A precious material.

Bronze has remained a respected material in China, from the early dynasties to the nineteenth century. However, in the tenth century, to strengthen the imperial authority of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the ancient rites related to the imperial ancestors of the Skies and the Earth were placed in the spotlight. Thus began a quest for the ancient ritual vessels.

Their collection, cataloguing and the deciphering of their inscriptions became the favourite pursuit of many scholars. The mode of motifs and ancient forms soon extended to many areas and permeated the art of China: scholarly objects or of Buddhist worship in particular. For the first time, an exhibition has been devoted to this, still little studied, area. On show, often for the first time, are an extremely varied ensemble of Chinese bronzes from the Cernuschi Museum collections.