Asia, ahead of the rest of the world, has long played a formative role in the history of ceramics, producing outstanding wares from an early date. Successive Chinese dynasties exported these works as goods for trade, bringing superb ceramics not only to the Korean peninsula, Japan, and the nations of Southeast Asia, but also far afield to the Islamic world and Europe. In Japan in particular, a wide range of ceramics fired from the Song through the Qing dynasties were embraced within the culture of chanoyu (the tea ceremony) and treasured as important objects.
Our museum holds notable East Asian ceramics, from works dating back roughly two millennia to the Eastern Han period of China, to Tang-dynasty sancai (three-color wares) and Song-period celadons. This exhibition presents the Shusui Museum of Art’s East Asian ceramics collection while also tracing the history and allure of these traditions—shaped and refined over the course of the ages—cherished at times as precious treasures, and at other times passed down as utilitarian vessels that enriched the fabric of daily life.
Back