CHINA FEVER: Art From Yuan Dynasty At The Metropolitan Museum And Selections From VandM

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s several years in the making blockbuster exhibition The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art In The Yuan Dynasty [1271-1368] marks one of the richest cultural and historical periods in Chinese history opens September 28, 2010. With a stunning collection of 200 objects primarily drawn from China with several key objects recently excavated from archaeological finds, the show explores China’s cultural transformation, when, under Khubilai Khan’s rule China became unified after four centuries. Khubilai built a new capital city Dadu now Beijing and during his reign new styles from textiles, porcelains, and lacquer flourished.

Roof-ridge ornament

Yuan dynasty [1271-1368]

Glazed pottery

H. 73 ⅝ in. (187 cm)

From Chunyangdian, Yonglegong, Shanxi Province

Shanxi Provincial Museum

The exhibition is divided into four sections: daily life in the Yuan’s dynasty focusing on the imperial court and the capital cities to include portraits, architectural elements, and luxury items; paintings and sculpture related to religious diversity; paintings and calligraphy; and an extensive collection of decorative arts from porcelain, lacquer, and textiles. Through January 2, 2011.

Bodhisattva Manjushri

Yuan dynasty [1271-1368]

Dated 1305

Gilt bronze

H. 7 ⅛ in. (18.1 cm)

The Palace Museum, Beijing

A complementary installation THE YUAN REVOLUTION: ART AND DYNASTIC CHANGE will be on view at the Museum’s galleries for Chinese paintings through January 11, 2011. http://www.metmuseum.org/, (212) 535-7710.

Arhat

Yuan dynasty [1271-1368]

Mid-14th century

Wood with traces of pigment

H. 38 5/8 (98.1 cm)

The Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Following the ten images from the Met exhibition is a small group of Chinese pieces on VandM.com ranging from an original 18th century temple jar to a Taoist deity from the same period as well as reproductions of mythic and divine figures.

Zhao Mengfu [1254-1322]

Monk in a Red Robe

Yuan dynasty [1271-1368]

Dated 1304

Handscroll
Ink and color on paper
10 1/4 x 20 1/2 in. (26 x 52.1 cm)

Liaoning Provincial Museum

The Teaching of Manichaeism and Other Narratives

Yuan [1271-1368] -early Ming dynasty [1368-1644] Late 14th century

Hanging scroll mounted as a panel

Ink, color, and gold on silk

64 1/4 x 29 1/4 in. (163.2 x 74.3 cm)

The Museum Yamato Bunkakan, Nara Prefecture

Mongol Dancer

Jin [1115-1234] -Yuan dynasty [1271-1368]

13th century

Pottery

H. 15 3/4 in. (40 cm)

Henan Province, 1973. Henan Museum

Model of a stage with five actors

Jin dynasty [1115-1234]

Dated 1210

Pottery

H. of stage 55 ⅛ in. (140 cm)

Found in a tomb in Niucun, Houma, Shanxi Province, 1959

Shanxi Museum

Military Official

Yuan dynasty [1271-1368]

Marble

H. 122 in. (310 cm)

Beijing Art Museum of Stone Carvings

Burial structure in the shape of a building

Yuan dynasty [1271-1368]

Wood

H. 30 in. (76.2 cm), maximum length 75 in. (190.5 cm)

Excavated from Tomb 13, Wang Shixian family tombs, Zhangxian, Gansu

Province, 1972

Gansu Provincial Museum

Mahakala of the Tent

Tibet, late 13th- early 14th century

Limestone

H. 8 in. (20.3 cm)

The Kronos Collections

Antique Temple Jar

ca. 18th century

24”Hx14”D

61.0cmHx35.6cm

$24,000

Of all the coloration techniques used in China, the under glaze blue-and-white remains one of the most popular having traveled far and wide for centuries to become a universal type of porcelain. This antique temple jar with floral patterns on the back (not shown) and a pictorial account of the hunt possibly from a fable on the front are motifs attributed to Chinese porcelains from the early 18th century. John J. Nelson Antiques through vandm.com (210) 652-2103 http://vandm.com/John_J_Nelson_Antiques_LLC

Pair of 1900s Hand Carved Ancestral Sculptures

Reproduction ca. late 19th century

Man

Hand carved wood

32.25”Hx10”Wx7”D

81.9cmH25.4cmWx17.8cmD

Woman

26”Hx9”Wx6”D

66.0cmHx22.9cmWx15, 2cmD

$1,875

Primitive religious sculptures where the male appears to be the teacher with his right hand extended outward to receive enlightenment and the woman a student in prayer. Weisshouse through vandm.com, http://vandm.com/weisshouse (412) 441-8888 / 1 (800) 422-7848.

Nezha Joss House Statue

ca. late 17th or early 18th century

Hand carved wood

38”Hx27”Wx11”D

96.5cm H X 68.6cm W X 27.9cm D
$24,000

A Taoist protection deity named the trickster originally of Chinese Buddhist mythology believed to deliver mortals from calamity. Nezha stands with one foot on the tiger and the other on a serpent. Albert Joseph Gallery through vandm.com at http://vandm.com/Albert_Joseph_Gallery . (973) 376-5400

Set of Chinese Palace Gate Foo Lions

Attributed to the Qing Dynasty [1644-1911]

Hand carved wood and painted

31.0”Hx11.8”Wx17.8”D

78.7cmHx29.8cmWx45.1cmD

$3,900

Chinese guardian lions were considered to have powerful mythic protective powers. To differentiate between the sexes, the male has a playful ball under one paw and the female has a cub (the tail is visible) under her paw. For that aged look they had a peel. Chelsea Marketeers through vandm.com (760) 278-1278 at http://vandm.com/Chelsea_Marketeers