Professor Bagley's area of specialization is pre-Han art and archaeology. His interests include ornament; archaeometallurgy and ancient metal technology; archaic Chinese jades; comparative study of the first civilizations and the first writing systems; and the archaeology of ancient Chinese music, in particular the inscribed musical instruments from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (d. 433 BC). His book Max Loehr and the Study of Chinese Bronzes: Style and Classification in the History of Art has just been published.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS: Max Loehr and the Study of Chinese Bronzes: Style and Classification in the History of Art (Cornell East Asia Series, 2008); “Interpreting Prehistoric Designs,” in Iconography Without Texts, ed. Paul Taylor (2008); “Ornament, Representation, and Imaginary Animals in Bronze Age China,” in Arts Asiatiques vol. 61 (2006); “The Prehistory of Chinese Music Theory,” in Proceedings of the British Academy vol. 131 (2005); “Anyang Writing and the Origin of the Chinese Writing System,” chapter 7 in The First Writing, ed. Stephen Houston (2004); Ancient Sichuan (ed.), catalogue of an exhibition seen in Seattle, Fort Worth, New York, and Toronto (2001); “Percussion,” chapter 2 in Music in the Age of Confucius, ed. Jenny F. So (2000); “Shang Archaeology,” chapter 3 in The Cambridge History of Ancient China, ed. Michael Loewe and Edward L. Shaughnessy (1999).

IN PRESS: “A Zun from Yang Xian” (Hanzhong chutu qingtongqi vol. 4); “Anyang Mold-making and the Decorated Model” (Artibus Asiae vol. 69).