The McMaster Museum of Art
A Glimpse of China in the 18th Century
Guest Curated by Dr. Angela Sheng
August 23, 2011 - January 7, 2012
Reception: Thursday September 15, 6-8 pm
generously sponsored by The Canadian Foundation for Chinese Heritage Preservation
Curator's Talk: October 12, 12:30 pm
The 18th century in China witnessed the reign periods of three important Manchu emperors of the last imperial Qing (pronounced as ch'ing) dynasty (1644-1911): Emperor Kangxi (r. 1662-1722), Emperor Yongzheng (r. 1723-1735), and Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795). Both Emperor Kangxi and his grandson, Emperor Qianlong, were intensely interested in other cultures. They emulated the scholarly elite of the Han majority whom they ruled, for example, composing poems and writing them in calligraphy and displaying them in many forms. Similarly, they showed much curiosity about the west. During these three prosperous reigns, the arts flourished at court with far-reaching implications for innovation.
In this exhibition, with works from the McMaster Museum of Art, and private collections, we present a mere glimpse of the rippling effects as contrast to that which highlighted the 18th century in the west.
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Angela Sheng is an Associate Professor of art history in McMaster's School of the Arts and Director Chair of the Confucius Institute at McMaster University. Her research areas include Interculturality along the Silk Road and transdiscplinary comparison of the art and visual culture of selected minorities in China with the Inuit of Canada.
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List of Works in Exhibition
Chinese porcelain dish with dragon motif,
Two Chinese porcelain dishes with stylized flora
Chinese porcelain export dish with Dutch ship approaching a Chinese shore
Chinese figure of white-robed Buddhist Bodhisattva of Compassion in female manifestation (Guanyin)
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Chinese figure of HAN Xiangzi, one of the eight Daoist immortals
Chinese figure of ZHANG Guolao, one of the eight Daoist immortals
Chinese wine vessel in the form of an ancient ritual bronze Jue
32 Views of West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province
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PU Quan (Chinese 1913-1991)
Bernard Picart (French 1673-1733)
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