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Antiquities are man-made objects over 400 years old. The vast majority of well-preserved antiquities are items intentionally buried as funerary objects. Cultures that did not practice the burial of funerary objects have left us few intact items. Fortunately for us, the practice was common in China, from Neolithic times up to the Ming dynasty, and large numbers of bronze and ceramic objects have survived. Today it is possible for a collector of even average means to assemble a good representation of objects from throughout Chinese history.
The Zhou dynasty lasted from 1122-255 B.C. and was the longest lasting dynasty in Chinese history. The use of the name Zhou is a poor description of this period, as the Zhou were only one of several coexisting dynasties.
Even though iron was well known to the people of Zhou, this was really the height of the bronze age in China. Metal casting skills were far ahead of the Western world, with bronze being the metal of choice, even for purposes for which iron was much better suited (i.e. weapons, the axle fittings of chariots etc.). This is fortunate for us as bronze is far more likely to be preserved than iron, and many bronze artifacts of this period are both available and affordable.
The funerary goods of the Zhou tend to be full size and in most cases were actual objects of everyday life, rather then objects made specifically for burial. Large, full-sized vessels and actual bronze weapons are fairly common.
The House of Han ruled all of China for almost four hundred years from about 206 BC until about AD 220. Chin's population must have been very large at the time, as the artifacts of this period are commonly encountered and very affordable today.
We guarantee all objects that we sell to be genuine and as described. If any object we sell should be proven not to be genuine, we will issue an immediate refund.
Our selection of these items is always changing, so feel free to check this site regularly.
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