Four Shang Bronzes

How can a collection of only four pieces be
beneficial to an entire field of scholarship? Would
anyone disagree that more information about a subject
is a good thing? However, information about the
individuals who inhabited a specific society is just
as important as generalized information about a
culture as a whole. Insight into the life of the
individual allows us to see ourselves. Fellowship can
be achieved between people separated by time and space.
Consisting of a li-ding, a gu, a jue, and a hu, the
four vessels reveal social status, personality, and
perhaps in two cases, even a name. They are treated
separately in order to give each work of art the
attention it deserves. They are described and
analyzed according to form and detail. And an attempt
was made to interpret the inscriptions on two of the
vessels.
"The Buffalo Collection" does not house examples on
the level of those buried with Fu Hao, nor are these
the terra-cotta vessels of the lower-classes. Created
during the the Anyang Period, these bronze ritual
vessels belonged to the middle- and upper-middle
classes, who silently and loyally made the
bureaucracy function day after day.

Autorentext

Mrs. Laun received her Master in Arts degree in Art History fromthe State University of New York at Buffalo in 2008. Shelectures at SUNY College at Geneseo and the University atBuffalo. She is also the Associate Curator of the BuffaloReligious Arts Center where she continues to pursue her study ofvisual expressions of faith.

Klappentext

How can a collection of only four pieces bebeneficial to an entire field of scholarship? Wouldanyone disagree that more information about a subjectis a good thing? However, information about theindividuals who inhabited a specific society is justas important as generalized information about aculture as a whole. Insight into the life of theindividual allows us to see ourselves. Fellowship canbe achieved between people separated by time and space.Consisting of a li-ding, a gu, a jue, and a hu, thefour vessels reveal social status, personality, andperhaps in two cases, even a name. They are treatedseparately in order to give each work of art theattention it deserves. They are described andanalyzed according to form and detail. And an attemptwas made to interpret the inscriptions on two of thevessels."The Buffalo Collection" does not house examples onthe level of those buried with Fu Hao, nor are thesethe terra-cotta vessels of the lower-classes. Createdduring the the Anyang Period, these bronze ritualvessels belonged to the middle- and upper-middleclasses, who silently and loyally made thebureaucracy function day after day.