About
More researcher and scholar than dealer, Christian Deydier obtained a French university diploma in Chinese language and civilization in Paris before going on to specialise in Chinese archaeology while studying ancient Chinese inscriptions at Tai Ta University in Taipei. He has published numerous articles and studies. In 1976, at the age of only 26, his first work, Les Jiaguwen, Essai Bibliograhique et Synthèse des Etudes (The Oracle Bone Inscriptions, A Bibliographic Essay and Synthesis of Studies) was published by l'Ecole Française d'Extrême-Orient, the prestigious French institute of Asian archaeological research.
From September 1978, Christian Deydier worked for Mr Moreau Gobard, a distinguished expert in Far Eastern art. Then, in 1980, he was named an expert to the Hôtel Drouot public auction house. The same year "L'Office du Livre" in Fribourg , Switzerland, published his book Les Bronzes Chinois (Chinese Bronzes), the first general synthesis to appear on this subject. The book was also translated into English and German.
In 1983, Christian Deydier took up residence in England and, in 1987, he opened a gallery, "Oriental Bronzes Ltd", in London. Regularly, since 1985, he has organized exhibitions on themes such as archaic bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Chinese gold and silverware, etc.In 1995, Christian Deydier published another book entitled Archaic Chinese Bronzes (Paris, Arhis). In February 1997, he opened a branch of Oriental Bronzes Ltd in Paris, first on rue du bac, and in 2008 on rue de Seine, near Saint Germain des Prés.
Christian Deydier most especially owes his renown in scholarly circles, and most particularly among Chinese archaeologists, to the work which he has carried out on Chinese bronzes and goldware, as well as to his participation in the excavation of the Tang dynasty tomb of Princess Xincheng in Xian. Deydier's work on Chinese goldware was presented in conjunction with three exhibitions, Imperial Gold from Ancient China on the goldware of the Liao dynasty (Part I in June 1990 and Part II in June 1991) and Qin Gold, an exhibition on the goldware of the Zhou dynasty, which was held in Paris at the Biennale Internationale des Antiquaires. The results of Deydier's original work on Chinese goldware were published in the Chinese language in Taiwan in the December 1993 (n°129) and January 1994 (n°130) issues of The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art and on the mainland in the June 1995 issue of Wenwu, China's principal and most respected archaeological review (Wenwu, 1995, n°6, pages 4 to 11).
