Bronze is an alloy of copper, tin and lead. Because it is blue-gray, it is called bronze. Bronze ware mainly refers to the artifacts cast with bronze in the pre-Qin period.
China ancient bronze culture and art, represented by Xia, Shang and Zhou bronzes, is rich in variety, magnificent in shape, beautifully decorated, well-cast, and far-reaching, and unique in the bronze age of mankind. Its brilliant achievements have made epoch-making achievements and contributions to promoting the evolution and progress of world civilization. Museums and art galleries all over the world regard Chinese bronzes as important objects in their collections, and collectors of past dynasties even regard bronzes as treasures of towns and houses, which have been passed down from generation to generation. The artistic realm reached by Chinese bronzes is unprecedented and wonderful.
China's bronzes are not only rich in variety, but also have unique artistic characteristics, which have always been the treasures of Chinese and foreign collectors. Because the bronze ritual vessels have the most diverse shapes, which can best reflect the artistic characteristics of bronzes, collectors have been paying attention to traditional collections such as Ding, Yi, Zhong, Gui, Zun, Jue and Dou for thousands of years, especially the ritual vessels with inscriptions, which are the focus of pursuit and search. Originally, the number of bronze ritual vessels handed down from generation to generation was small, but the demand was increasing, so bronzes were always expensive, especially rare and fine products, which could only be enjoyed by royal nobles and wealthy businessmen.
Chinese bronzes have the following characteristics: First, they have a long history and are all said to be three generations of bronzes. In fact, the most important thing refers to the period when bronzes reached their peak from the middle and late Shang Dynasty to the middle Western Zhou Dynasty. Second, bronzes have brought China's original carving and ornamentation art to an unprecedented level. Third, compared with other works of art, the quantity is small, because bronzes were used by nobles in the court at that time and were very precious at that time. Because most bronzes are buried underground, they are damaged by underground corrosion and tomb collapse. Only about 10% of the unearthed bronzes are intact.