takes place. While this decor is significant in the meaning behind these works, the animal and fantastic creature ornamentation does not have an exact intended purpose for the bronzes, and is still left to interpretation. Guang bronze vessels were used not only in life to honor the deceased, but also at times placed with the deceased in their grave. Because of this, the ritual vessels are not only apotropaic but useful to the living as well. They are both everyday functioning items, but also objects which serve religious and spiritual purposes. Décor The Guang is distinguishable by its zoomorphic lid and handle, and its one-footed base. The animal figure at the front of the lid is often a tiger or dragon, while the sculpted handle ranges in decoration from fantastic creatures such as dragons to real animals such as rams, elephants, and the beaks of birds. Some guang lids also depict animals, typically birds, at the back of the vessel facing or transitioning into the handle. The animals on the lid and handle are presented "in the round". The surface of the vessel is decorated in low- to mid-relief. This relief may depict the bodies belonging to creatures rendered on the lid or other complete animal figures. It is not uncommon for one animal to transition directly into another. The lower sections of the guang are also often divided into registers and quadrants by flanges. This flange can be the central divider of a taotie, a mask-like creature motif with curving horns and two dragon-like bodies stretching out to its sides. Other surface embellishments include geometric background shapes such as the squared-spiral, the lei-wen. These were used both to fill in empty space between more representational imagery and sometimes as smaller detail in those images. Historical development Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BCE) See Also: Shang Dynasty The guang, one of many types of Chinese ritual bronze vessels, is both late to come into the world of bronze vessels, and lasts a very short amount of time. The earliest account of guang vessels comes from late in the Shang dynasty, during the Anyang Period, spanning from c. 1300-1046 BCE. These vessels were distinct from other guang objects in early Chinese history because of their decoration. In the Shang Dynasty, the guang featured ornamentation which had not been fully developed. In a late twelfth century to early eleventh century guang, the decoration