FOR JANUARY 28 –

“BRILLIANT ARTIFACTS” FROM SHANDONG – 1 CUT –

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NEW YORK CITY — Gilded chariot ornaments, jade face masks, bronze ritual vessels, ceramic sculptures and other items required by the ancient Chinese for a comfortable afterlife will be on view in “Providing for the Afterlife: Brilliant Artifacts from Shandong” at China Institute Gallery February 3 through June 4. All of the objects are from Shandong province in China and are being shown in the United States for the first time, including terra-cotta figures excavated in a major archaeological discovery in 2002. The exhibition offers many clues about important customs surrounding the Chinese afterlife 2,000 years ago during the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE to AD8).

Among the most exciting objects in the exhibition are terra-cotta sculptures of warriors from a tomb site in Shandong province near the Weishan Mountains. The 2002 excavation is considered one of the most important in recent times. The site is more than 10,000 square feet and features hundreds of figures that included cavalrymen, infantry and even musicians. Foot-tall warriors were found along with sculptures of horses to ensure that the departed royalty had a symbolic military escort into the afterlife.

The exhibition offers an intimate view of how nobility in the Shandong province during the Western Han dynasty viewed the realm of the afterlife and how they prepared for it. In some cases, inscriptions in the tombs identify who the tomb occupants were, and aspects of their lives can literally and figuratively be pieced together.

One of the exhibition’s more intriguing items is a jade face mask that was found during a 1995 dig in Changqing county. It is believed to be from the tomb of Liu Kuan, the last ruler of Jibel Kingdom during the Western Han dynasty. Kuan was forced to commit suicide for his licentious behavior with his father’s widow and for cursing at the emperor during a sacrifice. It appears Kuan was granted royal burial privileges despite his disgrace, although he was not given a full jade suit as have been found in other tombs.

To participate in the afterlife during the Han dynasty, it was believed that a Han ruler had to present all of the pos-  sessions he had during his life or specially prepared objects relating to them (Mingqi or “brilliant artifacts”). Often more than 1,000 items, including ceramic pots, figures of domestic animals and birds, bronze coins, portraits of loved ones, vessels for wine, even game boards with bronze dice (which are included in the exhibition) were brought into tombs that often were set up as a microcosm of the palace.

Sometimes the items in the tombs were life size, including intricate chariots with gilded bronze ornaments. At a tomb in Jiulongshan, a total of 12 chariots and 50 horses were found. Because the horses were buried alive, they inflicted heavy damage on the attached chariots, hindering attempts to reconstruct the vehicles.

Built into the walls of the tombs, “directional tiles” with animals pointing north, east, south and west were a thoughtful touch, so that the deceased ruler could find his way, should he become disoriented in the afterlife. The exhibition includes some beautiful examples with images of dragons and white tigers. Birds were associated with immortality and were thought to transport the tomb occupant on a flight to the afterlife. The exhibition features a famous large ceramic bird with ritual vessels on his wing sand figures participating in a ritual ceremony.

China Institute Gallery is at 125 East 65th Street (between Park and Lexington). For information, 212-744-8181 or www.chinainstitute.org.

 

FOR 1-28

HANK FEELEY NEW WORK FIRST STREET

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NEW YORK CITY — “Hank Feeley. ‘en fugue,’ new work” will be shown at First Street Gallery, February 1–26. An opening reception will take place Tuesday, February 1, 5 to 7 pm.

Feeley describes his oversized paintings as a visual collection of “bits and pieces” assembled into a whole, like a musical composition, or “fugue,” whose central theme is carried by strongly differentiated parts.

The imagery in any one of the new paintings is an assemblage of visuals from TV news, billboards, Japanese cartoon characters, junk mail, packaged goods, textiles, Internet pop-up ads, pizza boxes and even loose change.

Feeley is a former international chairman/CEO and retired vice chairman of Leo Burnett International, Chicago. He has a PMD, 1976, from Harvard Business School. In 1995 he returned to the study of art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Feeley is represented in Chicago by the Aron Packer Gallery.

First Street Gallery is at 526 West 26th Street, suite 915. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm. For information, 646-336-8053 or www.FirstStreetGallery.net.