Later Chinese Jades: Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century
Contact:
Michele Dilworth (415) 581-3713 or mdilworth@asianart.org
Tim Hallman (415) 581-3711 or thallman@asianart.org
Later Chinese Jades: Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century
November 10, 2007–August 17, 2008
San Francisco, CA, November 9, 2007: To celebrate the long-awaited publication of Later Chinese Jades: Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century—a comprehensive catalogue surveying the Asian Art Museum’s prominent collection of Chinese jades from this time period, the Asian Art Museum presents a selection of seventy three jades chronicled in the catalogue beginning November 10. Housed in the Tateuchi Thematic Gallery located in the southwest corner of the second floor (Gallery 24), the exhibition will be on view through August 17, 2008. The objects on display are arranged in thematic groupings: animals; landscapes; ornaments; archaic forms; imitations and fakes; religious objects; scholar’s studio; pictorial puns and objects of good fortune; and utensils and vessels. The display complements the permanent installation of Chinese jades in Gallery 13 located in the west wing of the third floor.
About the Asian Art Museum jade collection
The core of the museum’s collection of Chinese jades was donated by Avery Brundage (1887–1975), an avid and discerning collector. Many of the jades collected by Brundage were assumed to be ancient. In 1972 the museum published Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, which focused on a group of Brundage’s jades chosen by former museum director and chief curator René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé for their aesthetic and historical interest.
Around the time of d’Argencé’s publication, archaeological investigations in China accelerated enormously, and discoveries from ancient tomb sites have shed new light on Chinese jadework. In 1996 Yang Boda, ex–deputy director of the Palace Museum, Beijing, and a world-renowned specialist on Chinese jades, was invited to the Asian Art Museum to study and evaluate the collection. He spent two months conferring with the museum’s curators. As a result of this collaboration, it was realized that some of the collection’s jades thought to be ancient were actually from the Ming (1368-1644) or Qing (1644–1911) dynasty, or even the early part of the twentieth century.
About the catalogue: Later Chinese Jades: Ming Dynasty to Early Twentieth Century
Armed with a new understanding of Chinese jades, the museum has undertaken a major catalogue of its later objects in this medium. Nearly a decade in the making, the catalogue represents the most sophisticated and up-to-date jade research on the subject available anywhere. It promises to become the definitive guide to Chinese jades from the Ming dynasty through the twentieth century. It is in conjunction with this publication that the museum is presenting a selection of its later Chinese jades in the Tateuchi Gallery through August 17, 2008.
Later Chinese Jades includes contributions by three of the museum’s curators of Chinese art. Associate Curator, Chinese Art He Li places Chinese jades in the cultural context of the Ming and Qing periods. Senior Curator of Chinese Art Michael Knight considers jades from later periods and explains the importance of archaism—the imitation of ancient styles and forms—in later jadework. Curator of Himalayan and Chinese Decorative Art Terese Tse Bartholomew explores connections between Chinese and Mughal jade workers and illuminates the symbolism of jade objects.
These essays make a significant contribution to the understanding of Chinese jade. Nearly four hundred jade objects are considered in individual object entries, making this is an essential text for anyone with a serious interest in Chinese jades.
Available exclusively from the Asian Art Museum Store, the 368-page Later Chinese Jades is available in hardcover for $95. Purchases can be made at the museum or by phone at 415-581-3602. E-mail inquiries should be addressed to shop@asianart.org.
About the Asian Art Museum
The Asian Art Museum is a public institution whose mission is to lead a diverse global audience in discovering the unique material, aesthetic, and intellectual achievements of Asian art and culture. Holding nearly 17,000 Asian art treasures spanning 6,000 years of history, the museum is one of the largest museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian art. Once located in Golden Gate Park, the museum now resides at its new, expanded facility at Civic Center Plaza. An architectural gem featuring a dynamic blend of beaux arts and modern design elements, the museum’s new home is the result of a dramatic transformation of San Francisco’s former main library building by renowned architect Gae Aulenti (designer of Paris’s Musée d’Orsay) into a showcase for the museum’s acclaimed collection and exhibitions.
- Information: (415) 581-3500 or www.asianart.org.
- Location: 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102.
- Hours: The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with extended hours until 9:00 pm every Thursday.
- Admission: $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7 for youth 13–17, and free for children under 12. Thursday evenings after 5 pm admission is just $5 for all visitors except those under 12 and members, who are always free. Target Tuesdays: The museum offers FREE admission to all on the first Tuesday of every month, courtesy of Target. Beginning May 2008, Target Tuesdays will be replaced with Target Sundays, with FREE admission offered on the first Sunday of the month, courtesy of Target. Regular admission fees will apply the first Tuesday of the month beginning in May.
- Access: The Asian Art Museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information regarding access, please call (415) 581-3598; TDD: (415) 861-2035.
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