Volume 39 - Number 8 - November/December 2008

Finials Warring States period, 3rd century BCE Gilt bronze and glass Height 31.7 cm, width 10.2 cm, depth 6.3 cm The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Purchase: the Lillian M. Diveley Fund, Menefee D. Blackwell Fund, Hall Family Foundation Endowment for the Oriental Department, Asian Art Acquisition Fund in memory of Laurence Sickman and Thomas L. Beckett Fund (2000.15.1,2) (Photography by John Lamberton) In this issue, we focus on aspects of the Chinese collection at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, as well as two leading figures in its development. Under the guidance of the present director, Marc Wilson, the facilities have been greatly expanded and the installations reassessed to meet the needs of today's audience. Jason Steuber interviews him about his vision for the museum, while Thomas Lawton explores the career of former curator and director Laurence Sickman, who played a major role in establishing the collection. The museum houses a significant group of bronzes; Guolong Lai shows how two tureens expose different approaches to collecting, and Colin Mackenzie looks at the shift in appreciation for elaborate decoration and design in three sets of gilt-bronze fittings. Amy McNair considers how several sculptures from the collection reveal the perceived need to preserve, defend and promote Buddhism in 6th century China, while following a detailed examination, Jonathan Hay argues for the early attribution of the much-discussed painting Travellers in Snow-Covered Mountains. Through a Zhengde period thangka in the museum, Marsha Weidner traces the transmission of the Vaishravana cult to China and reflects on his varied iconography. James Watt discusses two of the collection's 16th century lacquers, and the identifying characteristics of works from China and the Ryukyu Islands.