Gung hey fat choy!
(Wishing you happiness and prosperity!)
Celebrate Chinese New Year at Hillwood Art Museum January 22, 2004 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Hillwood Art Museum's exhibition A Walk Through the Ages: Archaic Chinese Art from the Sondra Landy Gross Collection includes more than 40 objects in ceramic, jade and bronze ranging in date from 3400 BCE in the Neolithic Period through the Eastern Han Dynasty in 220 CE. The objects are both decorative and utilitarian in nature and reflect advances in technology in ancient China and parallel ideological shifts in ancient China.
Many of the objects included in the exhibition were essential to tomb burials in ancient China. The ancient Chinese belief that earthly goods must accompany the deceased into the afterlife sustained the production of many ceramic and bronze containers to hold food and grains as well as offerings of wine. Ornate jewelry comprised of individual jade carvings accompanied the deceased since Neolithic times.
One of the most typical forms included in such burials was that of the hu, a container for offerings of wine. The hu form originates in Neolithic China and an early example depicting a figure representing a shaman is included in the exhibition. Fine examples of hu from the Han dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) exemplify advances in glazing technology and cold-painting methods of decoration.
A spectacular piece in the exhibition is a Bian Hu that is made of bronze and inlaid with silver. A variety of motifs, including masks, interwoven cloud and dragon patterns decorate the surface of the vessel. Another dramatic piece included in the exhibition is a gu, a ritual drinking vessel. The gu in the exhibition is richly decorated with abstract animal masks, dragons and cicadas, all of which had deep significance for the ancient Chinese, especially in rites associated with burial.
The artwork included in this exhibition reflects drastic changes in human history from the stone age to the bronze age and the effects of these new forms of technology developed by the Chinese.
Opening Reception Chinese New Year, January 22, 2004 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Lecture on the exhibition by Richard A. Pegg, Ph.D. February 5, 2004, 7:00 p.m.
Lecture on Confucianism by Mr. Arthur H. Tafero April 1, 2004 7:00 p.m.
Hillwood Art Museum
C.W. Post Campus. Long Island University
720 Northern Boulevard, Brookville, NY 11548-1300
Phone: 516-299-4073; Fax: 516-299-2787
museum@cwpost.liu.edu