Early Chinese Bronzes—The Perfect Harmony
of Thought and Art

Professor Li Boqian

As the title of his conversation with Curator Ronald Otsuka promised, the events over Professor Li's two-day visit to Denver achieved a harmonious and satisfying balance between the down-to-earth and the erudite. There was something for everyone here—from the newcomer to the expert.

Following the slide show on the history and social function of Chinese bronzes that accompanied the conversation, workshop audience members were eager to try their luck and newly acquired knowledge to distinguish between the authentic and the fake among the ten or so bronzes lent for the occasion from local collectors and the museum collection. However, despite Professor Li's very clear guidelines, it proved not to be an easy task.

Shape, pattern, level of oxidization, style and content of inscriptions, casting technology and alloy content—if all of these conform to the period from which the bronze appears to date, there is a strong likelihood that it is authentic. Professor Li's demonstration of the effectiveness of his checklist was most impressive. The experience he has gained from 60 archaeological excavations in China during which more than 200 bronzes had been uncovered was very evident. Happily, one of his positive authentications was an early Shang wine warmer (jia) from the museum's collection that had been judged by almost all present as a very crude copy!

During the conversation, Professor Li also discussed the current status of China's museums and their collections. As well as the state-run museums, there are also a small but growing number of private museums established mostly by individual collectors, and state-owned museums under private management. The collection of the state-run Sackler Museum at Beijing University is built from three main sources—the finds from excavations carried out by the university's archaeology department, gifts from other provincial governments, and donations from the private sector.

It was most gratifying to learn that, with this ongoing reform and the enlightened scholarship of Professor Li Boqian and his colleagues, the future for China's museum sector seems very promising.



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