Shanghai Museum (East)

The Shanghai Museum houses a collection of bronzes from various dynasties, beginning with the Xia Dynasty. Many of these are well-documented and well-known national treasures, forming a collection that is complete in system, comprehensive in variety, and rich in qualitycollection.

The “Ancient Chinese Bronzes” exhibition in the East Building is the sixth display to be remodeled in 50 years, and will present the audience with a relatively complete display of ancient Chinese bronzes at home and abroad.The current display features a selection of more than 500 exhibits, reflecting the 3,600 years from the late Xia Dynasty in the 18th century BC to the mid-Qing Dynasty in the mid-19th century, the process of the occurrence, development and evolution of ancient Chinese bronzes.

The exhibition hall is divided into seven sections based on the development of Chinese bronze craftsmanship: the embryonic stage, the incubation stage, the heyday, the transformation stage, the renewal stage, the fusion stage, and the retro stage. The exhibits fully demonstrate the characteristics of bronze craftsmanship in different periods, together showcasing the brilliance of Chinese bronze art.There is also a section on the production technology of bronze ware, which vividly shows how the ancient working people used their amazing intelligence and dexterous hands to create the splendid and magnificent Chinese bronze culture.

Compared with the People’s Square building, the bronze exhibition hall in the East Building has been adjusted and upgraded in terms of the plate structure, plate content, unit descriptions and explanations of the types of vessels, exhibits, etc.