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Asian Art Calendar of Events

Thursday, March 28, 2024


Exhibition Public - USA & Canada
Asia Week New York

Cinnabar: The Chinese Art of Carved Lacquer, 14th to 19th Century

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue,
New York, USA
Jun 25, 2016 To Oct 09, 2017


Detail: This exhibition, featuring 45 magnificent examples of Chinese carved lacquer drawn entirely from The Met collection, will explore the development of this significant artistic tradition. Among the objects on view will be works created as birthday gifts bearing symbols of long life, such as peaches, cranes, the character for longevity (shou), and representations of children. One of the highlights is a unique, large, lobed tray of the 14th century, carved with a delightful scene showing two women and 33 children. Other early pieces on view include a dish with a scene of long-tailed birds and hollyhocks. A rare screen that was produced by Lu Guisheng—a famous 19th-century artist and one of the few individuals working in lacquer whose name is recorded in Chinese history—provides a spectacular finale to this tradition.

Lacquer, the resin of a family of trees found in southern China, hardens when exposed to oxygen and humidity and can become a natural plastic. Tinted with cinnabar (red), carbon (black), and other minerals, it has been used as an artistic medium in China since at least the sixth century B.C. Carved lacquer, which involves applying multiple layers of lacquer onto a substructure (usually wood) and then entails carving through the layers, is the most laborious and time-consuming of all lacquering techniques.

Phone No.: (212) 535 7710
Site URL: http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2016/cinnabar

Dish with long-tailed birds and hollyhock
Dish with long-tailed birds and hollyhock
China
Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), 14th century
H. 1/8 in., Diam. 12 3/4 in. (H. 0.3 cm x Diam. 32.4 cm)
Carved red lacquer

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