Chinese bronzes made from the 12th to the 19th century are an important but often overlooked category of Chinese art. In ancient China, bronze vessels were emblems of ritual and power. A millennium later, in the period from 1100 to 1900, such vessels were rediscovered as embodiments of a long-lost golden age that was worthy of study and emulation. This “return to the past” (fugu) was part of a widespread phenomenon across all the arts to reclaim the virtues of a classical tradition. An important aspect of this phenomenon was the revival of bronze casting as a major art form. While archaic bronzes were used as containers for food or wine, these so-called “later bronzes” adapted antique shapes and decorative motifs to serve new functions as incense burners, flower vases, and all types of scholar objects. Later Chinese bronzes, however, have long been stigmatized as poor imitations of ancient bronzes rather than being seen as fundamentally new creations with their own aesthetic and functional character.
From important bronzes to a complementary selection of works including painting, calligraphy, ceramics, lacquers, and jades, the exhibition draws on an international array of loans to redress the previous misunderstanding of later Chinese bronzes. Some 100 pieces from The Met collection will be augmented by nearly 100 loans from major institutions in China, Japan, Korea, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States to present the most comprehensive narrative of the ongoing importance of bronzes as an art medium throughout China’s long history.
The exhibition is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Exhibitions and the Joseph Hotung Fund.
Transportation is provided by China Eastern Airlines.
Additional support is provided by American Friends of the Shanghai Museum, Burrows Foundation, and The Dillon Fund.
The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Shanghai Museum.
The catalogue is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Publications.
Events
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Open Studio—From Bronze to Clay
Met Expert Talks—Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100-1900
Ambitious, refined and refreshing.
Spectacular . . . enormously appealing
Exhibition Catalog
Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900
This title is the first comprehensive study of the often-overlooked Chinese bronzes, which were commissioned by emperors and officials from the twelfth through the nineteenth centuries to assert political legitimacy and alignment with traditional values.