Rhode Island Collects Asian Art

From the early years of the China trade, Rhode Island has has a long tradition of economic ties with Asia. Early traders brought back vivid, if not exaggerated, descriptions of the "East," as well as the occasional souvenir that clearly struck a responsive chord from the very beginning. These were the contacts on which Rhode Islanders established their interest in the arts of Asia, although over the centuries a number of other factors, such as Europe's growing interest in Asian art in the 19th century also came to play a role. This exhibition reveals just a sampling of what some Rhode Islanders have collected in the field of Asian art: presumably many more exciting treasures sit quietly on local mantelpieces or even languish in dark attics and basements.

Given the origins of local interest in Asia, it is not surprising that most collections heavily favor the arts of China, but this has never eclipsed a desire to investigate other cultures that were originally less well known in Rhode Island. This taste for Asian art has encompassed religious objects such as the figure of the Hindu god Ganesha from the great medieval capital of Vijayanagar as well as such supremely decorative objects as the Japanese lacquered leaf. At the same time it ranges from refined court objects such as the Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644) cloisonne vase to the powerfully folkish bronze figure of the Hindu goddess Kali.

There is, of course, no single "Asian Culture" although different parts of the region have often drawn from the same fundamental religious, philosophical, and cultural sources. The 6th century Chinese bodhisattva (a Buddhist figure who has attained enlightenment but denies himself the pleasures of nirvana in order to help others in the wordly sphere) returns the familiar gaze of a 14th-15th century Thai Buddha even though their artistic interpretations have little in common stylistically. A modern, Islamic Egyptian hanging from a wedding tent incorporates an Arabic inscription and a fanciful passage of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, while the Hindu Indian miniature at the entrance of the gallery borrows heavily from the painting radidtions of Islamic Indian culture. When exhibited together, works such as these make a powerful statement about the dispersal and integration of cultural ideals and artistic forms over a wide geographic area.

Within the gallery, the rich artistic heritage of China is particularly in evidence. The pair of Shang dynasty (1523-1028 BC) ku wine goblets exhibit a ritual form that was copied in other media well into modern times. The first case by the door evokes the grandeur of funerary arts from the Tiang dynasty (618-907). Though excavated from a tomb, the white charger with its unusual notched mane is an extraordinary symbol of exuberant life and power. Another case shows the technical and aesthetic virtuosity of the Chinese potter. Whether it be a mirror-black vase from the Northern Sung dynasty (960-1129), a dazzling yellow Ming bowl, or a delicate blue-tinged stemmed cup from the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1912), seldom have technique, form, and color ever been combined with such total brilliance.

Though this diversity of masterpieces one can see not only the great richness of Asian art but also the great taste of the Rhode Islanders who have collected them and allowed them to be exhibited together on this rare occasion.