The Met: China

September 26th we did the Met's very large China section, first the docent-led tour, then wandering on our own. We spent a very edifying month in China in 2008, seeing several of the great museums there as well as scores of other sites and sights. But we have not been back, nor do we expect to go back, so this was perhaps our last extensive look at Chinese art. 

Jade plaques, Hongshan period, c. 3500-2000BCE;
such things are found mostly in the large mortuary sites
of the period...of which very little is known

Painted jar, neolithic, c. 2300BCW

Stemmed cup, neolithic, c. 2000BCE

Bronze wine container, Shang dynasty 13th century, BCE

Bronze cauldrons, Shang, 13th BCE

Bronze wine vase, Shang, 13thBCE

Arhat/Luohan (guardian of Buddhism), 10th century, CE; 
life-sized, glazed, with a companion piece across the entrance
to the hall; very impressive

Bowl with dragon, Five Dynasties period, 10th CE

Dragons were very "in" during the Ming and Tang
dynasties; also instant orange juice

Bronze mortuary objects, Han dynasty, 200BCE-200CE

Camel and riders, Tang, late 7th CE; interestingly, the riders appears
to be non-Chinese, that is merchants from afar; also the camel; emerging
Silk Road

Female rider, Tang, 8th CE

Banquet scene, Five dynasties, 10th

Hanging scroll, Crows in Old Trees, 13th, Luo Zichuan; interesting
that by this time, nearly as in Europe, artists began signing their works 

Long hand-scroll, Duke Wen of Jin Recovering His State (I swear
I am not making this up), attributed to Li Tang, 12th century

Detail thereof; gin always wins...some say

Hanging scroll, Farewell by a Stream on a Clear Day, 
by Zhao Yuan, Yuan dynasty, 14th century; we visited
the great karst mountains on two occasions in China, first
on the River Li, and second in Wulingyuan National Park

The Met is sufficiently large that it can present entire rooms, houses,
gardens, temples...here is a Chinese hall, fabricated by Chinese artisans,
using historically-correct traditional methods and materials...

Incredibly beautiful armoire

No nails, no screws, mortise and tenon...

Now in the scholar's garden, mountains (rocks from Lake Tai, 
near Suzhou); brought from China and assembled by specialists;
we saw the real thing on a visit from Shanghai to Suzhou in 2008

And water feature...

Now in a large hall with large format objects

A giant mural, said to be the Buddha of Medicine; southern China,
14th century, associated with the master craftsman Zhu Haogu; 
originally in a monastery

Click to enlarge; can't tell the players without a program

Statue of a Bodhisattva, Qi dynasty, 6th century

Steele, Wei dynasty 6th; we visited the Forest of Stones in
Xian in 2008

Detail; I like to think of this as the Hotel Steele;
perhaps the Rotel Steele