Asia Society | Asian Journeys

Introduction

Asia Society — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:35:20 +0000

This exhibition explores the socio-political context for the American collecting of Asian Art in the postâ€“World War II period with a particular focus on the collecting practice of John D. Rockefeller 3rd (1906â€“1978) and his wife Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller (1909â€“1992).

John D. Rockefeller 3rd, founder of Asia Society and son of collectors John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, played an instrumental role in fostering cultural understanding and cooperation between Asia and America during this period. After the war, he became involved in the international politics of Asia with his work for the 1951 peace mission to Japan. Two years later he established the Council on Economic and Cultural Affairs, Inc. (CECA), an organization created to stimulate and support international economic and related activities with a focus on Asia. His work in Asia led to extensive travels and the formation of strong friendships throughout the region. John D. Rockefeller 3rd and Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller hoped that through their support of Asian art and culture they would have a direct impact on international relations, ultimately improving understanding between the citizens of the Unites States and Asia.

From 1963 to 1978, the Rockefellers worked with Sherman E. Lee (1918â€“2008) as an advisor to their collection. The relationship between the Rockefellers and Lee was an extraordinary example of the connections between art collecting and American and Asian international relations. This exhibition is as much a tribute to the Rockefellers as champions of cultural understanding as it is to Leeâ€™s influence as a curator, art historian, and collections builder.

Adriana Proser
with Jacqueline Ganem and Daisy Yiyou Wang

Morgan Stanley is the lead sponsor of this exhibition. Part of the Morgan Stanley Innovators Series.

The Advisor: Sherman E. Lee and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd

Asia Society — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:39:46 +0000

Art historian, curator, teacher, and museum director Sherman E. Lee (1918â€“2008) was a major force in the world of Asian Art in the United States. His considerable influence is apparent in the works he selected for the remarkable collections of the Seattle Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and Asia Society Museum’s Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. Lee’s book A History of Far Eastern Art, first published in 1964, was used as the standard text for the study of Asian Art for over a decade. Lee studied at Western Reserve University in Cleveland under his mentor Howard Coonly Hollis (1899â€“1995). His later experiences in Japan served to enhance this formal art historical and connoisseurship training.

Sherman E. Lee served as advisor to Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd (JDR 3rd) from 1963 to 1978, when the collection was donated to Asia Society. Lee helped the couple assemble one of the most spectacular private collections of Asian art in the United States by introducing them to major dealers and informing them of important pieces that were available.

Both Lee and JDR 3rd had extraordinary knowledge of the art and politics of Asia, and their partnership led to a very particular vision of collection building. The Rockefeller collection, Lee said, was “one that insists on the highest possible quality in the objects acquired and on their capacity to be understood and enjoyed by the interested layman rather than only to be studied by the specialized scholar.”¹ For the Rockefellers, however, their goal in building a collection went beyond this. JDR 3rd felt a responsibility to contribute to understanding and cooperation between Asia and the United Sates.

¹Asia Society Advance for Release in Morning Papers, 1974

Honâ€™ami KÅetsu (Japanese, 1558â€“1637) and Tawaraya SÅtastsu (Japanese, died ca. 1640)
Calligraphy by KÅetsu of Waka Poems from Shinkokin wakashÅ«
Japan
Edo period (1615â€“1868), early 17th century
Handscroll; ink, gold, and silver on paper
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund, 1966.118

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Honâ€™ami KÅetsu (Japanese, 1558â€“1637)
Poem Scroll with Selections from the Anthology of Chinese and Japanese Poems for Recitation (Wakan RÅei shÅ«)
Japan
Edo period (1615â€“1868), dated 1626
Handscroll; ink and gold on silk
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.214

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In his A History of Far Eastern Art, Sherman E. Lee states that the school of art associated with Honâ€™ami Koetsu and Tawaraya Sotatsu (the Rinpa school) is representative of the “culmination of later Japanese decorative style.” Lee acquired the scroll on display with poems from Shinkokin wakashÅ« in 1966; Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd acquired their scroll four years later in 1970.

Both scrolls feature the bold forms and lavish surfaces associated with the work of these two artists. The poems on the Cleveland scroll, in Japanese, and those on the Rockefeller collection scroll, in both Chinese and Japanese, are written in KÅetsuâ€™s distinctive, elegant cursive calligraphy.

Head of Buddha
India
Gupta period (320â€“647), 5th century
Sandstone
The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severence Fund, 1963.504

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Buddha
India, Uttar Pradesh, Sarnath area
Gupta period (320â€“647), about 475
Sandstone
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.5

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The frontality, precise gestures, and organic treatment of the figures seen in this Buddha from the Rockefeller collection, as well as in the Buddha head from the Cleveland Museum, are noted as characteristics of Gupta sculptureâ€”the “classic creation of Buddhism in India”â€”in Sherman E. Leeâ€™s A History of Far Eastern Art. The graceful proportions, relaxed posture, clinging drapery, and slight introspective smiles also are characteristic of this period.

Meiping Vase
China
Southern Song period (1127â€“1279), 13th century
Glazed porcelain (Longquan ware)
The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severence Fund, 1957.52

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Censer
China, Zhejiang Province
Southern Song period (1127â€“1279), late 12thâ€“early 13th century
Stoneware with glaze (Ge ware)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.146

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In his A History of Far Eastern Art, Sherman E. LeeÂ explained thatÂ the ceramics of theÂ Chinese Song periodÂ ”achieved a unity of the essentials of the ceramic art which has never been surpassed.” Both Asia Societyâ€™s Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd collection and the Cleveland Museum of Art collection include superb examples of Song period wares acquiredÂ under Leeâ€™s recommendation.Â

These rare Song period pieces demonstrate theÂ Song pottersâ€™ desire to produce wares that rivaled the qualities of jade, a highly honored material in China due to its appealing appearance and symbolism of virtue and permanence. The graceful porcelain body of the vase is covered by a thick, lustrous sea green glaze, typical of wares from the Longquan area in Zhejiang province. The incense burner, created for the court of the Southern Song dynasty, is modeled after a bronze ritual vessel called gui that was produced during the Shang (ca. 1600â€“1100 BCE) and Zhou (ca. 1100â€“256 BCE) periods.

Bodhisattva Maitreya
Thailand, Buriram province, Prasat Hin Khao Plai Bat II
8th century
Copper alloy with inlaid black glass eyes
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.63

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This cast image of the Bodhisattva Maitreya (the Buddha of the Future) is one of the finest eighth-century Southeast Asian bronze sculptures in the world. It is also considered by many to be the crown jewel of the Rockefeller collection. The scanty clothing, long matted hair, and lack of jewelry indicate that this image represents Maitreya as an ascetic bodhisattva, a type found throughout Southeast Asia from the seventh through ninth century.

Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd purchased the sculpture in 1966. Eleven years later, Mr. Rockefeller wrote a letter to the London dealer who sold him the sculpture, demonstrating the continuing advisory relationship between the Rockefellers and Lee: “We have now had a chance to talk with Sherman Lee and the conversation confirmed my own feelings that the really outstanding Maitreya piece which we bought from you several years ago adequately represents this phase of Cambodian art.”

Krishna Dancing on Kaliya (Kaliyahimarddaka Krishna)
India, Tamil Nadu
Chola period (880â€“1279), late 10thâ€“early 11th century
Copper alloy
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.22

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A masterpiece of lost wax casting, this large bronze sculpture depicts the Hindu god Krishna dancing on the head of the serpent-demon Kaliya. Krishna celebrates his triumph over the serpent after unintentionally provoking a fight when he chased ball into a whirlpool in the sacred river Yamuna, where the poisonous and terrifying Kaliya had been residing. This bronze from the Chola period exhibits the sensuous bodies, sense of movement and balance, and detailed treatment of clothing and jewelry that have lead many to consider Chola bronzes among the best bronze sculptures in the world.

Cultural Diplomacy in Japan and Japanese Taste

Asia Society — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:09:12 +0000

From 1946 to 1948 Sherman E. Lee worked in Tokyo for the Arts and Monuments Department of the Supreme Commander Allied Forces in the Pacific. Leeâ€™s work for the department contributed to the establishment of the Japanese Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties regulated by a government agency called the Bunkacho. According to this regulatory systemâ€”still in effect todayâ€”works of art designated as “National Treasures” and “Important Cultural Properties” are permitted only temporary export for exhibition; other artworks may be exported, although this might require special permission from the Bunkacho. While at the Arts and Monuments department, Lee helped inventory the major Japanese collections of art, many of which included works from China and Korea held in high esteem by Japanese collectors. He also formed relationships with influential Japanese art historians and art dealers. This experience profoundly influenced his taste, and ultimately the character of the collections that he helped build.

Experience in Japan after the war also had a profound impact on John D. Rockefeller 3rd (JDR 3rd). While in Japan in 1951 with the Dulles peace mission, he too had the opportunity to view important Japanese collections of art, and his diplomatic work only strengthened his beliefs in the importance of promoting the art and culture of Asia. The same year as the peace mission to Japan, an exhibition of Japanese art was held in San Francisco in conjunction with the San Francisco Peace Conference. The positive response to this exhibition demonstrated the power of art as a tool for positively influencing public opinion. In 1953, JDR 3rd and Sherman E. Lee, along with other major Asian art scholars and curators, as well as the United States Navy (who transported the works), coordinated an influential exhibition of Japanese art, which travelled to major art museums across America. Over 420,000 people are said to have visited the exhibition.

Zenâ€™en (Japanese, active first half of the 13th century)
Jizo Bosatsu (Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha)
Japan
Kamakura period (1185â€“1333), 1223â€“1226
Cypress wood with cut gold leaf and traces of pigment; staff with metal attachments
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.202aâ€“e

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Jizo Bosatsu is worshiped as a savior bodhisattva who will help the devoted during the age of the decay of Buddhist teachings (mappo), before the coming of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future. The name of the sculptor Zen’en and the names of two successive abbots at the KÅfuku-ji, a temple in Nara, Japan, are inscribed on the interior of the sculpture, which suggest that it was made for that temple. This sculpture dates to the Kamakura period, which is considered to be, as Sherman E. Lee notes in his 1964 edition of A History of Far Eastern Art, part of the pinnacle of “the great Japanese tradition of Buddhist art.”

Attributed to Odawara KanÅ school
The Four Seasons (detail)
Japan
Muromachi (1392â€“1573) or Momoyama (1568â€“1615) period, mid- to late 16th century
Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and light color on paper
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.216.1â€“2

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This pair of folding screens, which depicts a landscape of the four seasons, illustrates the influence of KanÅ Motonobu (1476â€“1559), the founder of the KanÅ school in Japan. This hereditary school of painters was employed by the Tokugawa shoguns and dominated Japanese painting from the 16th through 19th century. Reading from right to left, the screens depict the changes in foliage and atmosphere from spring to winter. When John D. Rockefeller 3rd purchased the screens in 1973, following the recommendation of his advisor Sherman E. Lee, they were attributed to KanÅ Motonobu himself.

Drum-Shaped Pillow
Japan, Saga Prefecture
Edo period (1615â€“1868), late 18thâ€“early 19th century
Porcelain painted with overglaze enamels and gold (Arita ware, Imari style)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.233

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The deep colors and dense patterning of small white cherry blossoms on this pillow are characteristic of enameled Imari ware. For fashionable women of the time, including high-ranking courtesans, pillows like this made for the domestic market would have protected elaborately coiffed hair. Correspondence between John D. Rockefeller 3rd (JDR 3rd) and the dealer who sold him this pillow in 1972 indicates that Sherman E. Lee recommended that JDR 3rd examine the piece. After seeing it in person, JDR 3rd purchased it for his collection.

Mirror
North China, reportedly found in Henan province
Tang period (618â€“906), ca. 8th century
Bronze with gold and silver inlays in lacquer
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.119

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The decoration on the back of this mirror illustrates the exquisite gold and silver craftsmanship of the Tang period. To create the exquisite design, thin sheets of precious metals were cut into delicate patterns and set in a layer of wet lacquer. When dry, the surface was polished, and the inlaid metals were detailed with a small chisel. Chinese Tang period artworks were a major source of inspiration for Japanese artists and have been highly valued in Japan since the eighth century. Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd purchased this mirror from a Japanese art dealer in 1973 after the dealer obtained an export permission from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Bunkacho. A comparable mirror was acquired in the same year by the Cleveland Museum of Art under the recommendation of Sherman E. Lee.

Nonomura Ninsei (Japanese, ca. 1574â€“1660/66)
Tea Leaf Jar
Japan, Kyoto Prefecture
Edo period (1615â€“1868), mid-17th century
Stoneware painted with overglaze enamels and silver (Kyoto ware)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.251

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One of only a handful of seventeenth-century potters whose name is recognized today, Ninsei operated an extremely successful kiln in Kyoto called Omuro that catered primarily to important patrons in Edo (present-day Tokyo). His seal is imprinted on the unglazed base of this jar. John D. Rockefeller 3rd purchased this jar from a Japanese dealer in 1973. The exportation of the piece required special permission from the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, the Bunkacho, who ultimately deemed it good policy for a first-class Japanese ceramic to exist outside of Japan.

Storage Jar
Korea
Joseon period (1392â€“1910), ca. mid-18th century
Porcelain painted with underglaze cobalt blue
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.196

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Made at the court-patronized kilns near the capital of Korea (present-day Seoul), this jar may have been intended for the wealthy Korean literati class rather than for the imperial court itself. The user would have especially appreciated the auspicious decorative motif: the pine tree, crane, and moon are traditional symbols of longevity. Japanese practitioners of the ritual art of preparing and drinking tea (chanoyu) prized Korean ceramics like this one for their qualities of imperfect beauty and irregular shapes.

Chinese Civil Strife and the International Art Market

Asia Society — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:14:57 +0000

Throughout the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century, as civil strife in China became widespread, many Chinese collectors began to sell works that then became available to markets outside of China. Significant American collections of Chinese art were built during this period. After the end of World War II, due to further upheavals in China, works from Chinese collectors and dealers again entered the market. With the communist takeover of China in 1949, however, trade with the West slowed, and during the Korean War (1950â€“1953), the American government blocked the importation of goods of Chinese origin, including art. For collectors outside of China, this meant that available objects were primarily coming from collections that had been formed in other countries prior to 1949.

For their collection of Chinese art, John D. Rockefeller 3rd and Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller put most of their efforts into finding great pieces of Chinese ceramics. Thanks to their own exposure to the ceramic wares of China during their travels in Asia and to the advice of Sherman E. Lee, they were able to acquire pieces from Chinaâ€™s most illustrious periods of production, including the Song, Ming, and Qing periods. In contrast to many earlier American and European collections of Chinese ceramics, which included the dazzlingly colored Qing dynasty monochromes and the Kangxi period overglaze enamel export wares, the Rockefellers chose pieces that were suggestive of the influence of traditional Chinese and Japanese connoisseurship and taste. The Chinese ceramic works in the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection comprise works of exceedingly fine craftsmanship and reserved, elegant decoration and form.

Kuncan (Chinese, 1612â€“ca. 1686)
Temple on a Mountain Ledge
China
Qing period (1644â€“1911), dated 1661
Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.124

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The pulsating energy and naturalistic forms seen in this painting by Kuncan are characteristic of the artist’s work. The two groups of buildings in the foreground and middle ground most likely represent some of the complexes at the Bao’en Buddhist monastery in China. The poem on the upper right side can be understood both as a reference to the artistâ€™s early wanderings and as a metaphor for the Buddhist quest for enlightenment to which he dedicated his life. This painting’s provenance traces back to the collector Wang Nanping (1924â€“1985), a Chinese industrialist who settled in Hong Kong just before the communist takeover of China in 1949. This is one of a relatively small number of Chinese paintings in the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, but its inclusion illustrates Sherman E. Lee’s efforts in promoting Chinese paintings of later periods, including the Yuan (1271â€“1368), Ming (1368â€“1644) and Qing (1644â€“1911), which received little attention from American collectors in the first half of the twentieth century.

Lobed Dish
China
Ming period (1368â€“1644), early 15th century (probably Yongle era, 1403â€“1424)
Carved cinnabar lacquer on wood or cloth
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.122

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This elegantly decorated dish was included in Sherman E. Lee’s book A History of Far Eastern Art to illustrate the culminating achievement of Chinese lacquer in the Ming period. A six-character inscription incised on the base of the dish dates it to the Yongle era. To create the design, the artist applied multiple coats of lacquer to a substructure and then carved into the lacquer. The decoration in the center of the dish depicts a scene of two gentlemen conversing in a garden, set in relief against three different geometric patterns used to indicate sky, water, and a paved yard. The interior of the lobed rim is decorated with auspicious floral patterns.

Bottle
North China, probably from Xiuwu or Cizhou
Northern Song period (960â€“1127), 12th century
Stoneware with sgraffito design in slip under glaze (Cizhou ware)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.141

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This twelfth-century bottle, which may have been used as a wine container, is among the finest examples of Cizhou ware. The bold peony patterns that decorate the robust body of the vase were created using a technique called sgraffito: the body of the vessel was first coated with a white slip (or clay wash) and then with a black slip. After the outlines of the design were incised into the black slip, parts of the black slip were shaved away to reveal the white underneath.

This bottle was in the collection of Madame BrÃ©al of Paris, the wife of a diplomat at the French embassy in Peking (present-day Beijing) in the 1920s and 1930s, who acquired it from a shop in Peking. The Rockefellers purchased it in 1977 from a dealer who offered it to them at the request of Sherman E. Lee.

Bowl
China, Jiangxi Province
Ming period (1368â€“1644), early 15th century (probably Xuande era, 1426â€“1435)
Porcelain painted with underglaze cobalt blue (Jingdezhen ware)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.169

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The form and decoration of this large bowl capture early fifteenth-century Chinese imperial taste. Carefully depicted against the white background, the decorative motifs in cobalt blue of flowers and fruits create a pleasingly balanced design. The bowl had been in the collection of Jean-Pierre Dubosc, the renowned French connoisseur of Chinese art, who was stationed in China as a diplomat during the 1930s and 40s. The Rockefellers acquired the bowl in 1962 through the prominent dealer of Chinese art J. T. Tai, who fled China in the late 1940s.

Covered jar
China, Jiangxi Province
Ming period (1368â€“1644), Jiajing era (1522â€“1566)
Porcelain painted with underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze enamels (Jingdezhen ware with wucai or “five-color” decoration)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.182a, b

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This covered jar with a bright and lively pattern of fish and aquatic plants exemplifies the highly developed five-color (wucai) enamels created during the Jiajing era of the Chinese Ming period. The five-color technique no longer relied on outlines in underglaze blue as the joined colors (doucai) technique had; painters, instead, could paint enamels directly onto the fired glaze. This new technique allowed the painter to work in a freer and more detailed manner. A six-character Jiajing-reign mark appears on the base of this jar.

The Rise of South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art Collecting

Asia Society — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:18:11 +0000

After World War II, international conflicts and tensions in countries including Vietnam, Cambodia, and India drew nationwide attention to Asia. Against this background, American dealers’ and collectors’ interests in the arts of South and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas increased. Another strong force in this change was that by the 1960s and 70s, top-quality Chinese and Japanese works were increasingly expensive and difficult to acquire. Political changes also led to the exposure of rarely before seen works of art, such as those from Nepal, which had existed in a state of self-imposed isolation until 1950.

John D. Rockefeller 3rdâ€™s (JDR 3rd) interests in collecting and promoting the art and culture of this region differed from those of other collectors. During the early 1950s through early 1960s, JDR 3rd was also involved in helping to solve Asia’s profound problems related to population growth and agricultural development. Much of his focus on South Asia grew out of his awareness that the governments of the region were at risk of being replaced by communist rule. In forming their collection of art from South and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas, the Rockefellers used the same criteria they had used for East Asian art: the works had to be of the highest possible quality, but should also serve as catalysts for increasing understanding and cooperation between the United States and Asia.

Crowned Buddha Shakyamuni
Kashmir or northern Pakistan
Dated by inscription 714
Brass with inlays of copper, silver, and zinc
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.44

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In this elaborate sculpture, the Buddha, with his hands in the gesture of teaching, is seated on a lotus that rises from water inhabited by serpent deities (nagas). The Buddha’s distinctive costume suggests that the sculpture depicts the consecration of Shakyamuni as King of the Tushita Pure Land, the abode of all Buddhas before their final rebirth on earth. The Sanskrit inscription on the base of this important piece lists the donors as Sankarasena, a government official, and Princess Devshira.

Crowned Buddha Shakyamuni
India, Bihar
Pala period (ca. 8thâ€“12th century), 11th century
Schist
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.36

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This piece epitomizes the artistic style that developed under the eastern Indian Pala dynasty, one of the longest lasting and most important dynasties for Buddhist culture, which ruled much of eastern India from the eighth to the twelfth century. Monks from all over Asia traveled to eastern India to study Buddhism during this period. Thus, the Pala style became extremely influential throughout Asia. The Buddha image in this piece created in the service of Esoteric or Vajrayana Buddhism is shown as crowned and jeweled. These adornments emphasize the Buddha’s role as a universal sovereign. The central Buddha is surrounded by four smaller images of himself, each of which represents an important scene from his life.

Upon recommending this piece to the Rockefellers, to which he gave the grade “A minus,” Sherman E. Lee noted that is was a “very good” and “beautiful” piece. Lee used a grading system for works of art, which ranked pieces on an aesthetic basis from A to D.

Bodhisattva
Western Tibet
Late 10thâ€“early 11th century
Brass with inlays of copper and silver
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.45

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This sculpture illustrates the strong impact of the Kashmiri tradition on the art of western Tibet in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. In 988, the king of western Tibet, Yeshe O, gave royal support for the creation of local workshopsâ€”which likely employed artists from Kashmirâ€”to produce images for temples. The articulation of this figure’s torso, the exaggerated waistline, the shape of the face, and the strong facial features closely parallel the art of Kashmir from this period; it is possible that this sculpture was made by a Kashmiri artist working in Tibet.

Male and Female Figures
Cambodia
Angkor period (802â€“1431), late 12thâ€“early 13th century
Sandstone
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.72.1

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Male and Female Figures
Cambodia
Angkor period (802â€“1431), late 12thâ€“early 13th century
Sandstone
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.72.2

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The faces of this male and female pair, with their downcast eyes, raised browbones, and slight smiles, as well as the realistic modeling of the male figure’s muscular legs, help date them to the reign of Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181â€“ca. 1218), the influential Khmer king who erected the Bayon Temple Mountain in Cambodia, or to the reign of his immediate successor.

Storage Jar
Vietnam, possibly Champa
15thâ€“16th century
Stoneware with incised design under glaze (Go-sanh ware)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.96

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From 192 to 1471, Go-sanh and the surrounding area of central Vietnam were ruled by the Champa kingdom, although the kilns at Go-sanh more than likely continued to produce their distinctive products for centuries after the political extinction of the Cham state. The strategic location of Champa along the Vietnamese coast made it a port-of-call on the trade routes that linked mainland Southeast Asia with Indonesia, China, and other parts of the world from at least the eighth century. A container such as this may have been made to serve as storage on the sea trade routes.

Legacy

Asia Society — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:20:50 +0000

Upon announcing the gift of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd (JDR 3rd) collection to Asia Society in 1974, JDR 3rd stated, “My own experience tells me that anyone who becomes acquainted with the arts and cultures of Asia acquires a greatly augmented sense of appreciation and respect for its peoples. We hope that the collection, integrated into the Asia Societyâ€™s programs, can help instill in Asian-American relations an added sense of importance and opportunity.”¹ In the early 1970s, Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd acquired a superb statue of Ganesha, the beloved elephant-headed deity of South Asian origins from a New York art dealer under the advice of their advisor Sherman E. Lee. Ganesha reflects the Rockefellers’ preference for artworks of high-quality workmanship that represent the great religious traditions of India (Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain). The Rockefellers acquired Ganesha, which is larger than most sculptures in the collection, with the intention of displaying him for an American museum audience with little knowledge of India’s rich cultural heritage.

Since an invocation to Ganesha traditionally commences new undertakings to ensure successâ€”particularly challenging journeys, it is fitting that this section of the exhibition focuses on Ganesha as part of a larger exploration of the postâ€“World War II legacy of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd.

¹Asia Society Advance for Release in Morning Papers, 1974

Ganesha
India, Uttar Pradesh
8th century
Sandstone
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.13

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Ganesha’s status as a major deity in eighth-century northern India is beautifully demonstrated by this piece in his dancing aspect (Nritya-Ganapati). This sizeable sculpture depicts Ganesha with an elephant head and ten arms that yield, in clockwise order, a plethora of objects in their hands: a broken tusk (upper right), battle-axe, bowl of sweets (laddus or modaka), rosary, and snake. As befitting a revered deity, his body is richly adorned with jewels, a headdress, a lion-skin skirt (visible at the hem line), and a multi-stranded sacred thread, which drapes over his shoulder and torso. He is framed by a mandorla (or body halo, now partly missing) and celestial musicians. Ganesha dances in rhythm to their drumming and cymbals on a lotus throne (asana) supported by two rat mounts (vahana). In the early 1970s, JDR 3rd and Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller acquired this piece from a New York art dealer under the recommendation of their advisor Sherman E. Lee.

Uma-Maheshvara (Shiva with his consort)
Nepal
Thakuri period, 10th century
Stone with traces of gold leaf
Asia Society, New York: Estate of Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, 1992.2

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The abraded surface of this stele indicates that it was once the focus of Hindu puja, or worship, while its narrative content portrays Ganesha as one of a lively triad of dancing ganas (dwarf attendants to Shiva). At the bottom center is Virabhadra, a favorite gana of Parvati, who appears to assume the role of leader of the ganas due to his central position. He is flanked by the elephant-headed Ganesha and the emaciated Bhringi, as well as an array of gana musicians. Ganeshaâ€™s four arms link him to the four-armed Shiva. The theme of this elaborate composition was frequently rendered by the Newari artists of Nepal and is closely related to a passage in the Kumarasambhava. To the delight of the divine parents who sit lovingly together in postures of ease, the ganas celebrate the birth of Karttikeya in the coupleâ€™s celestial abode on Mount Kailasa. Karttikeya (also known as Kumara or Skanda) assumes a place of honor beside Shiva, and astride Nandi, the god’s sacred bull. The motif of a mountain peak, articulated here by a tiered arrangement of rock formations, not only captures the spirit of the Himalayan range in Nepal, but is a symbol of the Hindu temple.

Timeline of Selected Events in Asian Art and Politics 1939â€“1981

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The early decades of the twentieth century saw a rise in American interest in Asian art. With contributions from pioneering art experts such as Ernst F. Fenollosa (1853â€“1908), Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877â€“1947), and Charles L. Freer (1854â€“1919), important American collections were formed by both institutions and private collectors. Several museumsâ€”including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Cleveland Museum of Art; and the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.â€”made commitments to the display, study, and preservation of Asian art. In 1929, John D. Rockefeller 3rd (JDR 3rd) (1906â€“1978) visited Asia for the first time, beginning his lifelong involvement in Asia.

*Art events in blue

JDR 3rd (left), Professor Joseph Perkins Chamberlain of Columbia University (center), Hobart Young (second from right), and an unidentified man and woman on the Great Wall of China, 1929.
Image courtesy Rockefeller Archive Center

1939
World War II begins. Japan aligns itself with the Axis powers Germany and Italy.

1941

Japan bombs Pearl Harbor and attacks the Philippines, Wake Island, Guam, Malaya, Thailand, Shanghai, and Midway. The United States, Britain, and China declare war on Japan.

Sherman E. Lee (1918â€“2008) becomes curator of Far Eastern art at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

1942

Laurence Sickman (1906â€“1988), Curator of Oriental art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, becomes a major in the Army Air Force in the Far East and later serves as an advisor in the arts and monuments section of General Douglas MacArthurâ€™s headquarters in Tokyo after the end of the war.

1943

Archibald G. Wenley (1898â€“1962), the first formally trained American curator of East Asian art who is solidly grounded in Asian language and culture, becomes Director of the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

1945
World War II ends.

1946

Sherman E. Lee is appointed art advisor at the U.S. army headquarters in Tokyo, a post which he holds until 1948. In Japan, he is exposed to major Japanese collections and forms relationships with Japanese art historians and art dealers.

1947
India gains independence from Britain and the two self-governing countries of India and Pakistan come into legal existence.

1948

Sherman E. Lee becomes Associate Director and Curator of Oriental Art at the Seattle Art Museum, a post which he holds until 1952.

1949
U.S. relationship with China ends when the Communist force overthrows the Nationalist government and the Peopleâ€™s Republic of China (PRC) is established. The Nationalists are driven to Taiwan. The next year, all U.S. property in China is expropriated.

1950

The Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, regulated by a government agency called the Bunkacho, is enacted in Japan.

U.S. intervenes in the Korean War, responding to the North Korean invasion of South Korea.

Nepal-India Treaty of Peace and Friendship opens Nepal to the outside world.

1951

JDR 3rd travels to Tokyo to participate in the peace mission to Japan led by John Foster Dulles (1888â€“1959).

Participants in the John Foster Dulles peace mission, Tokyo, Japan, 1957. From left to right, Raitei Tokugawa, Ino Dan, Naokichi Kiitazawa, JDR 3rd, Isamu Fukui, and Masao Maeda. Image courtesy Rockefeller Archive Center

An exhibition of Japanese art is held at the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum of Art, San Francisco, to coincide with the signing of the Treaty of Peace with Japan in San Francisco.

The 20-year-long U.S. trade embargo against China begins.

Tibetan representatives sign an agreement with the PRC to affirm China’s sovereignty over Tibet.

1952

Sherman E. Lee becomes Curator of Oriental art at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

1952â€“53

An exhibition of Japanese painting and sculpture, organized under the auspices of the Commission for Protection of Cultural Properties of the Government of Japan, travels to Washington, D.C., New York City, Seattle, Chicago, and Boston with the aim of fostering good will between the U.S. and Japan.

1953

Laurence Sickman becomes Director of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City.

JDR 3rd and his wife Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller (1909â€“1992) travel together through South and Southeast Asia, the first of many subsequent visits that introduce them to many of the world’s Asian leaders.

JDR 3rd establishes the Council on Economic and Cultural Affairs, Inc. to support international economic and related activities focusing on Asia.

The Korean War ends.

1955

Chicago industrialist Avery Brundage (1887â€“1975) travels to Japan to collect Asian art. In subsequent years, gifts from his vast collection of Asian art become the foundation of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

1956
Asia Society is founded by JDR 3rd.

1958

Sherman E. Lee is promoted to Director of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
Image courtesy of Archives, the Cleveland Museum of Art

1959
Dalai Lama flees Tibet for India after a failed uprising against the Chinese government.

1960

Asia Societyâ€™s first exhibition, â€œMasterpieces of Asian Art in American Collections,â€ is held at what was then called the Asia House Gallery in New York. It includes pieces selected by Sherman E. Lee, and other important Asian art experts, including Stella Kramrisch (1898â€“1993), Laurence Sickman, Harold P. Stern (1922â€“1977), and Maurice S. Dimand (1892â€“1986).

1961
U.S. President John F. Kennedy (1917â€“1963) commits to aid the South Vietnamese government, beginning U.S. involvement in what came to be known in this country as the Vietnam War.

1963

Sherman E. Lee becomes JDR 3rd’s advisor for his Asian art collecting activities. Over a span of fifteen years, Lee helps JDR 3rd and his wife Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller assemble one of the most renowned private collections of Asian art in the Unites States.

1965
The revision of U.S. immigration law eliminates national quotas and significantly increases the number of Asians eligible to enter the country.

1968
North Vietnamese and Vietcong forces launch the Tet Offensive, attacking several key cities and provinces. The event amplifies American public opinion against the Vietnam War, and many consider this to be the turning point in the U.S. involvement in the conflict.

1969

As museum quality Chinese and Japanese artworks become more difficult and expensive to acquire in the 1960s and 1970s, American collecting interests shifted toward the arts of South and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas. In 1969, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art establishes a major collection of South Asian art when it acquires 300 hundred works from the prominent dealer Nasli M. Heeramaneck (1902â€“1971).

1970

Sherman E. Lee organizes the exhibition “Asian Art: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd” at Asia Society.

JDR 3rd and Adam Malik, Foreign Minister of Indonesia, preview the exhibition “Asian Art: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd” at Asia Society, 1970.

1971

Norton Simon (1907â€“1993) visits India and begins his collection of South Asian art, which is later housed in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, CA.

The Indo-Pakistani War and the Bangladesh Liberation War begin.

The Indo-Soviet Union Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation is signed.

1972

U.S. is the first signatory of the 1972 UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, expressing a commitment to the preservation of universally significant properties.

U.S. President Richard M. Nixon (1913â€“1994) visits China as the first step in normalizing relations between the U.S. and the PRC.

1973
U.S. combat troops complete withdrawal from South Vietnam, ending U.S. involvement in the war.

1974

The gift of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection to Asia Society is formally announced.

JDR 3rd and Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller viewing a display of some of their collection in the reception area of Mr. Rockefellerâ€™s office at Rockefeller Plaza, New York, ca. 1968. Image courtesy Rockefeller Archive Center

1975

Sherman E. Lee organizes the exhibition “Asian Art, Part II: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd” at Asia Society.

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco presents the first major international exhibition of Chinese art to travel outside of China since the end of World War II, â€œThe Exhibition of Archaeological Finds of the People’s Republic of China.â€

Saigon falls to Communist forces.

1978
JDR 3rd dies tragically in an automobile accident.

1979

The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection gift comes to Asia Society.

1981

The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection is shown in its entirety in the new building of Asia Society at its current location at 725 Park Avenue.

Pieces from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Collection on view at the opening of Asia Societyâ€™s 725 Park Avenue building, 1981.

Sherman E. Lee Tribute

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Honorary Life Trustee Sherman E. Lee (1918â€“2008)

It is hard to imagine the field of Asian art or Asia Societyâ€™s spectacular collection of Asian masterpieces (formed by Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd) without the ever-discerning eye of Sherman E. Lee. Lee was highly selective in his choice of superb works of art, whether as Director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, or as an advisor to private collectors such as Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd. At the same time, he was profoundly democratic in his commitment to making great works of art accessible to a diverse public.

He authored more than a dozen books, organized or co-organized some of the biggest and most important Asian art exhibitions of the late twentieth century, and was hailed widely as one of the greatest museum directors of his time. Lee was not only a close advisor to John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Societyâ€™s founder, but was also an active Trustee and Honorary Life Trustee of Asia Society for more than four decades. Asia Society and the entire community of Asian art scholars are impoverished by his absence.

-Vishakha N. Desai
President, Asia Society

Insert image: VND and Sherman Lee.jpg
Caption:
Vishakha N. Desai with Sherman E. Lee at the Asia Society Friends of Asian Art Annual Dinner honoring Lee, April 1998. Photo: Elsa Ruiz

Exhibitions organized by Sherman E. Lee at Asia Society, New York:

1960: â€œMasterpieces of Asian Art in American Collectionsâ€

1960-1961: â€œRajput Paintingâ€

1964: â€œTea Taste in Japanese Artâ€

1969: â€œChinese Art under the Mongolsâ€ and â€œAncient Cambodian Sculptureâ€

1970: â€œAsian Art: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rdâ€

1974: â€œThe Colors of Ink: Chinese Paintings and Related Ceramics from the Cleveland Museum of Artâ€

1975: â€œAsian Art, Part II: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rdâ€