Sun with spiral rays, solar disc, sun disc, ritual vessels

Ancient China. Ritual vessels Our granaries are all full, For our stacks were in their millions, To make wine and food, To make offering, to make prayer offering. That we may have peace, that we may have ease, That every blessing may be vouchsafed. Book of Songs, Translation by Arthur Waley Some of the most skilful pieces of metalwork the world has ever seen are the cast bronze vessels of the Shang dynasty (c. 1500-1050 BC). Because they were among the most important artifacts of their day, huge quantities of metal and of labour were used in their manufacture. The vessels were for religious ceremonies in which food and wine were offered to the ancestors. The dead were regarded, and continued to be regarded in later China, as forming a part of the whole society, and such offerings were prepared and served as in a banquet for the living. Very elaborate forms of ordinary eating and drinking utensils were used. About twenty different shapes were employed, which were derived from Neolithic