SHANGHAI - After their splendid era during the Three Dynasties (i.e., Xia, Shang, and Zhou), ancient bronzes gradually faded from the limelight of history. For a long time, bronzes from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, labeled as archaistic, received relatively little attention from the academic world. However, the question of what inner impetus drove the emergence of archaistic bronzes in the Song and their continued popularity throughout the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties is worthy of research. Originating from the desire to "study antiquity" and to "revive the Three Dynasties", these archaistic bronzes underwent a functional transformation as the trends of the times changed, with their location gradually shifting from temples and palaces to the hands of common people. Academic attention should be paid to the messages of social consciousness that are embedded within these objects. Moreover, these bronzes evolved beyond the symbols of the Three Dynasties, creating entirely new categories and functions and becoming indicators of the artistic fashions of their age.

later bronzes occupy in the history of art. Part One, "Reconstructing Ancient Rites: Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Ritual Bronzes," focuses on archaistic ritual vessels from the four later dynasties. It begins with imperial ritual bronzes from the reigns of two influential reformers of the ritual system—Emperor Huizong of the Song and Emperor Gaozong of the Qing—before moving into the system of shidian (a memorial ceremony for ancient sages and masters held in schools with offerings of food and rice wine) in counties and prefectures and into the sacrificial rites at ancestral temples of families and clans. Through the casting, forms, and usage contexts of these ritual bronzes, we can glimpse the spirit and power of a cultural revival, akin to the Renaissance, that were quietly passed down through a millennium of silence.

Ding (food vessel) with Ox-shaped Decorations, 4th year of the Zhenghe reign (1114), Northern Song dynasty. Copper alloy. Height 50.0 cm, diameter 52.0 cm. Acquired from Fengrun County, Tangshan, Hebei province. Hebei Museum.

Dou (food vessel), 8th year of the Zhenghe reign (1118), Northern Song dynasty. Copper alloy. Height 17.5 cm, diameter 25.5 cm. Musée Cernuschi, Asian Arts Museum of Paris (M.C.98)

Dasheng Bell, Note "Rui Bin Zhong Sheng", 4th year of the Chongning reign (1105), Northern Song dynasty. Copper alloy. Height 27.9 cm, length of mouth 14.5 cm, width of mouth 18.0 cm. Shanghai Museum, Gift of Ye Shuzhong

Part Two, "Experimenting with Styles: Southern Song to Early Ming Archaistic Bronzes," explores how the popularity of the archaistic trend led to the commercialization of bronze production. Bronze-making workshops and master artisans emerged in response, creating vessel types that combined ancient resonance with new functions, such as censers, vases, and ewers. The inspiration for their creations was sometimes drawn directly from the bronzes of the Three Dynasties, and at other times was formed by transforming and piecing together ancient elements.

Quadrangular Vase in the Shape of a Neolithic Cong, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Copper alloy. Height 21.3 cm, width 7.0 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Florence and Herbert Irving Gift, 1993 (1993.456)

Gui (food vessel) of the Academy of Kunshan County, 20th year of the Chenghua reign (1484), Ming dynasty. Copper alloy. Height 20.5 cm, width 32.0 cm. Shanghai Museum.

Fu (grain vessel) of the Academy of Kunshan County, 20th year of the Chenghua reign (1484), Ming dynasty. Coppy alloy. Height 18.5 cm, width 23.3 cm. The British Museum. Purchased with the Brooke Sewell Bequest Funds (1991,0717.5.A-B) © The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights reserved.

Part Three, "Establishing New Standards: Ming Bronze Transformations," highlights the Yongle-Xuande gilt-bronze statuary and the Xuande Censer as outstanding representatives of Ming-dynasty arts and crafts. Their innovative artististic forms had a profound and far-reaching influence on later ages.

Mahamayuri on Peacock, Xuande reign (1426-1435), Ming dynasty. Gilt copper alloy. Height 145.0 cm, width 120.0 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum (ID 31831). Photo: Waltraut Schneider-Schütz

Incense Burner in the Shape of a Wild Goose, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Copper alloy. Height 36.8 cm, width 47.6 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2020 (2020.335a, b)

Incense Burner with Flowers of Four Seasons, Hu Wenming (act. late 16th–early 17th century) or his workshop,Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Copper alloy, parcel gilding. Height 8.3 cm, diameter of mouth 10.2 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Seymour Fund and Gift of Mrs. Edward Brayton, by exchange, 2006

Censer with Floral Pattern, Hu Guangyu (act. mid-17th century), Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Copper alloy, parcel gilding. Height 9.3 cm, diameter 10.6 cm. Shanghai Museum, Gift of Qiu Hui.

Part Four, "From Daily Life to Spiritual Practices: New Meanings in Archaistic Bronzes," is divided into two sections: "Cultivating Rituals and Pursuing the Way" and "The Elegant Pursuits of the Literati". Through the reinterpretation of scholars and aesthetes, archaistic bronzes—once revered vessels of the state for rituals, placed high in temples and palaces—were transformed into elegant furnishings for the scholar's studio and bedroom. They not only became part of the fashion of the time for the leisurely appreciation of antiquity but were also integrated with the folk beliefs and rituals of Buddhism and Daoism, becoming an important component of sacrificial ceremonies.

Zun (wine vessel) in the Shape of a Sacrificial Animal, Qianlong reign (1736-1795), Qing dynasty. Copper alloy. Height 38.6 cm, diameter of Zun 11.0 cm. The Palace Museum.

Archaistic Vessel with Double Phoenixes,France, late 19th century. Copper alloy, parcel gilding. Height 26.4 cm. The British Museum. Purchased with the Brooke Sewell Bequest Funds (1992,0622.1) © The Trustees of the British Museum 

This exhibition, in collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, is based on our both Museums' collection of later bronzes and is enriched by loans from numerous other major museums in China, South Korea, and across Europe and America. With a total of approximately 178 pieces or sets, this is the most epic-scale exhibition of later Chinese bronzes to be held in recent years, both domestically and internationally. We hope that it will offer our visitors an artistic charm distinct from that of the Three Dynasties bronzes, and that through the artifacts themselves, our visitors will have an extraordinary encounter with the millennium-long elegance of bronze art from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

2025-11-12 - 2026-03-16