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Crystal Ball, 19th–early 20th century, Chinese — *Crystal Ball*, 19th–early 20th century, Chinese, 1944-20-2a,b

Exhibition

Authentic: Truth and Perception in Chinese Art

September 25, 2021–July 3, 2022

What does it mean for a work of art to be “authentic,” and what are we able to learn from this? In China, looking to the past is a way of learning and an act of homage. Finding that an object reinterprets one made earlier does not mean it is less valuable.

Overview

Through a close look at a selection of works from the collection, explore the act of copying from the Chinese artistic perspective, and learn how attitudes toward authenticity are nuanced and culturally specific. Discover the intention behind the creation of a work while closely examining motifs and details, and compare contemporary views on authenticity with those of the past.

Highlights

Objects include rock crystal carvings made for European and American taste, enamel-decorated porcelain vases and bowls, luminous glazed ceramics, and prints about the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) offering differing viewpoints on the conflict.

Imasogie Gallery 325

Main Building

Museum map

Curators

Hiromi Kinoshita, Hannah L. and J. Welles Henderson Curator of Chinese Art

Related Events

Check out the variety of events offered by this program, for members and the public alike.

Sampler

Flower Pot and Tray

This flower pot and tray was made from high-quality clay found under the wet topsoil of Pennsylvania's low-lying plains. Southeastern Pennsylvania's terrain could support farms on the topsoil and potteries on the subsoil, so by 1810 potteries could be found in almost every township in Buck's County.

The work of the potter fit into the agricultural calendar. The clay was dug in the fall: topsoil was cleared and a foot-deep layer of clay was sliced and shoveled into a wagon, hauled to the pottery, and stacked. Before freezing weather, the clay was carried in baskets and dumped into a mill - a round tub with a revolving post set with blades. A horse harnessed to a sweep walked slowly around the tub, turning the blades. Water was flushed through to clean the clay and the resulting mass of plastic earth turned gray to yellow. The clay was then shaped into one hundred pound blocks and stored in a cellar where it was kept moist but would not freeze.

Colorful slip (an opaque glaze) and sgraffito (incised) ornamented the ceramic wares, such as this one, and were the presentation pieces of the rural potter. White slip was applied to the surface when the ware was damp, and the foliage and inscription are sgraffito, which is a technique highly developed by Pennsylvania potters. Outlines and solid areas were scratched through a coating of slip to reveal the red underbody, which then shone red through the glaze. Copper oxide and manganese daubed on before glazing created the green and black-brown accents.

Inscription: Mary Ann Seeds Westtown, 5th mo. 22n 1826