Later Chinese Bronzes for the Scholar’s Studio – New Book by Paul Bromberg

Paul Bromberg, writer, researcher, collector and good friend of the Gallery has an excellent new book out: Later Chinese Bronzes for the Scholar’s Studio.

Purchase Later Chinese Bronzes here.

It’s a welcome addition to an area on which little has been published. It focuses on those later bronze objects, from the Song dynasty (960–1279) onwards, both utilitarian and for the scholar’s aesthetic pleasure, produced for the scholar’s studio.

Importantly, the book is amply illustrated with 227 colour photographs, and each one is clear and shows all the detail that collectors and others with an interest in the topic need to see.

Paul provides an overview of the form and function of these diverse objects, making ample uses of examples from his own splendid collection of later Chinese bronzes, and considers separately the various forms, hidden meanings and cultural allusions of later bronze paperweights—small, elegant, charming and whimsical artworks that would have graced the scholar’s desk.

The volume includes an Introduction by the scholar Rose Kerr, several informative and well-written essays, an impressive catalogue, helpful image captions and provenance information.

Overall, this is a compilation of scarce information on a relatively new collecting area – one that is certainly worthy of scholarship in its own right.

Paul’s book is well worth getting hold of – it’s not available from Amazon but direct from the publisher, the highly respected Hong Kong-Based Arts of Asia magazine. Purchase it here.

At US$80, it’s not particularly expensive given the price of art books these days, especially considering how expensive book production has become these days, but also a very good investment for anyone interested in collecting such bronzes.

Listen to our of Podcast Paul in discussion with Michael Backman on the topic of Later Chinese Bronzes for the Scholar’s Studio.

Above: Paul Bromberg

Above: Paul Bromberg, with Michael Backman and Eddie Chin, Sukhothai, Thailand, 2024.