The Art of Chinese Bronzes Exhibition Recasts The Past

Shanghai Museum, in collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, is presenting "Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes, 1100-1900" at its East branch through March 16, 2026.

After their splendid era during the Three Dynasties, namely Xia, Shang and Zhou (2070-256 BCE), ancient bronzes gradually faded from the limelight of history. For a long time, bronzes from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties (960-1911), 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 Dynasty 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.

Seeking to uncover the deep social and humanistic meanings hidden within these objects and re-examine the position that these later bronzes occupy in the history of art, this exhibition, with a total of approximately 178 pieces or sets, narrates the development and characteristics of bronzes from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties and is the most epic-scale exhibition of later Chinese bronzes to be held in recent years, both domestically and internationally.

It is divided into four thematic sections.

The first section, titled "Reconstructing Ancient Rites: Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Ritual Bronzes," focuses on archaistic ritual vessels from the four later dynasties. The second one, "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.

The third part, "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, whilst in the last section, "From Daily Life to Spiritual Practices: New Meanings in Archaistic Bronzes," reveals how archaistic bronzes – once revered vessels of the state for rituals – were transformed into elegant furnishings for the scholar's studio and bedroom.

Based on both museums' collection of later bronzes and enriched by loans from other major museums in China, South Korea, and across Europe and the United States, the exhibition aims to offer visitors an artistic charm distinct from that of the Three Dynasties bronzes.

If you go:

Date: Through March 16, 2026 (Closed on Tuesdays)

Venue: Shanghai Museum East

Address: 1952 Century Avenue, Pudong New Area | 浦东新区世纪大道1952号

Admission: Free