Exhibition dates: December 2, 2006 – April 1, 2007
Exhibition location: Florence and Herbert Irving Galleries for Chinese Decorative Arts
An exhibition of exquisite Asian lacquer decorated with mother-of-pearl will open at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on December 2. Featuring some 50 works dating from the eighth to the 19th century, Mother-of-Pearl: A Tradition in Asian Lacquer will illustrate the remarkable variety of effects found in the use of minute pieces of mother-of-pearl to create mosaic-like patterns and dazzling scenes. It will also explore the importance of lacquer decorated with mother-of-pearl in interregional trade from the 12th to the 19th century and in the development of maritime global trade – particularly works made in India and Japan – in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Drawn largely from the Museum's permanent collection, the exhibition will include recent acquisitions as well as several important loans from public and private collections in the United States.
The exhibition and its accompanying catalogue are made possible by The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation.
The combination of lacquer and mother-of-pearl can be traced to the period of the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600 – 150 B.C.) in China. As early as the eighth century, works using both materials were also found in Korea, Japan, and Thailand. In the 12th century, craftsmen in southern China began to use smaller and thinner pieces of mother-of-pearl to create sumptuous painterly scenes of figures in landscapes, and flowers and birds. Chinese inspiration is often found in Korean lacquers and in works produced in the Ryukyu Islands, more commonly known as Okinawa.
Japanese lacquers, on the other hand, illustrate a distinctive technique known as makie or sprinkled gold, in which the surface of the lacquer ground is gold rather than black. Forms based on European shapes and designs derived from Indian and Southeast Asian textiles started appearing in Japanese lacquer in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Works of this type reflect the arrival of the Portuguese (followed by the Dutch and the English) in Asia and the expansion of international trade at that time.
Made in China, Korea, Japan, India, and Thailand, objects on view will range in size from small boxes, used for incense or cosmetics, to large screens that divided and decorated interiors. Highlights will include: Screen with "Spring Morning in the Han Palace," a magnificent Chinese panel more than 24 feet in length; container with chrysanthemums and peonies, a 12th-century Korean masterpiece with superb inlay technique; and rectangular tray with scene from the Tale of Genji, a large 17th-century Japanese work with gold makie, depicting a scene from one of the world's first novels.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum will offer a Sunday at the Met program, including films and lectures, on January 14. It is free with Museum admission.
A catalogue will accompany the exhibition.
Mother-of-Pearl: A Tradition in Asian Lacquer will be organized by Denise Patry Leidy, Curator of the Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
November 13, 2006
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