Feasting in the Afterlife: the Bronzes of the National Palace Museum

The National Palace Museum contains an exceptional collection of ritual bronze wares, dating back over 4000 years - a time when China led the world in bronze casting technology. These works of art were used for a variety of purposes: as cooking vessels they fed and wined deceased ancestors, as political treaties they bound kings together in war and peace, and as status symbols they publicly projected the power of the aristocracy.

This lecture explores the history of this incredible art form in early China, and highlights the continuing importance of bronzes as symbols of kingship and power throughout the later dynasties.

Roel Sterckx is the Joseph Needham Professor of Chinese History, Science and Civilisation at Cambridge University. He is a leading specialist on early China, with a special interest in food and ritual culture.

Part of the series of the Treasures of the National Palace Museum, Taipei lecture series.