Recasting the Past and Shaping the Future

Bronze is a key medium in the context of Chinese cultural heritage. Though bronze may not be as colorful or aesthetically attractive as other mediums by modern day standards, a large percentage of the oldest surviving Chinese artifacts are made in bronze because of its durability. The earliest Chinese bronze discovered was made around three thousand years ago during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), and a majority of early bronzes were ritual vessels made for the worship of ancestors. Many of the larger relics made during the Shang Dynasty were not only decorated with pictures and patterns, but contain actual text in the form of an ancient Chinese calligraphy known as the bronze script. These texts are usually engraved on the inside of the containers and serve a vital role in the study of the development of Chinese language and cultural history. 

The Met’s new Recasting the Past exhibition, however, focuses specifically on bronzes made in China in the years 1100-1900 CE, known as the “later bronzes.” As the Met’s Brooke Russell Astor Curator Pengliang Lu emphasizes, Recasting the Past offers a fresh perspective on the medium. For years, later bronzes were regarded by collectors as “fakes,” or imitations of China’s earlier bronzes. Historians only recently began acknowledging later bronzes as significant works of art in themselves, hence the name of the exhibition: Recasting the Past. In an interview with The Spectator, Lu discussed his curation philosophy. For Recasting the Past, Lu pulled artifacts from the Met collection and many objects on loan from the Shanghai museum in order to address the stigma surrounding Chinese later bronzes. “What I want to deliver for the exhibition is to try to get people to understand the so-called later Chinese bronzes are not just copies or forgeries; they have their own artistic, cultural and historical value,” Lu reiterated. “There are historically meaningful pieces, culturally important pieces […] They have their own essence.” 

As museum guests ascend the staircase to the Met’s Asian Art Wing, they spot the exhibition’s first and, by far, largest artifact: the enormous Ceremonial Bell with Imperial Procession (12th century). It is of a dusty, dark gray shade and is about the height of a person (around 5’11). Upon closer inspection, one can see that the surface of the bell is decorated with carved images. The bell is divided into five levels, each depicting a different element of the procession. The bottom two ranks depict nature—one of land and one of the ocean—while the top three layers contain bands of human figures; the emperor sits firmly at the top, carried by his servants. The middle of the bell exhibits six Chinese characters: “大清乾隆年造 (dà qīng qián lóng nián zào),” which means “made in the year of Qianlong (emperor) of the great Qing (dynasty).” This inscription is, in fact, false: the ceremonial bell in bronze was truly made during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127)—several centuries before the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). While the bell was made in the Northern Song Dynasty, these words were later inserted by Emperor Qianlong by scraping away parts of the original carving, presumably to take credit for the fine craftsmanship. 

The miniature rock landscape, Floating Bridge of Dreams, another highlight of the exhibition, has its own designated room, emphasizing its importance. At first glance, one might regard it as an oddly-shaped rock atop a bronze basin, but a closer look reveals the basin’s intricate carvings. Despite its size, the display is said to have been a personal favorite of Go-Daigo, a Japanese emperor who ruled from 1318-1339 and named the piece after the last chapter of the famous Japanese novel The Tale of Genji. In regards to the piece, Lu said, “If you look into the pieces in old Japanese collections, for example that miniature landscape (the rock with a bronze basin), it really shows how those bronzes were appreciated in Japan. They crossed China’s border in medieval times, 13th-14th century, and were already appreciated in Japan. They were very well protected, preserved through the ages.”

The rest of the exhibition contains various bronze pieces from numerous time periods and for various purposes, all “cherry-picked,” as Lu likes to say, from global collections. Some are luxurious and decorative, such as the Paperweights in the shape of crabs, which, as the name suggests, is a pair of crab-like paper weights; the Table screen with immortals is a rectangular bronze plaque that has been carved with the image of the Eight Immortals presenting their birthday gifts to the deity of longevity. It is likely to be a luxurious gift bestowed upon a young scholar as a few words of aspiration—wishing someone to succeed in the imperial civil service exam—are inscribed on the rock pedestal. Some, on the other hand, are everyday items, such as hand mirrors, vases/cauldrons, and coins. A number of the bronzes in the collection are also incense burners, one of which was used for the official Met banner. The incense burner, from an early 15th century imperial court workshop, is in the shape of a goose—a design choice that can be attributed to a number of aesthetic and symbolic reasons. For instance, artisans during the Ming Dynasty developed a renewed interest in naturalism and, furthermore, wished to reference the bird-shaped incense burners first created centuries earlier during the Han dynasty. 

There are several works in the collection that are not made from bronze, though they do work towards developing the narrative all the same. The Tripod Incense Burner with Archaistic Patterns is a stoneware made during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234, existing parallel to the Song Dynasty) according to its description. However, it is purposely made to resemble, at least in its texture and design, the earlier bronze cauldrons, showing how Chinese ceramic artisans admired the designs of bronze vessels. This also speaks to Lu’s own initial introduction into the world of bronzes. When asked about the origins of his interest in the medium, Lu promptly replied, “I was first interested in ceramics. Because in terms of the Chinese ceramic history from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, it was more of a prominent time period for ceramics. However, when I did research on all kinds of ceramics, I found lots of similar shapes—a lot of these shapes came from bronzes.” 

One thing is for sure: Asian art has shown an increase in popularity in the last few years, both at auction (with Asia Week having taken place in March) and recent exhibitions. In 2024, for instance, Art Basel saw an increase in Asian galleries by 20 percent from the previous year. Lu expresses excitement about the new focus and hopes this trend will continue and that American audiences will begin to develop a deeper appreciation for Asian art in upcoming years.