Hunan Provincial Museum to Display Important Bronzes Unearthed in Hunan

The exhibition Masterpieces in Hunan: Bronzes of Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties unearthed in Hunan Province kicks off on August 28th, 2015 on the fifth floor in Tan Guobin Contemporary Art Museum. The exhibition is co-organized by 14 institutions, including Hunan Provincial Museum, Hunan Broadcasting System, Tan Guobin Contemporary Art Museum and Shanghai Museum.

Hunan is one of the most important regions where the largest number of bronzes of Shang and Zhou dynasties has been discovered in South China. Bronze wares have ever been found in the whole province. As an important part of the ancient bronze culture in China, the bronzes of Shang and Zhou dynasties unearthed in Hunan province boast of their unique regional features with rich historical connotation, thus every piece being regarded as the treasure of the ancient bronze art.
　
The opening ceremony was presided over by Chen Xuliang, deputy director of Hunan Provincial Museum. At the ceremony, Li Jianmao, deputy director of Hunan Provincial Museum and Yang Zhigang, director of Shanghai Museum delivered speeches respectively. Then, the curator of the exhibition Xu Jie, the director of Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, introduced the features and ideas behind this special exhibition to the guests.

Chen Xuliang, deputy director of Hunan Provincial Museum, presided over the opening ceremony.

Li Jianmao, deputy director of Hunan Provincial Museum, delivered a speech.

Yang Zhigang, director of Shanghai Museum delivered a speech.

Xu Jie, the director of Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, was receiving an interview.

The exhibition is a high-level and comprehensive one, with the story line focusing on bronzes unearthed around Dongting Lake in Hunan. It presents the representative bronzes of Shang and Western Zhou dynasties unearthed from Hunan. It consists of two sections. The first section is entitled “The Origin of the Bronze Age in Hunan”, mainly showing the unique local bronze culture along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River during the 14th to 12th Centuries BC when the bronze culture in the Central Plain spread to the South. The region of Hunan was the representative one. The huge “Bronze Ding with Human Mask Design from the Shang Dynasty” was the typical bronzeware of this period. It was also one of the few masterpieces in South China. The second section is entitled “The Prosperity of the Bronze Age in Hunan”, focusing on the period from 12th to 11th Centuries BC when the bronze culture in Hunan were highly developed. The number of bronzes from late Shang dynasty and early Western Zhou dynasty unearthed in Hunan was the largest along the Yangtze River. Since bronzes of this period were of various kinds, styles and origins, the exhibition divided them into five subcategories, namely Central Plain style bronzes, Mixed styles of Central Plain and Local Places bronzes, animal-shaped bronzes, miscellaneous bronzes and bronze weapons and tools, and bronze musical instrument, so as to enable the visitors better understand and study them. The masterpieces of bronzes of Shang and Western Zhou dynasties unearthed in Hunan reveal the special features and development of bronze culture in Hunan, thus showcasing the profound historical culture of Hunan province.

At the same time, in order to promote the study on the culture of bronzes of Shang and Western Zhou dynasties unearthed in Hunan, Hunan Provincial Museum held a “Symposium on the Bronzes of Shang and Western Zhou dynasties unearthed in Hunan” from August 27th to 29th. The symposium received over 80 experts and scholars from nearly thirty institutions at home and abroad, such as Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, University of California, National Taiwan University, Beijing University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Museum. The participants exchanged their latest research findings. Centering on the topic “Bronzes of Shang and Western Zhou dynasties unearthed in Hunan”, the participants discussed their origins, functions, periods, social functions, casting techniques, the bronzes and ancient ritual system, and the bronzes in Hunan and its neighboring regions. In the lively discussions, experts on bronzes from home and abroad expressed their own academic points and submitted related academic papers. After the symposium, Hunan Provincial Museum will publish all the papers in a book entitled Symposium on the Bronzes of Shang and Western Zhou dynasties unearthed in Hunan. During the meeting, participants were invited to attend the opening ceremony of this exhibition and visit the objects on display. They spoke highly of the great contributions made by Hunan Provincial Museum in carrying forward and promoting the Chinese bronze culture. The symposium would greatly promote the understanding and research on the bronzes of Shang and Western Zhou dynasties unearthed in Hunan. Meanwhile, it would also promote the development of the museum industry.

 Experts and scholars viewed the objects.

Experts and scholars viewed the objects.

In recent years, based on its own collections, Hunan Provincial Museum has staged a series of original exhibitions, such as Finding Soul Friends in Guqin Melody: Exhibition of Seven-stringed Zithers from Collections of Hunan Provincial Museum, Phoenix Flying in the Sky: Cultural Relics of the Chu State and A Revival of the Bronze Ware Art: Bronze Ware of the Late Period in History in Hunan Province. These original exhibitions were very popular among the general public. As a museum with the most comprehensive and the largest number of bronzes of Shang and Zhou dynasties unearthed in Hunan, Hunan Provincial Museum endeavored to stage such a large-scale and high-level original bronze exhibition with rich objects while sticking to the policy of enriching and improving its collections. It is believed that the exhibition, by showing the unique shapes, exquisite designs and refined inscriptions of the bronzes, will reveal the casting craftsmanship, cultural levels, history and origins of the bronzes of Shang and Western Zhou dynasties unearthed in Hunan to the visitors. Moreover, it will promote the academic development in the field of studying bronzes unearthed in Hunan province and even in the field of studying Chinese ancient bronzes.