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GO
BACK THROUGH TIME WITH CHINESE ART
The Freer and Sackler galleries boast one of the finest museum collections
of Chinese art outside of China, with over ten thousand objects
dating from Neolithic times (ca. 7000–ca. 2000 B.C.E.) to
the present. While the sheer number of items is impressive, it is
their variety and quality that is truly remarkable, with nearly
every medium and category of Chinese art represented.
CHINESE COLLECTION
Number of objects: more than 10,000
Historical range: Neolithic–present
HIGHLIGHTS
• One of the world's best collections of ancient metalwork,
including exceptional representation of bronze ritual vessels and weaponry
from the Shang (ca. 1600–1050 B.C.E.) and Zhou (1050–221
B.C.E.) dynasties, as well as a small collection of Tang dynasty
(618–907) silvers
• A rich collection of jade objects spanning 5,000 years,
including several hundred ceremonial jades dating from 3500 B.C.E. to
200 C.E., and animal carvings from the 10th–16th century
• Unusually good representation of early Buddhist sculpture,
primarily from the 6th–8th century, in stone, gilt bronze,
lacquer, and wood, including examples from famous cave-temples
• A wide-ranging collection of ceramics, including celadon
wares, Tang tomb figures, burial vessels, Imperial Ming dynasty
(1368–1644) porcelain, and monochrome and enameled Qing dynasty
(1644–1911) pieces
• A full and exceptional collection of lacquer, representing
various decorating techniques
• Small but distinguished collections of textiles, carvings,
and cloisonné
• A comprehensive, world-class collection of paintings from
the 10th century to modern times, representing most major schools
and many important individual artists, with particular strengths
in: Song and Yuan dynasty paintings (10th–14th c.); paintings
of the Ming dynasty Zhe School (15th–16th c.); Qing dynasty
paintings from the 17th century, including the largest and most
significant collection in the West of works by Bada Shanren (1626–1705);
and commemorative portraits (17th–19th c.)
• A collection of Chinese calligraphy including more than
300 independent works by major artists dating from the 6th century
to modern times, and especially strong from the late 18th–20th
century
• More than 200 seals in various media, including a small
but important group from the Warring States Period (480–221
B.C.E.) and Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.– 220 C.E.), and a second
group used by various artists and collectors from the 19th and 20th
centuries
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Online Exhibitions
China History Timeline
Chinese
Art Exhibitions
• The
Arts of China
• Ancient Chinese
Pottery and Bronze
• Xu Bing: Monkeys Grasping for the Moon
• Black and White Chinese Ceramics
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