Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900 at The Met Fifth Avenue

 

Octagonal cup with dragon handles
Late Ming (1368–1644)– early Qing (1644–1911) dynasty
17th century
China
Gilt copper alloy
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2017
2017.20
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 
 
 

Recasting the Past

The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100 — 1900

Through September 28, 2025

 
 

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. 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.

 
 
 
 

Exhibition Highlights

 

Incense burner in the shape of a goose
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Early 15th century
China
Copper alloy
Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2020
2020.335a, b
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Brush rest in the shape of a dragon
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
14th century
China
Copper alloy
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2017
2017.131
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ritual wine cup (jue)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
1520
China
Copper alloy
Rogers Fund, 1912
12.7.1
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Weight in the shape of a chimera
Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE)
2nd century BCE
China
Bronze, gilding, gold and turquoise inlays
Purchase, Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Bequest; Gifts of Robert E. Tod, Mrs. Donald V. Lowe, John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, William B. Osgood Field, and Margaret and Raymond J. Horowitz, by exchange, 2019
2019.217
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Incense burner
Song dynasty (960–1279)
12th–13th century
China
Copper alloy
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2018
2018.859
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vase with archaic-style patterns
Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
13th century
China
Copper alloy
Purchase, David and Eugenia Ames Gift, 2021
2021.296
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Water dropper in the shape of a rhinoceros
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
15th century
China
Copper alloy
Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2015
2015.294
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ritual wine container (hu)
Western Han dynasty (206 BCE–9 CE)
3rd–2nd century BCE
China
Bronze
Rogers Fund, 1918
18.56.6
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Brush washer with twin dragons
Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
14th century
China
Copper alloy
Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2014
2014.767
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Basin with birds in a lotus pond
Yuan (1271–1368)–Ming (1368–1644) dynasty
14th century
China
Copper alloy
Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2019
2019.193.10
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Archaistic tripod censer (ding)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
17th century
China
Parcel-gilt copper alloy
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2019
2019.315
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vase with dragon handles
Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
14th century
China
Copper alloy
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2021
2021.295
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Incense burner with peacock and peony
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
15th–16th century
China
Iron damascened with silver
Purchase, Gift of Elizabeth V. Cockcroft, by exchange, 2006
2006.473a, b
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Long neck vase with tubular handles
Song (960–1279)–Yuan (1271–1368) dynasty
13th century
China
Copper alloy
Purchase, Barbara and William Karatz Gift, 2021
2021.294
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vase with archaistic design
Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
14th century
China
Copper alloy
Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2014
2014.449
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Censer in the form of a mythical beast
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Early 17th century
China
Porcelain painted in underglaze blue (Jingdezhen ware)
Purchase, Bequests of William Rhinelander Stewart and Matilda E. Frelinghuysen, Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, Purchase by subscription, and Gift of Edgar Worch, by exchange, 2018
2018.154a, b
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Octagonal cup with dragon handles
Late Ming (1368–1644)– early Qing (1644–1911) dynasty
17th century
China
Gilt copper alloy
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2017
2017.20
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Paperweight in the shape of a Qilin
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
15th–16th century
China
Copper alloy
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2016
2016.243
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tripod cauldron (ding)
Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–1046 BCE)
11th century BCE
China
Bronze, black pigment inlay
Purchase, Arthur M. Sackler Gift, 1974
1974.268.20
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vessel in the shape of a waterfowl (fuzun)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
15th–16th century
China
Copper alloy, gold and silver inlay
Bequest of John L. Cadwalader, 1914
14.58.183
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Incense burner with animal-mask handles
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
17th century
China
Copper alloy, splash gilding
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
29.100.550
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Archaic-style Vase (hu)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
15th–16th century
China
Copper alloy, gold and silver inlays
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2014
2014.682
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sutra Covers with the Eight Buddhist Treasures
Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Yongle period (1403–24)
China
Red lacquer, incised decoration, gold inlay
Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015
2015.500.1.52a, b
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wine container (hu)
Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BCE)
5th–4th century BCE
China
Bronze, bronze inlay
Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2021
2021.259
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art