Synopses & Reviews
The Metropolitan Museumand#8217;s collection of Chinese Buddhist and Daoist sculpture is the largest in the Western world. In this lavish, comprehensive volume, archaeological discoveries and scientific testing and analysis serve as the basis for a reassessment of 120 works ranging in date from the fourth to the twentieth century, many of them previously unpublished and all of them newly and beautifully photographed. An introductory essay provides an indispensable overview of Buddhist practices and iconographyand#8212;acquainting us with the panoply of past, present, and future Buddhas, bodhisattvas, monks and arhats, guardians and adepts, pilgrims and immortalsand#8212;and explores the fascinating dialogue between Indian and Chinese culture that underlies the transmission of Buddhism into China.
In addition to detailed individual discussions of fifty masterpiecesand#8212;a heterogeneous group including portable shrines carved in wood, elegant bronze icons, monumental stone representations, colorful glazed-ceramic figures, and moreand#8212;the catalogue presents a ground-breaking survey of the methods used in crafting the sculptures. A second introductory essay and several technical appendices address the question of how early Chinese bronzes, as opposed to those from Gandhara and other westerly regions, were cast; the construction methods used for wood sculptures in China, notably different from those used in Japan; the complex layers of color and gilding on works in all media and their possible significance; and the role of consecratory deposits in wood and metal sculptures. A final appendix publishes the results of an intensive study of the wood material in the collection, classifying every sculpture by the genus of its wood and including a section of photomicrographs of each wood sampleand#8212;an invaluable resource for researchers continuing to study works of this genre.
As illuminating for new enthusiasts of Chinese Buddhist art as for scholars and connoisseurs, Wisdom Embodied is a glorious tour of the Metropolitanand#8217;s unparalleled collection, certain to earn its place as a classic in the field.
Review
and#8220;For anyone interested in the Buddha and his teachings, Wisdom Embodied is a stunning book and if I were not a practicing Buddhist myself, it may well have brought about my conversion.and#8221; and#8212;Birmingham Post
Review
"A stunningly illustrated study of 50 of the most significant Chinese Buddhist sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this book is more than a mere catalogue. . . . Highly recommended."and#8212;D.K. Haworth, Choice
Synopsis
The Silla Kingdom, which flourished in Korea from 57 B.C. to 935 A.D., is known for its intricately crafted ornaments, many in resplendent gold, and for the creation of prominent Buddhist temples. Silla focuses on the striking artistic traditions of the Old and Unified Silla Kingdoms (4thand#150;8th century), and is the first publication in English to explore the artistic and cultural legacy of this ancient realm. Among the topics explored are Koreaand#8217;s position as the eastern culmination of the Silk Road in the first millennium A.D. and the character and evolution of Buddhism, as illuminated by objects from major monuments, temples, and tombs. The book also presents new research about Sillaand#8217;s ancient capital, Gyeongju, which is known for the Gyerim-ro Dagger, as well as the pottery, glass, and beads discovered in tombs located there. Featuring over 100 magnificent objects, newly photographed and presented with the latest scholarship, this volume will be a revelation to many, and a lavish introduction to the glory that was Silla.
Synopsis
This engaging and visually stunning primer on Chinese ceramics enlightens readers about their function, decoration, and interpretation.
Synopsis
Chinese ceramics are among the most significant and widely collected decorative arts produced anywhere in the world, with a history that spans millennia. Despite the saturation of Chinese ceramics in global cultureandmdash;in English, the word andldquo;chinaandrdquo; has become synonymous with andldquo;porcelainandrdquo;andmdash;the function of these works and the meaning of their often richly decorated surfaces are not always readily apparent.
and#160;
This new installment in the successful How to Read series enlightens readers on Chinese ceramics of all kinds, using highlights from the outstanding collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art as a teaching tool. Accessible to a general audience and written by an expert on the subject, this book explains and interprets 40 masterworks of Chinese ceramics. The works represent a broad range of subject matter and type, from ancient earthenware to 20th-century porcelain, and from plates and bowls to vases and sculptural figures. Lavish illustrations showcase these stunning works and the decorations that adorn them, including symbolic scenes, flowers, and Buddhist and Chinese historical figures.and#160;
About the Author
Soyoung Lee is assistant curator and Denise Patry Leidy is curator, department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.