CHINESE BRONZE History.—The bronze products of China have been from the earliest times of so high a degree of excellence, both artistic and technical, that they may truly be classed among the fine arts. So early as any reliance can be placed upon records the Chinese appear to have been enthusiastic amateurs and collectors of bronzes, and up to the present day it is this very enthusiasm which has seemed to prevent a scientific attitude among Chinese anti quarians when the question of the dating of old bronzes is con cerned. Many volumes have been written in Chinese and Eu ropean languages, but the authoritative work has not as yet appeared. There are so many factors beside artistic merit which enter into the consideration of a bronze that facts have been collected and various theories advanced without arriving at any definite knowledge.
The bronzes in the Chinese collections may be divided roughly into two classes : (1) those whose surface has been worked over and (2) those which remain in the same condition as when they were first excavated. Those bronzes which have been for many years in famous Chinese collections have in most cases been worked over and vastly improved in appearance. Bronzes, as first excavated, should prove the most reliable documents, but scientific excavation is as yet hardly established in China, and it is difficult to ascertain the true facts concerning the finding of any piece which may come upon the market. Even though a perfectly reliable eye witness may testify to having been present at the excavation of a bronze, the chances are that he is not a trained archaeologist, and is unable to interpret correctly the conditions under which the bronze has been found. So far, we know of only one important excavation of bronzes which may be dated with any approximation of certainty. Remarkably fine specimens of bronzes exist in the collections of China, Korea, Japan, Europe and America, and the history of some of the pieces in the Chinese collections is known for several hundred years, for illustrated catalogues of bronzes were compiled during the Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1279), and have come down to us together with later and more copious works, some in many volumes. They include : a famous work called the Ting Lu, written in the 6th century by Yu Li, and another in 20 volumes called the San Li Tu written in the loth century by Nieh Tsung-yi. Both of these, however, have relied too much on imagination to be considered reliable. The most important early catalogue is in 3o volumes and dates from the Sung dynasty; its title is Hsiian Ho Po Ku T'ou Lu, and it was written in the 12th century by Wang Pu; it has been often reprinted. The most famous of all the catalogues is one in 42 volumes, compiled for the Emperor Ch'ien Lung and printed in 1751. It illustrates his splendid collection of bronzes in the Peking palace and is called Hsi Ch'ing Ku Chien. There are many others of which a number are devoted to a discussion of inscriptions on bronzes.
Treatises on bronzes were written during the Chou dynasty (I 122-255 B.c.) and from one of these we get our first informa tion about their manufacture. Indeed, so great is the respect for ancient bronzes in China that in the year 116 B.C., when an old bronze ting was found in the bank of a river in Shensi, the name of the reign was changed in honour of the event. The reverential attitude of the Chinese towards antiquity, the permanent nature of the metal alloy, and the fact that the earliest important bronzes are all of a ceremonial or sacrificial nature have combined to place them high in the esteem of Chinese connoisseurs from the earliest times.
A Chinese collector will not hesitate to date an old bronze a full dynasty earlier than would a cautious European or American col lector. Thus we are told that in many Chinese collections a considerable proportion of the bronzes were made in the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 B.e.) when such an attribution would seem to be based merely upon a pious hope. Since with some degree of certainty bronzes have been established as dating from the 5th century B.C., and are of accomplished workmanship, they are doubtless of more recent date than many others with which col lectors are familiar, but there are few trained archaeologists out side China who will venture to state that any known bronze is definitely of the Shang dynasty. Within the next few years it may be possible, from dated excavations yet to be made, to deter mine the types of manufacture sufficiently to attribute bronzes to the early or the late Chou dynasty (1122-255 B.c.) . That is, however, at present beyond the bounds of our knowledge. From Han times (206 B.C.—A.D. 220) we are on a somewhat firmer foot ing, and the recent excavations of Kozlov, in Mongolia, have shed a great deal of light upon Han civilization enabling us to place in the Han dynasty, with some assurance, bronzes that would otherwise have received a much later dating. Dated bronzes of the Six dynasties (A.D. 265-589) and the Tang dynasty (618-907) exist, but during the Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1279) the taste for reproducing old bronzes arose, and the manufacture was carried on side by side with contemporary designs, so a state of con fusion has resulted. It is highly probable that many of the so called ancient bronzes are comparatively modern copies of the Sung period. In such pieces anachronisms are noticeable in the type and use of decorative motives rather than in the appearance of the objects as a whole. We know a good deal about the porce lain of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), many pieces of which are dated, and a fairly good way of determining Ming bronzes is to compare them with Ming porcelains, which were often based upon bronze forms ; some of them were undoubtedly copied from early bronzes, but anachronisms are bound to creep in. Except for de liberate forgeries, of which quantities exist, there is little danger of con ?using a modern bronze with an ancient one, for little of the exquisite technique of the early bronze founders has survived. This is due rather to cheapness of production and careless slipshod methods, than to any loss of knowledge of the processes.
There have been several series of experiments conducted to determine the composition of early bronzes. One of the most com plete has recently been published by Prof. M. Chikashige, a Jap anese, who analysed chemically and physically a number of mir rors. It has been stated in a work pertaining to the Chou dynasty, but possibly of later date, the K'ao Kung Chi, that the proportions of copper and tin were definitely established for the making of bronzes for specific purposes. It is certain, however, that neither these metals nor any others were available to the Chinese in a form at all pure, so in all the alloys there are other metals present such as lead, zinc, antimony, iron and silver. Some of the early bronzes have a beautiful golden colour under the patina, and there are dealers who have not hesitated to state that this was due to the presence of large quantities of gold in the alloy. Chemical analyses show no gold.
The proportions used in the Chou dynasty, according to the K'ao Kung Chi, are as follows: 5 parts copper, i part tin for bells, gongs, kettles, ceremonial vessels and measures of capacity.
2 „ „ I „ „ „ two-edged swords, spades, hoes and similar aericultural implements.
I part copper, t part tin for mirrors.
The varying proportions of metals in the alloy would of course affect the colour, and we have, in consequence, a range from a cop pery red colour through lighter reds and golden yellow to the nearly pure silver colour of the mirrors. The surface of most ancient bronzes, when cleaned from deposits and patina, has a dull silvery colour due to mercury. This is said by some to be the result of the accidental presence of mercury in the alloy, which has worked to the surface during long years of burial. It is more probable, however, that the mercury was used deliberately to coat the surface of the bronze and thereby produce a silver-coloured plating in cases where the alloy itself was not white. The colours produced by age and careful manipulation, now so highly valued, were of no interest to the Chinese of early ages who preferred the bronzes to be of a steely colour.
All Chou bronzes can be characterized as dignified and massive in proportion. Whether they be large or small there is always an appearance of strength and solidity; and although not essentially clumsy, there is as yet little charm of contour such as would have been so essential to the Greeks. The few exceptions are in the profiles of some of the simpler tsun, and these are as sensitive in line as any works of art that have ever been made. So keenly was the line felt in such instances that the slenderness or sturdiness of the tsun was perfectly expressed in the quality of the profile, re gardless of bulk. There is crudity perhaps in the conception of some of the decorative motives, but it is the crudeness of concep tion of the Romanesque period, without any traces of its awkward ness of execution.
Chief among early bronze forms is the ting (rd) . Originally a tripod cooking pot, it assumed a great variety of shapes, some clumsy and topheavy, and others refined, but always sturdy. There is at present in the Buckingham collection in the Art Institute of Chicago, an unusually fine example of an early but refined type. It was formerly in the Tuan Fang collection. The patina is a beautiful tea-dust green, and has evidently been hand-polished for generations.
The hsien (, ) is generally a three-legged vessel the bottom section of which is covered by a perforated and sometimes hinged lid; it was a steamer often made in two parts, occasionally separable, and is really an archaic version of a cooking utensil well known in Chinese kitchens. It is always clumsy in form, as compared with other bronze forms, which may be another indi cation of its early origin.
The yu (6) is a covered bucket-like utensil with a swinging bale. It has a bulbous body, always elliptical in section, and the cover fits closely down over the neck. In some cases the swinging handle is so arranged that it moves through a limited distance, allowing only sufficient room for the easy removal of the lid. The function of the yu was the storage and transportation of sacrificial wine, or possibly of wine for less solemn occasions.
The tsun which, in its simplest form, is a cylinderlike beaker with concave sides, goes through a variety of changes in form without change of name. Some of the most beautiful of all the ancient bronzes are tsun. These beakers were used to contain liquids.
The yi () is a wide cup, generally with two handles, though some handsome variants are known with four. The handles are sturdy, with animal heads at the top and a rectangular pendant at the bottom. This form must originally have had significance, but its origin is lost. A few specimens have been found mounted upon a square hollow base, cast all in one piece, from under the top of which depends a loop. Some Chinese archaeologists claim that a bell originally hung from this loop, which rang when the yi was lifted. Although the bell is of very ancient origin in China it was without a clapper for some centuries after the yi in ques tion were made, so it seems hardly possible that a voiceless bell should have hung there. Bells were struck with a wooden mallet on the outer surface, and a person who held a heavy yi aloft in both hands could certainly not have struck a bell hanging beneath. The use of the loop remains therefore still problematical, and would not have been mentioned here were it not that it furnishes an excellent example of the fantastic speculations which have passed current in China as archaeology. The yi was used for offerings of grain.
Another form called yi, but differently written ([d), is some times the most fantastic of all the sacrificial vessels. These yi are often animal forms conventionalized into containers for sacrificial wine, and generally of a deliberately ugly or menacing aspect. The animals are usually not recognizable as members of any known species, but are extremely convincing, nevertheless.
A form called the hu () became very popular during the Han dynasty. It is a round-bellied jar with a spreading cylindrical neck, and a cylindrical foot. It has two ring handles suspended from flat tiger masks on the shoulders, and was used as a container for wine or water. Three of the finest of these examples are in the Buckingham collection. One bears engraved upon the neck four characters reading "Number seven eastern palace." Another of these jars approximately the same size and shape has the entire surface covered with an engraved pattern consisting of geometrical ornament and dragon-headed interlacing scroll patterns. Both these jars are of reddish bronze with a heavy gold plating, but the decorated jar has the pattern relieved in silver colour evidently obtained by painting the gold surface with mercury. The masks which support the handles of this jar are very crisply chiselled, and there can be little doubt that it is an imperial piece. The third of these jars is inlaid with a metal now much decomposed, but probably copper. A pattern of sprightly animals, facing each other in pairs, and in different registers, alternating with spirals gives vigorous decoration over the entire surface. The form of the jar is extremely simple, but it is saved from monotony and raised to a high degree of beauty by the unusual vitality of the decorating shapes.
Bells and mirrors deserve special mention. Fine bronze bells of the early periods have long been highly esteemed by Chinese collectors, particularly when they bear inscriptions, and an inscribed bell was always considered superior to an uninscribed one of greater artistic merit. The forms of early bells are all more or less alike, and they may be generally considered as repre senting one class, although there is a great variety in proportion and in the surface decoration. Most of the bells have projecting bosses, sometimes called nipples, arranged in regular pattern on the surface, and these have given rise to some amazing specu lations among Chinese amateurs. Perhaps the most amusing is that they are the survival of tuning pegs, such as are used at present in harps and pianos. It is claimed that strings or wires were stretched between them and that the bells were tuned to various musical pitches. A simpler solution of the problem would be that they represent rivets which in early times fastened plates of metal together in bell forms before bronze could be easily cast. The bells are all flat in section, like pointed ellipses, and this form could easily develop from metal plates.
Mirrors were probably introduced from the West, as highly artistic metal mirrors were in use in Greece some time before they seem to have appeared in China and crude earlier Scythian examples are known. With one or two possible exceptions the earliest Chinese mirrors we know date from the Han dynasty. The earliest examples are circular and very simple. The reflecting surface is as a rule slightly convex, and the back is decorated with concentric bands of geometrical patterns. Ritualistic mir rors sometimes had concave reflecting surfaces. Sometimes there are birds or beasts in raised outline, and sometimes characters and signs of the zodiac in the field inside the bands. A boss in the exact centre, pierced from side to side, allowed the passage of a cord which was twisted into a tassel and used as a handle for the mirror. Some of the finest mirrors date from the T'ang dynasty. The backs are covered in high relief with intertwining patterns of vines, leaves, birds and running animals, and are reminiscent of Persian taste as well as the repousse silver work done in Asia Minor from Hellenistic times. Caravans were passing continually between China and the West, and, from the time of the Han dynasty, outside influences become a distinct factor in the devel opment of all the crafts of China.
Much has been said about the style of the Chin dynasty, a period of less than 5o years between the Chou and the Han, filled with uproar and confusion. There is little doubt that many prac tices of the Chou dynasty came to a rather abrupt end, but styles do not end with one dynasty nor begin with another, and it is doubtful if such a thing actually exists as a Ch'in style. The use of bronze became more widespread among the people during the Han dynasty, and from that time its uses multiply. There are splendid representations of animals, generally on a very small scale, singly, and in fantastic groupings. These occur from Han to T'ang.
During the Six dynasties it became the custom to cast votive figures in gilt bronze, and the monasteries seem to have made a practice of keeping large numbers of these on hand, ready for dedication by the pious. It is from the inscriptions engraved on the bases at the time of such dedications that we have gained much of our information on sculptural characteristics and religious practices of the Wei and Tang dynasties.
From the end of the Chou period there is a tendency to sim plify bronze forms and rely upon engraved or inlaid patterns in place of the early decorations in relief. During the Sung dynasty the keen delight in archaeological research prompted the manu facture of exact counterparts of early forms, as well as all sorts of archaistic approximations. Very few Ming bronzes have much to recommend them as works of art. They are generally the products of the virtuosity of mediocre craftsmen, produced at a time when lavish decoration had taken the place of purity of form.
Inscriptions.—In the identification of ancient bronzes the Chinese lay great stress upon inscriptions. There is still some doubt as to the meaning of certain of the ancient characters, but most of the inscriptions can be read. They vary in length from one character to several hundred, and often give accounts of historical events and the names of personages, but without dates, and with out sufficient detail to make attributions to definite times or places anything more than conjectural. One of the longest on record is in the South Kensington museum, London. The shorter inscriptions read : "To the venerable father," "I have dedicated this bronze to my father Ting," "Serviceable for sons and grand sons," etc. There are also single marks, more or less pictographic, some of which represent animals, birds or men. The meaning of others is not at all clear.
As bronzes with inscriptions bring higher prices, many deal ers have felt it their duty to see that all bronzes in their pos session bore the right, or wrong type of inscription. Many bronzes, perfectly genuine, excellent specimens artistically, have had inscriptions added at a later date, in characters sometimes mean ingless. In the ancient bronzes the inscriptions were cast in the surface like the ornament, and it is practically impossible to imitate a cast inscription by means of engraved characters, so a microscope, and even the eye alone will detect the added inscrip tion. This is not, however, a practice of recent origin, and some very fine bronzes of the Chou dynasty bear inscriptions in Shang or Chou characters which were added to them several hundred years later.
Of the non-geometrical decorative forms of the Chou dynasty the T'ao-t'ieh, or ogre's head is the favourite. Often it is repre sented only by a pair of eyes—hemispherical bosses with an incised centre. Sometimes the upper part of a face is indicated, but the lower jaw is never shown, so it appears, even in its most complete form, as a sort of mask. It is abstract, but nevertheless there is something intense about it which has an awe-inspiring effect even upon the uninitiated. In late Chou bronzes, zoomorphic forms are sometimes arranged in opposition so as to form parts of a T'ao-t'ieh. In spite of many and ingenious theories it is still uncertain what the T'ao-t'ieh represents, but his representa tion is always easily identified.
Animal heads are often used as ornamental bosses in the centre of a band of decoration, and as handle ends on the swinging bales of the yu. Some of the heads are horned and some are not. Some have spreading mouselike ears. They are variously identi fied, but none of them seem closely patterned after nature. They are abstractions based upon animals rather than animal por traits.
In considering the decorative zoomorphic motives on Chou bronzes and those of similar design it might be safe to say that a recognizable animal always argues a comparatively late date. We can see bird-like, and animal-like forms, and even very close like nesses of the cicada, which lends itself easily to geometrical con ventionalization, but as soon as elephants, or other recognizable animals appear we realize that the piece is later in date or even archaistic.
Very noticeable as decorative forms are the projecting flanges on the corners of square bronzes, or dividing the surface of the round bronzes into vertical panels. It is one of the favourite motives of the Chou dynasty. As will be noticed in the illustra tions they are usually cut and perforated into decorative forms. In some cases they are so fantastic as to detract from the beauty of the piece.
One sees no reason to doubt that their origin was the project ing "fins" which are always left in castings from piece moulds, and that long after the piece moulds had ceased to be used for fine bronzes, the decorative descendants of their "fins" were cast, as ornamental motives.
In the Han dynasty, and later, there is a great deal of inlay ing in gold lines of the most elaborate patterns. Evidently a new flood of folk-lore from outside sources was pouring over China at that time, and all sorts of animals and warlocks chase each other through mountains and clouds. There was then a breaking away from the heavy and sombre traditions of the Chou dynasty and a tremendous expression of energy. Many of these inlaid gold bronzes have recently come to light and have been ably dis cussed by Rostovtseff in his book "Inlaid Bronzes of the Han Dynasty." The animals or spirits, or whatever the forms repre sent, were in most cases animals not seen or known—heard of perhaps in wild tales of barbarian tribes, or copied from foreign animal motives imperfectly understood; imagined, or evolved as personifications of the forces of nature.
During the Han dynasty the tale of the Kun-lung mountains with their peachtree on which grew the peaches of longevity was popular, and the "hill" type of incense burner came into being. Though prevalent in Han pottery, in bronze it is hardly met before the Six dynasties, and then, although the conical cover moulded to resemble mountain peaks hardly changed its shape, the cylin drical base most common in pottery was replaced by forms of greater fancy and grace. Coiling dragons of strength and vigour often supported the censer in their jaws.
Dragons were not very common as bronze decorations before the Han dynasty. It has been proved that they were a compara tively late importation from the west, but from T'ang times onwards they are the commonest of all decorative motives. Taoist figures become popular in Sung and Ming times, such as Lao Tzu, riding upon an ox and in the following centuries bronze has been the medium for comparatively trivial ideas. The majesty of the early days is gone forever. A conspicuous exception, how ever, is the set of large bronze astronomical instruments cast in 1279 for the observatory on the walls of Peking. The Ming emperors sought dignity on an enormous scale, and huge bronze vessels and dragons were cast for use in the palace and the palace grounds, but few of them were successful and most were extremely awkward and ungainly.
The walls of early bronze vessels, except for the basin-like ones, are generally thick, and the walls of later bronzes are always com paratively thin. The early bronzes show a tenseness of conception, the later ones a suavity of line and simplicity of mass that tends to become insipid. All the handles and other freestanding parts of early bronzes seem so perfectly suited to their function and the needs of the design that they appear inevitable. The handles on Ming and Ching bronze jars are frequently monstrosities, violating all design canons. The decoration on early bronzes seems always produced with the particular piece in mind, but in the later bronzes it is simply a matter of stock patterns applied with dies and stamps.
Patina.—Inasmuch as an interesting patina will to-day bring a high price for a bronze of little or no artistic merit some discus sion of patinas may be useful here. True patination is produced by chemical changes brought about by the action on the bronze of chemicals in the soil in which it is buried, hastened more or less by the amount of moisture present. Some bronzes have been found in water, which produces a distinctive effect, and some are thought never to have been buried. Europeans and Americans prefer a green patina, and the Chinese consider that a velvety black is the best. Good patinas are very appealing in colour and texture, particularly if they have rec ived careful grinding and polishing for generations, so it is noP surprising to find bronzes in many museums which have absolutely no merit beyond the acci dental one of colour. When a bronze is excavated its surface is naturally covered with dirt and incrustations more or less thick, underneath which is the patina caused by the disintegration of the metal surface and its combination with elements which sur round it. If the patina is thick and its colour good it may be care fully ground down and polished away until the resultant bronze is actually the handiwork of a more recent craftsman who has carved out of the heavy patinated surface the original form of the bronze. The favourite Chinese method is to polish with the bare hand, relying on the oils of the skin for the sole lubrication. Generations of such polishing by hosts of patient servants has given to many famous bronzes their charm of colour. At the present time many bronzes are coming on the market just as they have been excavated, and there is an evident attempt to preserve all dirt which can be made to cling to the surface. Many European collectors wax and polish the surfaces of their bronzes, but the practice is not followed in America.
Unscrupulous dealers have not hesitated to apply artificial patinas to genuine old bronzes to increase their saleability, and this is done in a variety of ways. The simplest method is to paint them. Watercolour paints will wash off in water, and turpentine or naphtha will act as a solvent to oil colours, so these methods of falsification are easily detected. Sodium silicate, which is very slow to dissolve, is often used and in Japan exceedingly clever work is done with coloured lacquers. Waxes are used also. There is, unfortunately, no way to be absolutely certain that a bronze is genuine, but there are many ways of finding out when they are not genuine. A true patina is not easily damaged. Boiling a few hours in water, and washing with paint and varnish solvents will easily remove the more recent traces of antiquity. The lacquer does not come off so easily, but where lacquer, or a silicate, has been applied, the surface beneath is generally roughened so that if a small bit of the surface is exposed, the artificial roughening can be seen. The true patina has actually eaten into the surface and cannot in most cases be easily removed. Where the process of patination has gone far the entire bronze shell is sometimes changed in composition, and if genuine fragments of ancient bronzes are examined it will be seen that the patina penetrates deep below the surface, sometimes leaving only a slight core of the original bronze which, too, has changed in composition, if not in colour, and has become extremely brittle. On the other hand under different conditions the strength, the toughness and even the appearance of old bronzes have been little affected. Some very careful forgeries have been made by applying fragments of true malachite to the surface of the bronze with lacquer. Some types of bronze patina are actually like malachite in structure, appearance, and chemical composition, but forgeries of this type may be detected under the magnifying glass by observing the stratifications of the colour layers which will not harmonize with each other.