Water clock (louhu), Western Han period (206 BCE-9 CE). Bronze. H. 33.7 cm x W. 20.3 cm x D. 25.4 cm. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60B28+. © Asían Art Museum 

Traditional bronze ritual-vessel shapes continued to be made in ceramic, lacquer, and other materials long after the ceremonies for which they had originally been created fell out of vogue. Bronze found a niche as the medium of choice for lamps, incense burners, mirrors, and other objects to which it was uniquely suited.