Bronze

Bronzes have been cast in China for about 3,700 years. Most bronzes of about 1500–300 bc, roughly the Bronze Age in China, are ritual vessels intended for the worship of ancestors, who are often named in inscriptions on the bronzes. Many were specially cast to commemorate important events in the lives of their possessors. These ritual vessels of ancient China represent possibly the most remarkable achievement in the whole history of metalcraft before modern times.

Bronze bells are another important form from this period. Perhaps the oldest class is a small clappered bell called ling, but the best known is certainly the zhong, a suspended, clapperless bell. Zhong were cast in sets of eight or more to form a musical scale, and they were probably played in the company of string and wind instruments. The section is a flattened ellipse, and on each side of the body appear 18 blunt spikes, or bosses, arranged in three double rows of three. These often show marks of filing, and it has been suggested that they were devices whereby the bell could be tuned to the requisite pitch by removing small quantities of the metal. The oldest specimen recovered in a closed excavation is one from Pudu Cun, dating from the 9th century bc.

Vast numbers of secular bronzes were cast. These include weapons, such as the zhi and ge dagger axes and the short sword; chariot and harness fittings; trigger mechanisms for bows; weights, scales, and measures; belt hooks; and mirrors. The last appear in great numbers from the 5th century bc onward. They are flat disks, with a central perforated boss by which they could be mounted on a stand. Their backs are covered with a maze of intricate relief designs and feature a diversified series of well-defined subjects. See also Chinese bronzes.

Iron

Iron began to take its place in the brilliant Bronze Age culture of China during the Qin dynasty (221–206 bc) and the Han dynasty (206 bc–ad 220). By the end of the 2nd century ad, bronze weapons had been almost completely supplanted, and iron had been generally substituted for bronze in common use in utensils and vessels of various kinds, tools, chariot fittings, and even small pieces of sculpture. These were commonly cast in sand molds, were patterned after bronze prototypes, and were typical of the Han period in style and decoration.

From the 9th century, iron increasingly took the place of bronze in China as a material for sculpture, especially in the north and under the Song dynasty. The few extant examples from the 11th century and later show work done on a larger scale and in coarser technique than the bronzes, though the modeling is usually more naturalistic.

Several iron pagodas, dating from the 10th to the 14th century and ranging in size from miniature models to towers 100 feet or more in height, give further evidence of the dexterity of the Chinese iron caster. The pagodas imitate, in detail, both the structural and decorative effects of the more common tile-roofed brick pagodas. Iron for temple furniture has long been in use, and a large number of the braziers, censers, caldrons, and bells found today in the temples are of iron.

In China in the 17th century the iron picture was developed, the craftsmen seeking to reproduce in permanent form through the medium of wrought iron the effects of the popular ink sketches of the master painters. When completed, these pictorial compositions were mounted in windows, in lanterns, or in frames as pictures. When in the latter form, a paper or silk background often bore the signature and seal of the maker, heightening the resemblance to a painting. The craft flourished in Anhui province and is still practiced, though with less patience and fineness than formerly.

Gold and silver

In ancient China gold and silver were rare. Gold was used as an inlay for bronzes in the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 bc), and between the 6th and the 2nd centuries, gilding and silvering were common. Dress hooks and small items of jewelry were sometimes cast in gold and silver and imitated the more usual bronze forms. Granular work—a technique that probably has an Indian origin—was used for jewelry.