Tripod Cauldron (Ding), 1200-1100 BC. Archaic bronzes are not only collected items but also major scholarly preoccupations in Chinese history. Associated with ancient rites, they are art treasures that provide source materials for Chinese historiography and antiquity studies. Catalogues of archaic bronzes have been published since the Song dynasty. Scholars studied the bronze inscriptions, typologies, and terminologies, and these studies exerted an impact in the field well before the birth of modern art history and archaeology.