The transition from Neolithic pottery to the emergence of metalwork (around 2000 BC) held significance for bronze development in China, where processing techniques sharply contrasted with those in the Middle East and Europe. The piece mold process was more of an extension of ceramic technology than a distinct casting innovation. By 1100 BC, a high level of artistic and technical mastery in bronze casting had been achieved by the Chinese. This was true even though Chinese bronzes showed huge metallurgical variations compared with contemporary European bronze alloys that had far more consistent chemistries. However, the need to control alloy behavior to provide required properties of the final casting did subsequently lead the Chinese to become accomplished bronze metallurgists. The famous terra cotta soldiers found gripping bronze weapons at Xi'an make obvious the deliberate alloying of copper and tin with titanium, magnesium, and cobalt for superior hardness (approx 220 BC).
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