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

NYC Architectural Sights, 1

Between our American Folk Art Museum visit and the walk in Central Park, we took in a few more great old buildings of interest, mostly on the west side. 

From a day or two earlier, the very distinctive American
Radiator building, on about 41st St.

Seen from Bryant Park, with its taller 34th St. neighbor

We were headed for the Pythian building, but the
Ansonia Hotel caught our attention

Lincoln Center, Julliard, Carnegie, all nearby...

The Pythian is your basic Egyptian Revival Art Deco--which we've

seen before--and certainly has the most interesting back story

of them all...also concerning music

Click to enlarge and read...the Pythians were a mid-19th to -20th
century secret society/service club, very large, especially in NYC,
where they built this, their Temple, one of the earlier skyscrapers

The really interesting part of the story is that the
Pythian Temple had a large auditorium--for all the
Pythian pageantry--which in the waning years was
leased to Decca Records...and it was on this stage that
Buddy Holly did his last recordings and on which Bill
Haley and His Comets recorded Rock Around the Clock;
among others

Alas, most of the street level facade was under scaffolding,
but I did get this

And this

Further alas, the security guy explained that, apart from
a few trappings left in the lobby, all the interior art deco
stuff was gone, as was the auditorium, sound stage, and
so on on; and that nobody cared about Bill Haley and the
Comets and Buddy Holley anyway; and on your way out
please do not bother any of the tenants...

Top story columns, matching those down on the street;
oh well...

The Dakota..."Strawberry Fields Forever..."

The Majestic

The San Remo...all of these old wonders and others form the west
backdrop of the park; more to come