Yunnan bronze work of the Warring States period is contrasted with that of the Western Han Dynasty period in works selected by the curators of the Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming.  The following are selections from an exhibition held at the National Museum of China in Beijing, 2004. 

Bronze is a metal primarily comprised of copper and tin but some lead may be added.  Bronze has been used for implements in China since the Xia Dynasty (2100 BC to 1600 BC). During the Shang (1765 BC to ~1122 BC) and Zhou periods (1045 BC to 221 BC) new, more elaborate forms were developed and the bronze age reached its height during the Han period.  During the earliest times, bronze items focused on ritual objects and themes, gradually more attention was placed on scenes from everyday life.  It is this transition that signals the Second Bronze Age.  The change was very gradual, forms were used for hundreds of years. For example, you cannot use a theme or form to identify an object as coming from the Warring States (475-221 BC) versus the Han period (206 BC - 220 AD).  Take a look at the buckles illustrated below. The composition of the buckle found in Lijiashan showing three wolves attacking a goat is very similar to the later buckle found in Shizhaishan of three tigers carrying an ox. 

During the Warring States and Western Han Periods, Yunnan was ruled by the Dian culture.  The king of the Dian had a loose political relationship with the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 24 AD) and by the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220 AD) Yunnan and the Dian people had been brought under the rule of the Han.  The items shown here are from the height of the Dian culture. 

During the later bronze age, bronze was used both for practical and ritual items.  The most elaborate items are often found in gravesites.  Artists not only used patterns in their works but also depicted scenes from daily life, giving a glimpse of the social and cultural customs of the time. 

The cowrie containers are particularly interesting because they show people engaged in activities such as training horses, weaving, tending livestock, and offering tribute.  Cowries were used as the unit of exchange, as money, throughout Asia and Africa.  They are the shells of snails found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.  Cowries are lightweight and can be strung on strings for easy transportation.  Storing them created an art form.  The cowrie containers were used both within the household and in burial sites.  Wealthier people must have commissioned elaborate containers to symbolize their status.  Today they give us an idea of what people did and what they valued. You can see that the Dian people wore their hair in topknots of various styles, wore tunics over short pants, and decorated their clothing.  Hunting and communal activities are also illustrated.

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