NOV/DEC 2014

VOLUME 45 - NUMBER 8

In this final issue of our 45th anniversary year, our essays illustrate the many ways in which works of art can serve as documents of history. Stephen Salel concludes his three-part series on Japanese shunga with a discussion of the messages behind modern and contemporary prints. Other articles re-examine and retrace art-historical journeys and encounters.

Against the backdrop of late 17th century Europe, Francesco Morena reveals the story behind two jade cups and a set of kesi hangings from imperial China that are now in the collection of the Palazzo Pitti, Florence. William Sargent turns our attention to the remarkable snapshots of late 18th century Canton provided by a set of Chinese export wallpaper in the Peabody Essex Museum. On a related theme, William Shang explores the question of whether William Alexander’s drawings of Canton were influenced by those of a Chinese artist. Ingrid Larsen relates how an early 12th century narrative handscroll came to be part of Charles Lang Freer’s collection of early Chinese paintings. Phillip Adams seeks to establish the chronology of a group of Buddhist bronzes through an examination of their iconographical features.

In our interview, we talk to collectors Hedda and Lutz Franz ahead of the international snuff bottle conference in Hong Kong this autumn. Rounding up the issue, Melissa Kerin, with Victoria Andrews and Betsy Cribb, reports on uses of and responses to devotional imagery at Tibetan Buddhist shrines.

FEATURES
Stephen Salel. The Allure of Innocence: Depictions of Women in Modern Japanese Erotic Art
Francesco Morena. Gifts from the Tsar: Chinese Objects for Cosimo III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
William R. Sargent. The Strathallan Castle Wallpaper at the Peabody Essex Museum
William Shang. Picturesque Representations: The Influence of a Chinese Artist in William Alexander’s Drawings
Ingrid Larsen. Tao Yuanming Returning to Seclusion: The Tale of Charles Lang Freer’s ‘Most Interesting and Beautiful’ Scroll
Phillip Adams. Imperial Yuan Gilt-Metal Buddhist Sculptures: Stepping Stones to the Early Ming
PREVIEWS & REVIEWS
John Sanday. Book Review: A Heritage of Ruins: The Ancient Sites of Southeast Asia and Their Conservation
INTERVIEWS
Collecting for Pleasure: An Interview with Hedda and Lutz Franz
COMMENTARY
Melissa R. Kerin, with Victoria Andrews and Betsy Cribb. Tibet Field Report July 2014: Devotional Imagery at Buddhist Shrines