Guides & Reference
Plain-English reference articles on Chinese bronze: the metals themselves, the classic forms and their history, and how these objects were cast and finished — written so a buyer can tell documented history apart from a shop’s claims.
Chinese Bronze vs. Brass vs. Copper: How to Tell Them Apart
A buyer's guide to the three copper-based metals behind Chinese vessels: what bronze, brass and copper actually are, why markets blur them, and how to judge a reproduction honestly.
What Is a Boshanlu? The Chinese Mountain Censer Explained
The boshanlu is a Han-dynasty incense burner with a lid sculpted as a mythical mountain. Its form, Daoist imagery, gilt-bronze craft and modern reproductions, explained with sources.
Chinese Bronze Mirrors: Alloys, Patterns and History
Chinese bronze mirrors are cast discs with a polished front and a decorated relief reverse. Their alloys, Han and Tang motifs, inscriptions and collecting history, with sources.
Traditional Chinese Ritual Bronze Vessels: Forms and Uses
A guide to Shang and Zhou bronze vessel shapes — ding, gui, zun, jue, gu and more — what each held, their role in ancestral ritual, and how modern copies relate.
How Chinese Bronze Vessels Are Cast and Finished
Piece-mould casting, lost-wax, gold-and-silver inlay, gilding and patination: the Chinese bronze-making craft, what survives, and how modern reproductions are made.