model later rulers will try to match or do better than in unifying areas of China; he also standardizes weights, currencies, writing, and creates the first Great Wall to try and keep out raiding nomadic tribes-Qin capital was at the modern city of Xi’an; there were multiple palaces, but no substantial remains exist-The main site associated with the 1st Qin emperor’s reign is his large, walled tomb complex; the tomb itself hasn’t been excavated for fear of damaging artifacts*Tumulus=a large mound of earth marking a burial site-To the east of the tomb a large ceramic army was found buried in pits on the compound (an accidental discovery). The largest pit contains over 6,000 figures; the total number of figures including the smaller pits is around 8,000-“Cavalryman and Saddled Horse.” Tomb complex of the First Emperor of Qin. QinDynasty, ca. 210 BCE: Shows China was transitioning from chariot to cavalry warfare. Originally had real bridles and riding accoutrements; human figure is typically frontal and stiff, while the horse shows some rendering that hints at underlying bone structure but also a level of abstraction*Figures were all originally coated with lacquer and painted in bright colors, which would have helped identify what division they served in*All the soldiers would have originally had weapons made of theappropriate real material; some figured hand positions show they were once resting on a sword pommel*Faces are fairly individualized, but not all one-of-a-kind*Shows high level of detail and relative naturalism present in figures, careful creation of costume/armor elements, hair *Use of hieratic scale helped show rank/standing(soldiers with a higher rank were physically taller, with officers being the tallest)-Technique: The figures were made in