‘The Shape Of Things’ At The Asia Society

New York City

:"The Shape of Things," currently on view at the Asia Society, does more to bring the great civilizations of the East into context than its title implies, anchoring the concept that form followed function during the Neolithic age. In presenting more than 90 items from the Mr and Mrs John D. Rockefeller 3rd collection of Asian art, the exhibition surveys the progression of Oriental design from the Neolithic and bronze eras through to the Twentieth Century.

The exhibition underscores the clarity of the Rockefellers' vision to systematically build a collection that would help foster solid understanding of the East. Aided by Sherman Lee, then director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Rockefellers began acquiring in 1956. They bought not only the best money could buy, but they did it judiciously, creating a comprehensive body of art and artifacts that critics over the years have hailed as "gemlike."

When John Rockefeller died in 1978, the gift of the collection to Asia House became the primary impetus for the building of the Asian Society's Park Avenue headquarters.

Curated by Adriana Proser, John H. Foster curator of traditional Asian art, and Xiaojin Wu, Asia Society Museum fellow, "The Shape of Things," on view through July 27, demonstrates how the form of an object reveals a wealth of information about its function and production. Proser's broad definition of form includes materials and colorations.

Organized into three categories, "Objects for Ritual Use," "Objects for Daily Use" and "Objects for Decoration," the survey is open to interpretation on two levels. The first, of course, is the visual, a high-impact hit of the forms that have found their way into the consciousness of artists and collectors for generations. The other is the cultural insight shed on superpowers that, still somewhat mysterious and challenging, demand to be understood.

The histories of both China and Japan begin about 5,000 years ago in the Neolithic period. Simply put, China was to the Orient what Rome was to the West, an influencer of language and culture. Bronze and jade were the predominant media of the era, and lacquer was used. During the Bronze Age, artistic evolution tended to correspond to shifts in power, and there were many. With the coming of the Shang dynasty (1766–1211 BC), centered in the Yellow River Valley in northeastern China, kings derived their rights from divine ancestors. To honor their benefactors, they presented offerings of food in massive bronze vessels, or guis .

Guis were either buried with a clansman or placed atop altars. Typically decorated with stylized animals that experts believe served as protective spirits for the offerings, the early bronzes were quite complex. While the main body of the vessels were typically cast from a single mold, intricate handles often required the technical virtuosity of sectional castings. Highly ritualistic vessels carried the added drama of rising from pedestal bases.