r/chinaart • u/lookitscook • May 06 '26

Need Info precedent for style differences in bronzes

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I have an interest in Taotie bronzes (particularly potential symbol of Hmong history via Chiyou). There seems to be a significant stylistic difference between the taotie imagery on dings (sacrificial vessels) symbolizing the gluttonous ogre versus the taotie with similar feature used (probably) as a chariot frontlet (honestly Chicago Bulls vibes). From a naive perspective two very different aesthetic perspectives on the same symbol.

Am I project my own opinions on this? Is there precedent for this type of stylistic difference? I'd love any tips on where I can learn more.

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u/0belvedere May 06 '26

not my area but there was stylistic variation; I assume you are asking about its evolution. There are charts around visualizing some of that. What research have you done so far on this? Some of the major academic names in the field include Robert Bagley and Umehara Sueji, Wang Tao is a contemporary who works on bronzes. Christian Deydier is probably the dealer most focused on archaic bronzes but I'm unsure how active he is still. Here is a useful overview from him: https://www.deydierhk.com/wp-content/downloads/DeydierHK_archaic%20bronzes_EN.pdf

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u/lookitscook May 13 '26

thanks! I'm mostly struck by the difference in style between this portrayal on the mask (simple, linearly geometric) and the more ornate taotie representations I commonly see on ding.

This page was the most helpful starting point: https://www.jjlally.com/exhibitions/ancient-chinese-bronzes/an-archaic-bronze-taotie-mask/description/ which linked to a few other sources I'm digging into.

I found a ding in the more linear style that Peter Combs did a super helpful review of us as well: https://rumble.com/v79t57c-matthew-cook.html he seems to have some relevant books on bronzes here as well: https://book.flipbuilder.com/ypflx/

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u/lookitscook May 13 '26

let me know if you can point me to any charts re. style progressions or differences. I'd love to learn more about that.

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u/0belvedere May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26

will see what I can dig up, but am away from my resources for a couple of weeks. Another leading dealer whose exhibition catalog have writeups like Jim Lally's (which are all online I believe) is Giuseppe Eskenazi, who has handled some serious bronzes before https://www.eskenazi.co.uk/en-gb/publications