Exhibition date: Spring 2004 – January 2006
Exhibition location: Florence and Herbert Irving Galleries for Chinese Decorative Arts
An exhibition of some 100 precious Chinese and Mughal jade carvings from the Heber R. Bishop collection will open at The Metropolitan Museum of Art this spring. Featuring the objects from practical vessels and pendants to ornaments intended for the emperor's desk, The Bishop Jades will illustrate the full range of the lapidary's repertoire. An industrialist and entrepreneur, Mr. Bishop was an active patron of the arts and a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum. In the late 19th century, he assembled a collection of more than one thousand pieces of jade and other hardstones from China and elsewhere, and in 1902, he bequeathed the collection to the Museum.
This selection of the most refined works from the collection will include carvings of jade, agate, quartz, lapis lazuli and many other hard stones as well as items inlaid with gold, rubies, and emeralds. They represent the sophisticated art of Chinese lapidaries during the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911) as well as the highly accomplished works of Mughal Indian jade carvers that provided an exotic inspiration to their Chinese counterparts. Also on display will be a set of Chinese lapidary tools and illustrations of jade workshops, which will introduce the traditional method of working jade to visitors.
The exhibition is organized by Jason Sun, Associate Curator in the Department of Asian Art at the Metropolitan Museum.
Educational programs complementing The Bishop Jades will be scheduled, and the exhibition will be featured on the Museum's Web site, www.metmuseum.org.
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