Masterworks of Chinese Bronze in the National Palace Museum 1973

$25.00

Author: Director Fu-tsang, Chiang
Publisher: National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 1973
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Fine
Size: 4to
Attributes:

First edition, first printing in Chinese & English. Binding tight, square, internally fine, unmarked. With hundreds of illustrations on Chinese bronze, a must for anyone interested in Chinese’s bronze works. Fine in Fine slipcase.

Masterworks of Chinese Bronze in the National Palace Museum (1973) is a monumental catalog documenting the National Palace Museum’s (Taipei) peerless collection of Chinese ritual bronzes, spanning the Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) to Han (206 BCE–220 CE) dynasties. This scholarly yet visually stunning volume captures the technical and spiritual zenith of China’s “Bronze Age,” revered for its cosmic symbolism and lost-wax casting mastery. The book features:

Shang Dynasty Ritual Vessels – Ding cauldrons and zun wine vessels adorned with taotie (monster mask) motifs, used in ancestor worship.
Zhou Dynasty Inscriptions – Bronzes like the Mao Gong Ding bearing early Chinese script, detailing royal decrees and lineage.
Han Dynasty Gilt-Bronze – Elaborate boshanlu (mountain censers) reflecting Daoist immortality quests.

For Collectors & Scholars

The Great Bronze Age of China (1980) – Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition companion.
Chinese Ritual Bronzes (1993) by Jessica Rawson – Decodes symbolic forms and functions.
Art and Archaeology of Ancient China (2018) – Contextualizes bronzes within tomb archaeology.