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Product Description
SEE MORE ANCIENT ASIAN ARTIFACTS
Dating from 1000 BC to 100 AD, the Dong Son culture is believed to be Asia's first civilization for ancient bronze casting. This is a very rare original stack of seven cast bronze bangle bracelets that were meant as a ritual offering. Amazingly, they are still in their original offset position stacked, completely encrusted together. They were originally completely covered in calcite deposits to where you could not see what was under the stone layer. We used pneumatic tools in our lab, to carefully expose the outer layer of the stack, but we left much of the interior encrustations intact on the inside so that the bracelets were still kept together in the same way they were placed 3000 years ago. Because the bronze surfaces were completely coated in stone, they were protected from the exposure of the elements and the patina they took on over the ages, became the most beautiful vibrant blue-green hues we have seen in any Dong Son bronze.
This is an extremely rare opportunity to acquire an offering bronze hoard, still encrusted in its original 3000 year old arrangement. This is the entire set is as found and it represents a treasure hoard of what was probably an offering to the spirits or past family members. The religious practices were animistic and totemic in nature. Complete hoard sets like these are extremely scarce and rarely kept intact like this.
Requiring great skill in their crafting, these ancient Dong Son bronzes demonstrate a highly developed and artistically talented society that once thrived in ancient Southeast Asia. Objects like these were reserved for wealthy and noble class citizens of this culture.
This genuine ancient metal object has been professionally cleaned and conserved in our lab, the metal treated to protect against corrosion. Caution when acquiring UNTREATED ancient metal objects as they are extremely hygroscopic (attract moisture from the atmosphere), and are highly prone to corrosion and severe deterioration, over time. Every metal antiquity we sell is always cleaned and conserved in ways that exceed museum standards, to protect and preserve the object for the future. This is extremely rare in the public antiquity market.
HISTORY
The Dong Son culture (named for Đông Sơn, a village in Vietnam) was a Bronze Age culture in ancient Vietnam centered at the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam from 1000 BC until the first century AD. It was the last great culture of Văn Lang and continued well into the period of the Âu Lạc state. Its influence spread to other parts of Southeast Asia, including Maritime Southeast Asia, from about 1000 BC to 1 BC.
The Dong Son people, who are also known as Lạc or Lạc Việt, were skilled at cultivating rice, keeping water buffalo and pigs, fishing and sailing in long dugout canoes. They also were skilled bronze casters, which is evidenced by the Dong Son drum found widely throughout northern Vietnam and South China.
The origins of Dong Son culture may be traced back to ancient bronze castings. The traditional theory is based on the assumption that bronze casting in eastern Asia originated in northern China. However, according to archaeological discoveries in Isan, Thailand in the 1970s, the casting of bronze began in Southeast Asia first. The Dong Son bronze industry has a local origin, equivalent in timing to the Gò Mun culture, 700-500 BC. This includes bronze axes, spearheads and knives. This was followed by daggers, swords, drums, and situla from 500-0 BC. Finally, Chinese seals, coins, mirrors and halberds appear in the first century AD.
