Painted Ceremonial Ax (Chinese, Shang Dynasty,(1600-1046 BCE). Qingzhou, Subutun Tomb (1961 CE). Bronze with Green Paint. From collection of Museum of the Asian Art, Berlin, Germany.
Brief Identification[]
A decorative ceremonial axe recovered from a tomb dating back to Shang-Dynsasty China (1600-1046 BCE). Excavation during a 1962 dig in Sufutun, Shandong Province (Now Known as Qingzhou) the item would be purchased by the Berlin Museum of Asian Art and held in its collection till the modern day. This item would be collected along with hundreds of other bronzes found at the site [See Bagley 1999, 229].
Crafted from bronze and painted green this artifact is purely decorative. This item would have been crafted to suit religious practices, and lacked practicality. Depicted on the blade is a man-like demon (Taotie) that originates from the religious beliefs of the Shang Dynasty. This pattern would be found on other axes in Shandong, with other similar axes being on display in other museums and collections.
Technical Evaluation[]
Being crafted from bronze the axe was formed through a technique of piece-mold casting. This would entail an artist creating a clay model, where either an object would be engulfed in clay or the clay would be sculpted into the a mirror of the object. Taking a cast of the model using bronze would create a mold for the bronze, allowing for the creation of numerous and detailed objects. Bronze would commonly by painted by lacquering it with green pigment before it was fired to preserve the color and the artwork [See Allison 2022]. Many other works would be created using similar methods, such as tripod vessels or spear heads.
The creation of this axe corresponds with explosive growth in bronze production in Shang China (1554–1046 BCE). This growth would be noted as ruins of foundries could be found surrounding the Shang capital of Anyang. These items would hold great religious purpose, as these “grave goods” would be used to honor the dead. These items would be recovered as tombs where discovered across the Shandong Province, with six tombs being excavated in Shandong from 1964-1965.
Anyang is an epicenter for both the creation and eventual discovery of these bronzes. No source was given on the exact tomb the axe came from, but numerous others were discovered through other tombs dating to a the Shang Dynasty. The Bronze age in china would unsurprisingly be the most prolific source of these bronzes in the years to come, with a majority of future artifacts coming from this period.
Local Historical Context[]
The ceremonial bronze axe was produced by the people of the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BCE), a hierarchical state centered along the Yellow River as both an economic and political hub. This period was an era of expanding political centralization, economic specialization, and religious tradition. The Shang kings of this era derived their power through religious stratification; directing large-scale labor and resources through rulers that would support court rituals and ancestor worship. This system of sacrifice would be subsidized and based in Totemic beliefs, as religion evolved within the empire.
The production of and use of axes as grave goods was common practice for thousands of year before the growth of the Shang, dating back to the Neolithic Age. Fu (utilitarian axes) and yue (battle-axes) would be crafted from stone or and frequently left at grave sites, with around a quarter of grave sites discovered during the neolithic containing an axe. A practice that would be preserved by the Shang as the axe’s cultural connotation would evolve. The ownership of an axe would be seen as a sign of authority and power, reducing the need for their practical use over stylistic choices. Qian writes that “these weapons played important roles in establishing and solidifying the royal power and made important influences throughout the time and space” [See Qian 2012, 124]. The axe would become a symbol of high class burial, with a majority of grave good axes being found in large burial sites like Sufutun.
Dualistic beliefs would accompany the rise of the dynasty, as old beliefs of ancestor sprites and nature gods are blended and used in conjunction with new systems of power within the Shang dynasty . The Taotie depicted on the blade acts as a example of this dualism, man and beast blended into a demonic figure [See Kesner 1991, 33]. As power would rise within the clans practices of ancestor worship would be emphasized, as a method for maintaining an justifying the Shang claim to power. Smith described the practices as “an elaborate system of rights, privileges and relationships which were already sacrosanct by tradition and made obligatory by a fixed obedience to the will of a tribal ancestors”[See Smith 1961, 144].
World-Historical Significance[]
The evolution and growth of the Shang state marks a major turning point in China’s history, as an evolution in both economic ability through the mass production of bronze and religious authority through ancestral worship [See Brown 2006]. Production of grave goods such as the axe allows insight into the elaborate production methods of the day that would be used by future dynasties and peoples as a way to craft highly-specialized objects out of bronze.
Along with this we see the rise of state authority, as the axe becomes a symbol of the growing power of Shang China. Usurpation of the surrounding areas of the yellow river would be maintained and grounded in religious worship that the axe was used in. It makes the axe a symbol of ability for the empire, in both its creation and its use. Shang China was strong and lasting as the axe for its clever use of finely shaped bronze for uses other than cutting. Similarly the religion practiced would be used for more, becoming a strong arm for the existence of the hierarchical state.
Bibliography[]
Museum of Asian Art, "Zeremonialaxt, Typ yue" https://recherche.smb.museum/detail/464652/zeremonialaxt-typ-yue?language=de&question=axt&limit=15&sort=relevance&controls=none&collectionKey=AKu*&objIdx=0
Haidai Rixin - Shandong History and Culture Opening Ceremony http://www.chinanews-vip.com/m/wx.php?aid=71124
Bagley R, Loewe M, Shaughnessy EL. Shang Archaeology. In: The Cambridge History of Ancient China: From the Origins of Civilization to 221 BC. Cambridge University Press; 1999:124-231.
Allison R. Miller; Painting Bronze in Early China: Uncovering Polychromy in China's Classical Sculptural Tradition. Archives of Asian Art 1 April 2022; 72 (1): 1–53
Shang and Zhou Dynasties: The Bronze Age of China https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/shang-and-zhou-dynasties-the-bronze-age-of-china
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Treasures from the Bronze Age of China: An Exhibition from the People's Republic of China (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980),
Kesner, Ladislav. “The Taotie Reconsidered: Meanings and Functions of the Shang Theriomorphic Imagery.” Artibus Asiae 51, no. 1/2 (1991): 29–53. https://doi.org/10.2307/3249675.
Smith, D. Howard. “Chinese Religion in the Shang Dynasty.” Numen 8, no. 2 (1961): 142–50. https://doi.org/10.2307/3269424.
https://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/the_shang_dynasty_1600_to_1050_bce