A taste of tonight’s tour of the galleries, in search of Asian objects:
Asian objects make up the third largest category of artworks at the Gardner Museum, after Italian and American art. Isabella Gardner’s interest in Asia began in 1883–84, when she and her husband Jack visited Japan, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, and India. She bought only a few things on this trip, but filled scrapbooks with photographs, notes, flowers, and assorted souvenirs.
Then, around 1901–3, Isabella bought Japanese screens and Chinese scrolls, along with carved and painted wooden panels. Most of these came from dealers’ shops here in Boston. A decade later, she sought a few select masterpieces of Asian art.
Isabella left nothing about why she collected what she did, but you can see from this chronology that an interest in Asia and Asian art ran throughout her life…
Now this [the Votive Stele, left] is one of the great objects in the museum. The carving and design are wonderful (despite some damage over time), and it’s dated, which helps us art historians to guess at dates for other similar, undated objects. The front of the base bears the “votive,” or wish, for all sentient beings to convert to the Buddha’s way. Seventy-one people are named as makers of the offering, and the date is given as: “25th day of the 5th lunar month of the 1st year of Wu-ting.” Need some help with that one? Okay, okay, it works out to July 2, 543…
- Rich
Get more on the self-guided tour tonight, including musings on exotic lanterns and Ikea, Steely Dan lyrics, and the hard facts about cheating in 17th century Japanese battle races.
Richard Lingner is Assistant Curator at the Gardner Museum, and the voice behind the cheeky collection tours you’ll get at Gardner After Hours every month. Rich is also famous among museum staff for his MC talents at barbeques and holiday parties, and his uncanny knack for improvising songs for every occasion.
Image:
Votive Stele
Chinese, Eastern Wei dynasty, 543
[...] tours you’ll get at Gardner After Hours every month. (Read highlights from last month’s here.) Rich is also famous among museum staff for his MC talents at barbeques and holiday parties, and [...]