gems, jade, China, Qing Dynasty, fei cui, jadeite, Ming Dynasty, nephrite, yu

The collection of the National Palace Museum is made up largely of the personal holdings of the Ch'ien-lung emperor (reigned 1736-95). Representing the artistic legacy of imperial China, it offers an unsurpassed view of Chinese civilization. The objects lavishly illustrated and described in this book, which include magnificent ritual bronzes, precious jades, monumental landscape paintings, and exquisite ceramics, are among the finest ever created. Published to accompany the exhibition Splendors of Imperial China: Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei," the book takes the reader through the most significant periods of Chinese culture: its foundations in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, its flowering in the sophisticated world of the Sung dynasty, its exuberance during the Ming, and its technical brilliance under the Manchus. The author makes the unique beauty of this art accessible through comparisons of selected works and through discussion of their historical context. Hearn, a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, selected more than 100 works to present here, drawn from an extensive traveling exhibition featuring Neolithic and Bronze Age works, as well as Sung, Ming, and other dynasty masterpieces. This beautifully produced book contains fine-quality reproductions that illuminate a splendid collection of rare artwork. Hearn's text will be understood and appreciated by all readers, but particularly those who appreciate a fine calligraphic scroll, a porcelain sculpture, or a pastoral scene. The text describes in accessible terms important background information, including cultural climate, historical events, and artistic elements."