Incense burner in the form of a goose, China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), early 15th century. Bronze. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, The Vincent Astor Foundation Gift, 2020

Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100–1900
February 28 – September 28, 2025
Curator Talk: Tuesday, March 11, 11am–12pm
The Met Fifth Avenue, Galleries 209–218

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.

Be sure to sign up for the Curator Talk, Beyond Emulation: Rethinking Chinese Archaistic Bronzes, 1100–1900, on March 11 with Pengliang Lu, Brooke Russell Astor Curator of Chinese Art, to explore the overlooked roles of so-called “later Chinese bronzes” from the 12th to 19th century. These essential works have long been stigmatized as imitations of ancient bronzes, the ultimate emblems of ritual legitimacy, rather than as fundamentally new creations with their own aesthetic and functional character. Learn more about the misunderstanding surrounding these bronzes and celebrate their artistic and cultural significance. To learn more and RVSP click here.

The exhibition is made possible by the Florence and Herbert Irving Fund for Asian Art Exhibitions and the Joseph Hotung Fund.

To learn more and view more related programs, click here.