08.04.2025Depicting animals on ancient Chinese bronzes: a case study on horses

Referentin

Dr. Alice Yu Cheng (Museum Rietberg, Zürich)

Datum und Zeit

8. April 2025, 12:45 - 13:45

Ort

Rämistrasse 73, CH-8006 Zürich, Raum RAK-E-8

Inhalt

Animal motifs are an essential part of ancient Chinese bronzes. These motifs are based on real as well as imaginary animals. Studying them allows us to gain insight into the ancient perception of nature, and on how the concept of nature was appropriated for political and social purposes. This talk examines the animal motifs on bronzes from the Shang through the Han dynasty (1500 BCE – 220 CE).
A key focus of the talk will be on depictions of horses on bronzes. Horses are not native to China. They were imported from the Steppe via the north and northwest of China into the Central Plains, the dynastic center of China. Yet after being introduced, throughout the period concerned in this talk, horses still had to be repeatedly brought in from the north and northwest because environmental factors in the Central Plains, such as the lack of selenium, hindered the breeding of strong horses. The need to obtain and maintain horses thus initiated a large migration of people from the north and northwest. The result was the formation of a supply network that involved not only the horses and skilled workers but also the relevant tools and commodities. These had a significant impact on the political, economic, military, and cultural spheres of ancient China. Such an impact is well reflected on the horse depictions on bronzes.

Organisation

Kunsthistorisches Institut - Kunstgeschichte Ostasiens