Engraved Tusk with Carved Decoration of Cicadas and Dragons

A highly religious and ritualistic society, the Shang established their dynastic kingdom in northern China around 1600 BCE. Their king served as the intermediary between his subjects, a powerful god known as Shang Di, and deceased ancestors that the Shang believed could intercede on their behalf. The extraordinary emphasis placed on ancestor worship and state ritual during the Shang dynasty necessitated the production of massive numbers of bronze vessels and ceremonial weapons. Specific types of bronze vessels for cooking, warming, or serving sacrificial offerings of food and wine were required for ceremonies designed to feed and appease ancestral spirits. Like their ceramic prototypes, bronze legged vessels could be placed over a fire for heating. Covered vessels protected their contents from spills or contamination. Ceremonial weaponry, such as the jade blades with turquoise-inlaid bronze hafts displayed here, were an important part of state regalia, as Shang rulers owed their domination over neighboring societies to their military prowess. Ritual bronzes and weapons were essential burial objects, for they represented the power and authority that the deceased intended to take with him into the afterlife.