|
Met showcases centuries of Chinese art
August 19, 1997
Web posted at: 5:21 a.m. EDT (0921 GMT)From Correspondent Elsa Klensch
NEW YORK (CNN) -- With 11 new major works, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art now houses the most comprehensive collection of ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy outside of Asia.
For the first time, the galleries showcase Chinese decorative arts.
Senior curator James Watt says it's taken two years and $14 million to complete the modern showcase -- time and money well spent on intimate atmospheres and state-of-the-art displays for unencumbered viewing.
"We were looking at the space when we were designing the whole suite of galleries, and we noticed that the ceiling was so tremendously high that we could easily make two floors of it," Watt explains. "So what we did -- instead of the original idea of mixing decorative arts and paintings from the 12th century onward -- we have more or less separated the decorative arts from the paintings."
 |
 |
For the inaugural installation, early Chinese textiles have a place of prominence.
"One of the chief considerations of the decorative arts galleries was that they should be suitable for the display of textiles, and for this initial exhibition we have chosen mainly textiles from the 15th through the 17th centuries," Watt says.
Other decorative arts on display include 16th- and 17th- century hand-carved ivory pieces.
Watt says the museum has outstanding examples of Rhino horn carvings on display, an area that is particularly Chinese. Jade pieces, as well as Chinese lacquer, also make strong statements in the collection. The lacquer work represents more than 20 years of collecting by the museum.
"It encompasses practically every form and every style and every technique starting from the 13th century all the way down to the 18th," Watt says.
The museum also has a range of Chinese cloisonne ranging from the early 15th century to the 18th century.
"It was never a very Chinese thing because it is very colorful," Watt says of the cloisonne. "It's very ornate, which was not always Chinese taste until the 18th century. We are very lucky to have examples of Chinese cloisonne of the early pieces."
One of Watt's favorite pieces is a round, iron plaque with a silver letter inlaid in it. He says it's a passport issued by Kubla Kahn for important officials or honored state guests.
"For example, Marco Polo, on a return journey to Venice, would carry such a passport given by the great Kahn himself," Watts says. "It has a very interesting sort of Tibetan style decoration at the top and is a great treasure and great curiosity. It's very rare."
Related site:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Sound off on our message boards
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.