A catalogue of 178 objects from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection of East Asian lacquers, one of the finest collections in the West.

East Asian Lacquer The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection

Arts & Photography

Watt, James C.Y.

Ford, Barbara Brennan

Watt, C.Y. James

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Only two major exhibitions from the fabled Chinese Palace Museum collections have been seen in the West - the first in London in 1935-36 and the second in the United States in 1961-62. These two exhibitions provided an extraordinary stimulus to the study of Chinese culture, revolutionized Asian art studies in the West, and opened the eyes of the public to the artistic traditions of Chinese civilization. Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei is the publication that accompanies the third great exhibition of Chinese masterworks to travel to the West.Written by scholars of both Chinese and Western cultural backgrounds and conceived as a cultural history, the book tells the story of Chinese art from its foundations in the Bronze Age and the first empires through the rich diversity of art produced during the Sung, Yuan, Ming, and Ch'ing dynasties, contrasting China's absolutist political structure with the humanism of its artistic and moral philosophy. Synthesizing scholarship of the past three decades, the authors present not only the historical and cultural significance of individual works of art and analyses of their aesthetic content, but a reevaluation of the cultural dynamics of Chinese history, reflecting a fundamental shift in the study of Chinese art from a focus on documentation and connoisseurship to an emphasis on the cultural significance of the visual arts.National treasures passed down from dynasty to dynasty, the works of art that now form the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, originally constituted the personal collection of the Ch'ien-lung emperor, who ruled China from 1736 to 1795. Two centuries after Ch'ien-lung ascended the dragon throne, when the Japanese invaded China in 1937, the nearly 10,000 masterworks of painting and calligraphy and more than 600,000 objects and rare books and documents - which had earlier been moved from Peking to Nanking following the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in 1931 - were packed in crates and evacuated to caves near the wartime capital, Chungking. It was not until after World War II that the crated treasures were moved to their present home in Taiwan, where today they represent a major portion of China's artistic and cultural legacy.

Possessing the Past Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei

Fong, Wen C.

History & Criticism

The material presented in this volume significantly extends what has been known to date of Asian textiles produced from the Tang (618-907) through the early Ming period (late 14th-early 15th century), and new documentation gives full recognition to the importance of luxury textiles in the history of Asian art. Costly silks and embroideries were the primary vehicle for the migration of motifs and styles from one part of Asia to another, particularly during the Tang and Mongol (1207-1368) periods. In addition, they provide material evidence of both the cultural and religious ties that linked ethnic groups and the impetus to artistic creativity that was inspired by exposure to foreign goods.The demise of the Silk Roads and the end of expansionist policies, together with the rapid increase in maritime trade, brought to an end the vital economic and cultural interchange that had characterized the years preceding the death of the Ming-dynasty Yongle emperor in 1424. Overland, intrepid merchants no longer transported silks throughout Eurasia and weavers no longer traveled to distant lands. But the products that survive from that wondrous time attest to a glorious era - when silk was resplendent as gold.

When Silk Was Gold Central Asian and Chinese Textiles

Wardwell, Anne E.

From the fall of the Han dynasty at the turn of the third century to the eventual reunification of the country under the Sui at the turn of the seventh century, China experienced a tumultuous and fascinating political and cultural history. The political fragmentation that occurred between the dynasties and the massive migration of nomadic peoples into China resulted in contact with people from every part of Asia and the introduction of foreign ideas, religion, art forms, and motifs. Out of this grew the magnificent art of Tang China in the early eighth century.
This book is the first comprehensive survey of Chinese art during this complex era. Lavishly illustrated and produced, the volume presents more than three hundred recent archaeological finds: including gold artifacts made by the nomadic peoples from Mongolia, luxury articles of glass and precious metals from Western and Central Asia, early Chinese Buddhist sculptures, and spectacular works in every medium from the Tang period. Essays by distinguished scholars provide a historical background, discuss the various media, and trace the changes in art styles over a period that saw a radical modification of Chinese civilization.
In the great tradition of publications on Chinese art from the Metropolitan Museum, China: Dawn of a Golden Age willbecome an essential text for years to come.

China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD

When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles

When Silk Was Gold is the catalogue for the first exhibition devoted exclusively to luxury silks and embroideries produced in Central Asia and China from the eighth to the early fifteenth century. Drawn from the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cleveland Museum of Art, the textiles are remarkable not only for their dazzling display of technical virtuosity but also for their historical significance, reflecting in their techniques and patterns shifts in the balance of power between Central Asia and China that occurred as dynasties rose and fell and empires expanded and dissolved. The finest products of imperial embroidery and weaving workshops in the Middle Ages were among gifts presented by emperors and members of the imperial family to other rulers, emissaries, and distinguished persons. Richly woven textiles were also highly coveted as commercial goods. Transported across vast distances in unprecedented numbers to places as remote as the courts and church treasuries of Europe, they formed the mainstay of international commerce. Under the Yüan dynasty (1279–1368), textiles were an important part of the Mongol patronage of Buddhist sects in Tibet, which was an important means of solidifying Mongol-Tibetan relations. The material presented in this volume significantly extends what has been known to date of Asian textiles produced from the Tang (618–907) through the early Ming period (late 14th–early 15th century), and new documentation gives full recognition to the importance of luxury textiles in the history of Asian art. Costly silks and embroideries were the primary vehicle for the migration of motifs and styles from one part of Asia to another, particularly during the Tang and Mongol (1207–1368) periods. In addition, they provide material evidence of both the cultural and religious ties that linked ethnic groups and the impetus to artistic creativity that was inspired by exposure to foreign goods. The demise of the Silk Roads and the end of expansionist policies, together with the rapid increase in maritime trade, brought to an end the vital economic and cultural interchange that had characterized the years preceding the death of the Ming-dynasty Yongle emperor in 1424. Overland, intrepid merchants no longer transported silks throughout Eurasia and weavers no longer traveled to distant lands. But the products that survive from that wondrous time attest to a glorious era―when silk was resplendent as gold. [This book was originally published in 1997 and has gone out of print. This edition is a print-on-demand version of the original book.]

The Han (221 B.C.–A.D. 206) and Tang (618–907) dynasties mark the two great eras of early imperial China. From the fall of the Han at the turn of the third century to reunification under the Sui in the seventh, the country experienced devastation from war and social upheaval. It was also, however, a period of creativity and cultural change. The political fragmentation that occurred between the dynasties and the massive migration of nomadic peoples into China resulted in contact with every part of Asia and the introduction of foreign ideas, religious, and art forms and motifs. An important aspect of the cultural exchange that took place at the time was the spread of Buddhism in China. By the Tang dynasty, thousands of foreigners were traveling to the capital, Chang'an, which flourished as a great cosmopolitan center of world commerce and culture
 The integration of foreign motifs and styles with the traditional arts of China is the focus of this catalogue and the landmark exhibition that it accompanies, "China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200–750 A.D.," held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibition comprises some three hundred objects, most of them excavated in recent years and many never before seen outside China. Each work is discussed in terms of its aesthetic qualities and art-historical significance and in the context of the philosophical and religious ideas that are reflected in iconography and style.
 In an introductory essay, James C. Y. Watt, Brooke Russell Astor Chairman, Department of Asian Art, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, discusses the art and history of the entire period. Essays by both Chinese and Western scholars explore important aspects of metalwork, glass, and textiles, as well as the development of Buddhist art in China. [This book was originally published in 2004 and has gone out of print. This edition is a print-on-demand version of the original book.]

China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200–750 A.D.

Howard, Angela Falco

Bai, Su

Marshak, Boris I.

Feng Zhao

Jiayao, An

A catalogue of 178 objects from the Florence and Herbert Irving collection of East Asian lacquers, one of the finest collections in the West.

East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection

Introduces Chinese dynastic history, and examines the Museum and its collection

Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei

GUO LI GU GONG BO WU YUAN

Fong, Wen

Harry N.Abrams, Inc.

When Silk Was Gold is the catalogue for the first exhibition devoted exclusively to luxury silks and embroideries produced in Central Asia and China from the eighth to the early fifteenth century. Drawn from the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cleveland Museum of Art, the textiles are remarkable not only for their dazzling display of technical virtuosity but also for their historical significance, reflecting in their techniques and patterns shifts in the balance of power between Central Asia and China that occurred as dynasties rose and fell and empires expanded and dissolved.
 The finest products of imperial embroidery and weaving workshops in the Middle Ages were among gifts presented by emperors and members of the imperial family to other rulers, emissaries, and distinguished persons. Richly woven textiles were also highly coveted as commercial goods. Transported across vast distances in unprecedented numbers to places as remote as the courts and church treasuries of Europe, they formed the mainstay of international commerce. Under the Yüan dynasty (1279–1368), textiles were an important part of the Mongol patronage of Buddhist sects in Tibet, which was an important means of solidifying Mongol-Tibetan relations.
 The material presented in this volume significantly extends what has been known to date of Asian textiles produced from the Tang (618–907) through the early Ming period (late 14th–early 15th century), and new documentation gives full recognition to the importance of luxury textiles in the history of Asian art. Costly silks and embroideries were the primary vehicle for the migration of motifs and styles from one part of Asia to another, particularly during the Tang and Mongol (1207–1368) periods. In addition, they provide material evidence of both the cultural and religious ties that linked ethnic groups and the impetus to artistic creativity that was inspired by exposure to foreign goods.
 The demise of the Silk Roads and the end of expansionist policies, together with the rapid increase in maritime trade, brought to an end the vital economic and cultural interchange that had characterized the years preceding the death of the Ming-dynasty Yongle emperor in 1424. Overland, intrepid merchants no longer transported silks throughout Eurasia and weavers no longer traveled to distant lands. But the products that survive from that wondrous time attest to a glorious era—when silk was resplendent as gold. [This book was originally published in 1997 and has gone out of print. This edition is a print-on-demand version of the original book.]

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Crafts & Hobbies

A major scholarly work, published in conjunction with the exhibition titled "Splendors of Imperial China: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei" (on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during 1996, and scheduled for several other American cities during 1996-1997). Written by scholars of both Chinese and Western cultural backgrounds and conceived as a cultural history, the book synthesizes scholarship of the past three decades to present the historical and cultural significance of individual works of art and analyses of their aesthetic content, as well as reevaluation of the cultural dynamics of Chinese history. Includes some 600 illustrations, 436 in color. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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Books by Watt, James C.Y.

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East Asian Lacquer The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection

Possessing the Past Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei

When Silk Was Gold Central Asian and Chinese Textiles

China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD

When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles

China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200–750 A.D.

East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection

Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei

When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian and Chinese Textiles

Possessing the Past: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei