TY - JOUR

T1 - THE FRACTAL CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE BRONZE AGE ART

AU - Makovicky, Emil

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023, Symmetrion. All rights reserved.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Famous representational and religious bronze vessels of the blossoming Chinese Bronze Age (about 2200 – 700 BC) were made by casting molten bronze into molds composed of several ornamental panels. The latter were prepared with abstract design based on highly schematized animal face (taotie), sometimes with schematic dragon bodies added, and consisting of several orders of hook-to-full spiral elements. The largest, 1st order elements are often covered by arrays of smaller, 2nd order elements, and larger arrays of these, by 3rd order arrays. Linear and/or branched arrays of 3rd order spirals cover spaces and fields between higher order elements, as well. The three-tier design, with a semiregular distribution of different orders dictated by a compromise between the rules of abstraction and zoomorphism, unity of principles over three orders of importance, as well as maintenance of inclusivity condition, and statistical self-similarity of the design, imparts to the Chinese Bronze Age art a fractal character. This character has been preserved and even further intensified over a considerable time span.

AB - Famous representational and religious bronze vessels of the blossoming Chinese Bronze Age (about 2200 – 700 BC) were made by casting molten bronze into molds composed of several ornamental panels. The latter were prepared with abstract design based on highly schematized animal face (taotie), sometimes with schematic dragon bodies added, and consisting of several orders of hook-to-full spiral elements. The largest, 1st order elements are often covered by arrays of smaller, 2nd order elements, and larger arrays of these, by 3rd order arrays. Linear and/or branched arrays of 3rd order spirals cover spaces and fields between higher order elements, as well. The three-tier design, with a semiregular distribution of different orders dictated by a compromise between the rules of abstraction and zoomorphism, unity of principles over three orders of importance, as well as maintenance of inclusivity condition, and statistical self-similarity of the design, imparts to the Chinese Bronze Age art a fractal character. This character has been preserved and even further intensified over a considerable time span.

KW - abstract spiral-based patterns

KW - Anyang period of Shang dynasty

KW - bronze vessels

KW - Chinese Bronze Age art

KW - fractal character

U2 - 10.26830/symmetry_2023_1_087

DO - 10.26830/symmetry_2023_1_087

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85173873879

VL - 34

SP - 87

EP - 104

JO - Symmetry: Culture and Science

JF - Symmetry: Culture and Science

SN - 0865-4824

IS - 1

ER -