How Were Bronze Inscriptions Cast in Ancient China? New Answers to Old Questions

Ondřej Škrabal

Abstract

After many decades of scholarly consensus on how bronze inscriptions were cast in Chinese antiquity, over the past twenty years, archaeological discoveries as well as research on inscriptions’ specific features have undermined the long-established interpretation. In contrast to the traditional stance - that inscription moulds were prepared by impressions from a master pattern - the new interpretation argues that inscriptions were modelled from additional clay directly on the moulds. This article offers an overview of the genesis and main advantages of the new interpretation together with a detailed reconstruction of the technical procedure.

How Were Bronze Inscriptions Cast in Ancient China? New Answers to Old Questions

Abstract

Chapters in this book (59)