Decorated models, Replication, and Assembly lines for Bronze industrial production in 500 B.C.E. China
Publication Name
Early China
Abstract
This article examines the earliest examples of replication of bronze objects of complicated structure in China. It uses four quadrupeds from the Freer Gallery (National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution), the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the British Museum, and the Yūrinkan Museum in Kyōto as examples to illustrate the complex technology required in replicating bronzes. It provides evidence to define identical bronzes and proves that the four quadrupeds shared the same decorated model. The application of section-mold casting, spacers, clay cores, and mold section assemblage will be examined using 3D scanning, X-ray photography, computerized tomography (CT) scanning, and alloy composition analysis.
Open Access Status
This publication is not available as open access
Volume
44
First Page
109
Last Page
142
Funding Number
2018/1337
Funding Sponsor
Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee