Gallery News

By Margaret Tao

New York

Camel and rider China, Tang period (618-906) Earthenware with pigment Height 41 cm `Tang Ceramic Sculpture' Eskenazi Ltd at Pace Wildenstein, New York

Throckmorton Fine Art will hold an exhibition of seventy jade objects from the Neolithic to the Han period. `Enduring Art of Jade Age China', which runs from 2 March to 12 April, is accompanied by a catalogue written by Elizabeth Childs-Johnson, with contributions from Wen Guang and Sun Shoudao on the problems of authenticity. During his thirty years of dealing in Meso-American jade, Spencer Throckmorton developed a keen interest in the technological feats and ingenuity of the makers of early Chinese jade. He has been furthering his knowledge, and has built this collection over the last five years. Aware of the current controversies relating to authenticity, every effort has been made to thoroughly examine the style, surface and technique of manufacture of each piece. Orenda Laboratory in Santa Fe and Frank Preusser have provided an analysis of each piece to eliminate forgeries. Throckmorton is astounded that there are, among the abundance of fakes, many important and authentic pieces on the market. He feels that `it is a travesty to assume that there are no very good examples available, if one has the knowledge to differentiate'. The jades selected depict both humans and animals, such as a kneeling figure clad in animal skin, shamans, rhinoceroses and wild boar. Other figures are mythical þ dragons and `pig-dragons'. A classic example from the Western Zhou period is a stag in excellent condition. Throckmorton sees this event as an opportunity to reintroduce early Chinese jade as a viable area of collecting. `Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Teachers' at Michael Cohn Asian Antiquities from 3 to 31 March will include sculptural and pictorial representations of the different Buddhist traditions from numerous locations in Asia. They range in date from the 3rd/4th century to the early 19th century. The earliest piece is a stucco Buddha head from Afghanistan. A 9th century Pala stone stele depicting Buddha's descent from heaven is another highlight. Once painted and gilded, the central image is under a lotus umbrella with stupas above.

Several images are drawn from the Lamaistic Buddhist traditions of Nepal, Tibet and Mongolia. Tibetan gilt bronzes include a 15th century Akshobya Buddha seated on a lotus pedestal with a vajra before him, and a finely detailed 17th century Shakyamuni with his two disciples. There is also a rare series of 18th century paintings depicting the Fifth and Seventh Dalai Lamas and six beautifully mounted thangkas of arhats and directional guardians, painted at the beginning of the 19th century at Narthang monastery. Another unusual item is an 18th/19th century Mongolian thangka of Manjushri.

Hinayana Buddhist images from Southeast Asia are also well represented. A 9th century bronze Buddha with a fine green patina from the Mon Dvaravati culture in Thailand is an early example. Also worthy of note is a rare and imposing 14th century Sukhothai bronze Buddha head.

London dealer Nicholas Grindley has decided for a second year to exhibit independently of the International Asian Art Fair. This allows him freedom from the restrictions of a large, organized event. Grindley's show opens on 14 March at Kate Ganz's gallery, and runs until the 23rd, with a preview night on the 19th. On display will be two large Tang ceramic horses, dated to the 7th century, and two grooms. The objects were modelled by hand around a straw-wrapped iron armature. During firing, the straw burned away, preventing damage to the ceramic when the armature expanded with the heat. Furniture will also be shown, including a huanghuali sloping stile cabinet comparable to a pair in the collection of the Italian ambassador Taliani de Marcio and his wife, which was illustrated in Gustav Ecke's Chinese Domestic Furniture I. Other pieces include an unusual yokeback chair which has tenons projecting outwards, rather than the usual concealed or flush tenons, and a huanghuali square table with double cash motifs.

China 2000 Fine Art's exhibition `Tempting Fate' from 15 March to 10 April will include a selection of Chinese paintings and calligraphy as well as scholar's objects and furniture. It also complements their display at the International Asian Art Fair. An important painting by the Yangzhou Eccentric Hua Yan, a fan painting entitled Spring by Chen Ruomu, a collection of inkstones and several miniature scholar's rocks are among the highlights. Another unusual piece is a bronze fengshui compass inscribed with calligraphy from the Northern Qi period. Among the examples of furniture, two 17th century altar tables made from jichimu and tielimu, an 18th century zitan and boxwood curio stand, and a pair of lacquer chairs from the Ming period are of particular interest.

Paintings by contemporary artists such as Nina Kuo and Zeng Xiaojun will also be on show to act as a counterpoint to the classical pieces. Chambers Fine Art will hold an exhibition entitled `The Chinese Scholar's Mind: Furniture from Late Ming to Early Qing', from 18 March to 12 May. The gallery, which opened last September, is named after British architect Sir William Chambers, a leading exponent of Chinese principles in garden design. Directors Jerry Chen and Christophe Mao aimed to create a venue where the best of old and new could be creatively contrasted and combined. This exhibition follows `First Encounter by Lu Shengzhong' and `Contemporary Photography by Rong Rong' which focused on the work of modern Chinese artists.

The pieces were chosen on the basis that they were representative of the Chinese scholar's concept of furniture. The creation of a tranquil environment suitable for meditation and study were important to the scholar, and this is reflected in the simplicity of form and design. Traditionally, hardwoods like huanghuali and zitan were the most prized; however, recent research and the availability of a wider variety of material has led to the appreciation of pieces made from alternative woods. Most of the pieces on show are in their original condition and made from softwoods such as yumu, jumu and nanmu. In selecting the objects, Chen and Mao paid particular attention to elegant forms and beautiful patina. On show are scholar's objects, painting, wine and kang tables, folding chairs, stools, a daybed, a canopy bed, cabinets and bookshelves from several provinces in China. A 16th/17th century black-lacquered painting table with recessed legs from Gansu province is an unusual example.

An interesting selection of photographs by Sidney D. Gamble accompanies the display. During four extended sojourns in China in the early years of the 20th century, Gamble travelled widely accumulating material and taking thousands of photographs for his books Peking: A Social Survey (1921) and How Chinese Families Live in Peiping (1933). These images record scenes of a fascinating period in China's modern history, and the 21 selected depict scenes associated either with the scholar's life or Chinese furniture. More furniture will be on view at Chinart Inc. in `Romancing the Wood' from 18 to 30 March. Ruby Chan will be showing tables and stools dating from the 17th to the 19th century in woods such as huanghuali, nanmu, walnut, jumu, cypress and elm. A 17th century huanghuali stool which retains its original patina and an attractive grain is one of the highlights. Another important example is a late 16th/early 17th century painting table of simple design in jianjingmu with remaining traces of lacquer. According to Chan, this is the first time a table of this material and design has ever been shown. Also on view are several rare examples of 17th and 18th century tables with their original stone insets. The stones, known as wenshi, include dalishi, guanshi, yanshanshi, pudding stone and soapstone. The examples in the show all have a patina quite different from the highly polished finish of newly quarried stones. The stones come in a wide variety of colours, such as grey, yellow-brown, green, red and brown. Chan is optimistic that her show will draw collectors' attention to this neglected but important area in Chinese furniture.

`Early Chinese Ceramics' is the subject of Zetterquist Galleries's exhibition from 18 to 29 March. The 18 pieces on show date from the Sui to the Yuan dynasty. This show, according to Eric Zetterquist, is part of his plan to hold smaller exhibitions of higher quality pieces. There will be an accompanying catalogue.

The unusual Song pieces are representative works from several different kilns. A rare example is a Northern Song persimmon dingyao bowl with a notched rim. It had been brought to the USA in the 1950s and had been in a private collection. However, Zetterquist purchased it in Hong Kong. The star piece is a Longquan tripod censer which is similar to one in the Tokyo National Museum. Covered with a bluish-green glaze, it is in excellent condition with no degradation from burial. Other objects from this period include a Jizhou ware tortoiseshell-glazed bowl and a painted Cizhou ware yuhuchunping.

There is a revolving stem-cup from the Yuan period, one of only five known. Although it is not known what purpose the cups were made for, Zetterquist speculated that they may have been made as an act of technical bravura. Other examples include a Sui or early Tang white-ware cup with green drips around the base, and several Five Dynasties pieces.

From 18 to 31 March, William Lipton Ltd will show unusual Chinese furniture and scholar's objects from the 16th to 18th century, selected to reflect recent scholarship. There will also be a display of Southeast Asian sculpture, an area that the gallery believes is under-represented in New York. London dealer Giuseppe Eskenazi's fifth annual New York show `Tang Ceramic Sculpture' will take place at Pace Wildenstein from 19 to 31 March. The gallery at 32 East 57th Street is a well-known venue for modern and contemporary art, with occasional exhibitions of non-Western art. Fourteen objects have been selected for the exhibition, and a fully illustrated catalogue is also available.

Used as grave goods for emperors and others of high standing, glazed or painted figures from the Tang period, with detailed rendering of clothing and hairstyles, provide a valuable record of life and society. The majority represent various members of an aristocratic or imperial entourage: court ladies, servants, musicians and entertainers as well as the horses and camels that signified the wealth and status of their owners. Foreign figures, reflecting Tang cosmopolitanism, were also popular subjects. A Turkic woman astride a kneeling camel and breastfeeding an infant is an unusual example. She wears the clothes of a nomad and the camel carries bedding and other trappings of itinerant life. Another highlight is a kneeling zodiac figure with a man's body and a horse's head. The refined appearance of this piece sets it apart from the usual crudely modelled zodiac figures.

Initially, the concept underlying Kaikodo's exhibition `A Natural Selection' arose from the large number of objects and paintings related to the animal world. However as the exhibition progressed, the process of natural selection gave rise to ideas on the evolution of Chinese and Japanese painting and Chinese ceramics. Howard Rogers hopes that `the present exhibition and catalogue will suggest in varying ways the complex and intriguing process of natural selection and branching that occurred over time to produce the magnificent structure we know and celebrate today as Asian art'.

Nearly fifty Chinese, Japanese and Korean paintings will be featured, including an important work by the legendary Yuan painter Zhao Mengfu. Bathing Horses, dated to 1299, realistically depicts eight horses and their four grooms in various poses along a river. The theme of horse and groom was seen as a metaphor for the relationship between a ruler and the common people. Zhao painted the subject several times and this has been interpreted as signifying the dilemma between his position as an official and thus representative of the Mongol administration and his feelings for his countrymen. The painting represents a significant addition to Zhao's oeuvre.

Rabbits and Birds, Camellias, Narcissus, and Bamboo by Rock in Snow is a fine painting by the Ming master L� Ji. Using a composition which is associated with Northern Song painting, the artist has succeeded in creating an original work with his meticulous brushwork and choice of colour. All the flora and fauna depicted are auspicious symbols. Among the Japanese paintings, there is a striking hanging scroll Nehanzu: Death of the Buddha depicting a parinirvana scene. Apart from his central placement, the artistic device of using a simple line-drawing method to depict the Buddha makes him stand out from the vividly coloured disciples, adherents and animals which surround him. Such paintings were often produced for Zen temples from the late Kamakura to the Muromachi period. This particular painting was based on a work in the Chofuku-ji. Over fifty objects on show demonstrate the fascination Asian artists had with animals, real and mythical. The earliest is an anthropomorphic Neolithic jar from the Majiayao culture. The off-centre placement of the neck and a tail-like flange projecting from the side of the vase opposite the neck are suggestive of an animal form. It is painted with brownish-black and red pigments. An imperial doucai cup decorated with flying dragons from the Chenghua reign, with a diameter of 4.9 cm and a height of 3.5 cm, is possibly the smallest known example of the period. The exhibition, which opens on 19 March, will continue till 28 April. It also celebrates the publication of the 20th issue of the Kaikodo Journal over a period of six years. This edition features an essay by Joseph McDermott which examines the introduction of the optical lens from the West and its impact on Chinese art; James Cahill provides an intriguing overview of the recent history of the Palace Museum collections in Taipei and Beijing; and Howard Rogers discusses the life and work of Song painter Li Tang.

Marcus Flacks believes that `Classical Chinese Furniture IV' at MD Flacks Ltd, from 19 March to 2 April, is one of the best shows they have ever mounted. He added that the pieces are not only unique, rare or excellent examples of classical forms, but each also has special features worth talking about. A full colour catalogue will be available for sale. A collection of rare `museum quality' small pieces and superbly crafted scholar's objects has been included. Among the scholar's objects are a brushwasher and a quatrefoil narcissus planter made of white marble. One important piece is a 17th century huanghuali meditation platform. Only two have ever been published (see Wang Shixiang and Curtis Evarts, Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago and San Francisco, 1995, cat. no. 2 and The Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Piccus Collection of Fine Classical Chinese Furniture, Christie's catalogue, 18 September 1997 sale, lot 21). However, unlike the rectangular forms of the other two, the present example is square.

A 17th century huanghuali luohan bed is an innovative interpretation of a basic design. The feet, which are cleft on the inside create, a juxtaposition between solid and open form, an effect which is repeated elsewhere on the piece. The back is made up of three panels cut from a single piece of huanghuali. These are framed and divided vertically by two mitred flush struts which emphasize the flow of the grain pattern. A small late 18th century huanghuali incense or flower stand has a surprisingly modern appearance. It is box-like and its linear lattice-style aprons and spandrels connect the uprights to form a sequence of rectangular openings, square at the corners. The excellent quality and grain of the wood adds to its appeal. The appearance of this elegant piece is not unlike 20th century furniture designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh or Frank Lloyd Wright.

An exhibition of pencil drawings by Dajing Qian will also be presented. These drawings are inspired by China's past and Buddhist ritual sculpture. Buddha's Gate is one of the artist's most powerful works to date. Sebastian Izzard will be holding an exhibition of `Japanese and Korean Works of Art' in association with London Gallery of Tokyo at Dickinson Roundell, 19 East 66th Street, from 20 to 29 March. The exhibition comprises some twenty examples and includes Heian and Kamakura period wood sculpture, Negoro lacquer, an important mid-16th century Korean landscape painting depicting a scholarly gathering and some good examples of Choson and Koryo period ceramics.

The centrepiece of the show is a A Map of the World and its Peoples, a pair of hanging scrolls. Both are wood-block prints with hand-applied colour, and the map is the earliest Nagasaki print. Weisbrod Chinese Art Ltd's exhibition `Archetypes and Archaism' opens on 20 March and runs for ten days. The way Chinese artists have traditionally imitated and alluded to earlier works will be explored through a selection of thirty bronzes, ceramics and various works of art, dating from the Shang to the Qing period. Richard Poor's article `The Spirit of Wu' in the catalogue, discusses the narrative scenes on an Eastern Zhou bronze hu inlaid in gold and concludes that they are representative products from a short-lived period of challenge and experimentation for bronze masters. The musical chimes on these scenes are found again several thousand years later on a unique blue-and-white brushwasher or offering bowl from the Kangxi period. The bronzes decorating the bowl are also archaic.

Joan B. Mirviss Ltd and Barry Friedman Ltd are presenting works by five major Japanese ceramists. `Masters of Clay: Five Artists from Kyoto' will be held at Friedman's gallery from 20 March to 28 April. Mirviss, a Japanese art specialist who has been involved with contemporary Japanese ceramics for a number of years, felt that Friedman, a leading dealer in 20th century decorative arts, would be the perfect collaborator because of his infallible eye and his admiration of works by these artists. Ceramics by Suzuki Osamu, Morino Hiroaki, Miyashita Zenji, Kondo Takahiro and Kishi Eiko are featured in New York for the first time. Kyoto was chosen as the focus because it is Japan's ancient capital and the heartland of traditional culture. The works on show are diverse both in technique and aesthetics. Even though prominent Japanese potters are celebrities at home, they are still relatively unknown in the United States.

Most of the pieces were either commissioned specifically for the show or were selected by Mirviss based on her understanding of the American taste in contemporary ceramics. She feels that her selections can be appreciated not only by traditionalists rooted in Japanese technique but also by an uninitiated public. The pieces on display include both small- and large-scale works with several well-known and published pieces. Suzuki Osamu is the leading potter of non-functional ceramics. He is best known for his stoneware and works created from combining Shigaraki clay with tooled surfaces, iron slip and ash glaze in an oxidizing kiln. He has been a great influence on many younger artists and was given a retrospective which toured five major Japanese museums in 1999. Morino Hiroaki specializes in large-scale works which are both sculptural and functional. They are hand-built and double-glazed with subdued combinations of red, green, black, blue, white and silver glazes. According to Mirviss, Morino's brilliant mixture of international motifs and Kyoto surfaces appeals to Westerners because of its universality.

The works of Miyashita Zenji have been acquired by many American and European museums. They are distinctive because of their atmospheric quality. He uses the saidei technique, where layers of coloured clays ranging in progressive tones are applied to give an impression of recessive landscapes, distant hills, drifting clouds and rolling waves. Kishi Eiko, a reclusive artist and fine teacher, remains outside the mainstream of Japanese ceramics. She has won prizes abroad and has a following in the USA. Her large-scale works are created using the saiseki zogan technique, in which inlays of coloured clay are applied in a time-consuming mosaic-like fashion to create surface that simulates stone. Kondo Takahiro belongs to the younger generation and is the only porcelain artist in the show. He is the grandson of National Living Treasure Kondo Yuzo. Like his grandfather, Kondo is also known for blue-and-white porcelain. However, their styles are completely different. The younger Kondo has developed a new silver, gold and platinum glaze that he uses to create `silver mist' surfaces which suggest shimmering water. If the response to this first show is favourable, Mirviss hopes to hold further shows on a rotating basis.

Frederick Schultz and the Peter Marks Gallery will hold the first exhibition in New York solely devoted to Jain sculpture, from 20 March to 28 April. `The Jina Collection' comprises bronze and stone sculpture used in the practice of Jainism. Dating from the 6th to the 12th century, the show includes images from public temples and small pieces for personal devotion. This private collection was formed several decades ago and has been on loan to the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC, for the past nine years. A fully illustrated colour catalogue of the collection is available.

Jainism was the third major religion to develop on the Indian subcontinent. Despite sharing certain beliefs with Buddhism and Hinduism, the strict economic and social stratification of the Hindu caste system is not found in Jainism. Its aims to achieve liberation (kaivalya or nirvana) by following the `three jewels' of right knowledge, faith and conduct. The teachings of 24 Jinas, liberators from worldly passions, form the basis of the religion. Consequently, Jain devotional art primarily consists of representations of the Jinas; however, only two Jinas can be identified iconographically. Other representations often have an identifying inscription, and many are labelled as `unidentified Jina'. They are either seated in lotus position or standing in a symmetrical frontal pose. Most of the 25 selected pieces are bronzes. One especially fine Chola example is a 10th century standing Jina representing the Digambora (`sky-clad') sect, whose monks go about unclothed. The wide, square shoulders, narrow waist and elongated arms represent an ideal of spiritual perfection, and the immobile pose is a severe form of penance which facilitates liberation. A 10th century seated Jina, in bronze and inlaid with silver, is the largest early Jain metal piece known and was made according to methods set forth in sacred texts. It was cast using the lost-wax method and finished by chasing and polishing. A highlight among the stone sculptures is a white marble seated Jina dated by inscription to 1160 from Mount Abu, the largest Jain pilgrimage site in western India. Although it is meant to be viewed from the front, the statue has been fully carved in the round.

There are several small devotional bronzes gods and goddesses which were appropriated from the Hindu pantheon, travelling shrines and architectural fragments from Jain temples.

Following the excellent response to their London exhibition last November, Rossi & Rossi will present `Tibetan Tulkus: Images of Continuity' at Tibet House in New York from 21 March to 21 April.

The show features 38 portraits by photographer Martine Franck showing young Tulkus in various situations such as study and reflection. With the current American interest in Tibetan culture and the overlapping exhibition, `Art Treasures from the Land of Snows: Selections from the Tibet House Repatriation Collection', it is anticipated that the photographs will be very well received.

Scholten Japanese Art presents their second show `Delicate Divide: The Art of the Japanese Screen' from 21 March to 21 April. As reflections of their owner's taste, screens have multiple functions and are an integral part of the Japanese architectural scheme. As they are easily folded and moved, screens are flexible dividers allowing new spaces to be created at will. By rotating them, a different atmosphere may be introduced to correspond with the seasons.

Many screens were produced by established painting schools with different styles and subject matter. For example, an 18th century eight-panel screen Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons combines a subject common to the Kano School with decorative elements of the Tosa and Rinpa Schools. Gold is used extensively in a 17th century six-panel screen Cedar and Maple in an Autumn Landscape. Screens applied with gold and silver would often have been used to brighten interiors, especially within the fortified castles of the daimyo. `Wine and Spirits of the Ancestors at E&J Frankel Ltd, from 22 March to 28 April, is dedicated to the theme of wine in Chinese culture, as expressed through its art. The idea for this show was the brainchild of wine specialist Kevin Swersey. There will be over fifty wine vessels and accoutrements as well as depictions of people enjoying wine. A colour catalogue accompanies the exhibition.

Wine has played an important part in Chinese culture since Neolithic times. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, it became an important part of religious ritual because it could produce an altered state of consciousness, and many bronzes of the period were wine vessels. In this exhibition, the archaic bronzes date from the Xia to the Western Han period. An important published piece is a late Shang jue with the pictogram X zuo Fu Yi (`made by X for Fu Yi') inscribed under the handle. Another interesting example is a Middle Western Zhou zhi with the character zi (son) inscribed inside the vessel and a decoration of two long-tailed birds encircling its neck. Both items were formerly in the Bella and P.P. Chiu Collection.

Remains of wine crystals and liquid wine may still be found in a covered fanghu from the Han period and a Western Han chain-handled you. At the end of the Zhou dynasty, references to the secular pleasures of wine began to appear in texts such as Qu Yuan's Chu Ci, and depictions of banquet scenes on Han dynasty tomb reliefs and wine containers found in Tang dynasty tombs attest to this development. Many Tang poems praise the ability of wine to free the mind for composing poetry.

By the Song period wine drinking had reached a high level of sophistication and refinement, which even extended to connoisseurship of the porcelain cups and vessels used. The colour and quality of a Northern Song Jun ware zhihu (wine ewer) in melon form, still with its original cover, is especially fine. Another example is a set of qingbai porcelain comprising a covered ewer and lobed bowl made at the Jingdezhen kilns in Jiangxi province. Objects connected with a literati lifestyle include a 16th century huanghuali wine table which can be easily be disassembled and taken outdoors for drinking in the garden, and a late Ming inkstone with an inscription and scenes related to the famous gathering at the Lanting Pavilion, where forty scholars, poets and artists met to exchange ideas, relax and drink wine A large hanging scroll by Li Shan dated 1645, explores the theme of scholars enjoying wine in a garden with their painting and writing implements laid out on the table before them. A number of Qing pieces round out this comprehensive selection of wine-related material. Other dealers exhibiting during Asia Week include Suzanne Mitchell, who will be showing Japanese and Korean scrolls, screens, calligraphy and ceramics from 20 to 25 March, and Andrew Kahane Ltd, with Chinese ceramics and works of art. The earliest of these are two caparisoned pottery horses, from the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi period respectively. Among the Song ceramics at Kahane's gallery are a rare qingbai ware bowed rectangular pillow carved with boys at play, and a Jun ware purple-splashed globular jar, similar to a famous example in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. There are also Southeast Asian ceramics, such as an eastern Javanese gold head of Kala, dated to the 13th century, and a Khmer bronze figure of Dakini from the Baphuon period.

Retrospect 5000 was set up by collectors Julian Gottlieb and Jessica Wang in 1999 with the aim of introducing collectors and museums to high-quality early Chinese artworks. The focus is on rare and important bronzes and ceramics. Among the objects in this spring's exhibition are a painted pottery courtier from the Tang period, Han and Tang period tomb sculptures, and Song and Yuan ceramics. Highlights of the bronze objects dating from the Western Zhou to the Han period include a Western Zhou tiger, chariot fittings inlaid with gold, silver and turquoise from the Warring States period, and a pair of Han gilt-bronze weights. Viewing is by appointment (tel/fax: 718-648-7887).