China Institute Gallery Will Show 2,000 Years Of Chinese Lacquer

NEW YORK CITY

:One of the richest decorative art traditions of China will be on view at China Institute Gallery in the exhibition "Masterpieces of Chinese Lacquer from the Mike Healy Collection" from September 16 through December 3. Spanning a period of almost 2,000 years from the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) through the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the 31 objects include intricately carved examples of cosmetic boxes, wine cups, plates and table screens. All of the lacquer in the exhibition is being shown in New York for the first time.

It is believed that lacquer production in China dates to the Neolithic period. One of the earliest known lacquer objects is a red bowl from Hemudu culture in Zhejiang Province, near today's Shanghai, dating back more than 6,000 years. The richness of the color and the extraordinary craftsmanship necessary to create lacquer ware made it a luxury item treasured by the Chinese nobility.

"It is curious that lacquer, one of China's great decorative art forms, is rarely studied or exhibited," notes Willow Hai Chang, China Institute Gallery director. "The last major lacquer exhibition in New York was at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the early 1990s. We are delighted to present this exhibition which explores the development of these special objects and how they became a beloved art form appreciated for its complex technique and beauty."

Among the highlights in the exhibition are two early Han dynasty First-Second Century CE pieces: a cosmetic box and a red wine cup with two handles. Lacquer was so popular in the Han dynasty that it was used for everything from utensils, containers for food, wine and cosmetics to numerous tomb objects. In Hunan province, archaeologists unearthed the tomb of a nobleman's wife, from 168 BCE, that had a set of four nesting lacquer coffins and about 500 pieces of lacquer ware.

Birds, animals, fruit and flowers are frequent themes in lacquer ware; one of the most elegant objects in the collection is a round red box covered with carved peony blossoms in full bloom. A plate in the collection depicts a chrysanthemum pattern that is identical to that on a circular box in Beijing's Palace Museum. A circular red box carved with an intricate pattern of lychees from the late Ming dynasty is part of the Healy collection.

Lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl, "luodian" was developed during the Song dynasty (960-1279). Today, few examples from this period survive since they are extremely sensitive to temperature changes and as a result, are difficult to preserve. The Healy collection has five pieces of luodian from the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

The influence of Chinese lacquer spread to neighboring countries, especially Japan and Korea. "Some of the finest lacquer items in the Healy collection arrived via Japanese collections, and some of the storage boxes, which are of Japanese origin and bear inscriptions indicating Japanese ownership, still remain with the lacquers," notes Hai Chang in the full-color catalog that accompanies the exhibition.

The China Institute Gallery is at 125 East 65th Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues. For information, www.chinainstitute.org or 212-744-8181.