Carriers of history and tradition

Good storytelling

"No single museum can fully tell the story of Chinese bronzes on its own, so we need more exchanges. China, the United States, and many other countries around the world have collections," Lu Pengliang, curator of Chinese Art at The Met, told China Daily.

The exhibition is divided into five thematic and chronological sections that detail over 200 pieces — some 100 from The Met collection, augmented by nearly 100 loans from major institutions in China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the US. The result is the most comprehensive narrative of the ongoing importance of bronze as an artistic medium throughout China's history.

Featured in the exhibition are 60 loans from institutions in China, including major pieces such as a monumental 12th-century bell embellished with an imperial procession from the Liaoning Provincial Museum, documented ritual bronzes used in Confucian temples from the Shanghai Museum, and luxury archaic-style vessels made in an 18th-century imperial workshop from the Palace Museum in Beijing.

As part of the curatorial process, Lu says that he has used many parallel displays, placing exhibits from The Met and the Shanghai Museum side by side, to allow visitors to fully understand the cultural narrative.