The ritual bronzes were probably not used for normal eating and drinking they represent larger, more elaborate versions of the types of vessels used for this, and made in precious materials. Indeed, many surviving examples have been excavated from graves. On the death of the owner of a ritual bronze, it would often be placed in his tomb, so that he could continue to pay his respects in the afterlife other examples were cast specifically as grave goods. Details of these ritual ceremonies are preserved through early literary records. These ceremonies can be seen as ritual banquets in which both living and dead members of a family were supposed to participate. Such ceremonies generally took place in family temples or ceremonial halls over tombs. They were produced for an individual or social group to use in making ritual offerings of food and drink to his or their ancestors and other deities or spirits. From around 1650 BCE, these elaborately decorated vessels were deposited as grave goods in the tombs of royalty and the nobility, and were evidently produced in very large numbers, with documented excavations finding over 200 pieces in a single royal tomb. Ritual bronzes create quite an impression both due to their sophistication of design and manufacturing process, but also because of their remarkable durability. Sets and individual examples of ritual bronzes survive from when they were made mainly during the Chinese Bronze Age. Gū Shang dynasty Honolulu Academy of Arts ( Hawaii, USA)
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