Power and Glory: Court Arts of China's Ming Dynasty

by He Li

"The traveling exhibition "Power and Court Arts of China's Ming Dynasty" opens at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco on Friday, June 27, 2008. The excellent catalog is organized by medium, with sections on gold, lacquer and porcelain." - The New York Times

Ming vases have been long regarded as the epitome of priceless beauty. Exploring the grandeur of the last native Chinese dynasty (1368-1644), Power and Glory demonstrates why not just vases but Ming art of many types has earned such acclaim.

The book catalogs an exhibition to be presented at the Asian Art Museum, the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the St. Louis Museum of Art in 2008 and 2009. The exhibition gathered rare objects from China's prestigious Palace Museum (Forbidden City) in Beijing, the Nanjing Municipal Museum and the Shanghai Museum.

More than 200 objects in a variety of materials—porcelain, paintings, textiles, lacquer, jade, jewelry, architectural elements, etc.—are discussed in detailed entries. Essays by authors He Li and Michael Knight, and a special contribution on Ming painting from Richard Vinograd (Stanford University), provide background, context, and interpretation.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1900