To coincide with ASIA WEEK in March, 2014 THROCKMORTON FINE ART (www.throckmorton-nyc.com) is presenting a special exhibition titled, “White Deities: Marble Buddhist Images from Sixth-Eighth Century China”. A detailed catalogue will be published to accompany this New York show which will remain on view from March 6th through April 19th.
According to Spencer Throckmorton, “Early Chinese sculpture of the Buddha is increasingly appreciated for its intrinsic beauty, and there is a growing recognition of it being a crucial part of Chinese aesthetic achievement. These sculptures are exquisitely carved and hundreds of years of weathering have made the works softer, richer and even more expressive. To me these are some of the finest art works of ancient China, radiating a spiritual luminosity rarely found in secular sculptures.
“The thirty sculptures in this show are important markers of Chinese civilization, of both its ability to learn from other cultural centers – such as India – and to imbue what has been borrowed with distinct Chinese attributes.
“The white color symbolized purity in Buddhism and Chinese culture, and Quyang’s white marble was recognized as a precious stone. Chinese artists gave the Buddha a different look than their Indian counterparts. Chinese figures depicted a more contemplative strength and robust power with a meditative calm visible in facial expressions.”
Throckmorton adds that he has had each work being featured examined by scientists and academics to insure the stylistic integrity and parallels with works in major museums. The accompanying catalogue includes an essay by Dr. Qing Chang, Ph. D., who is Associate Curator of Asian Art, The Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL. He holds M.A. and B.A. degrees from Beijing University in Chinese Buddhist Archeology and Chinese Archeology and was a senior research fellow at the Freer and Sackler Galleries at the Smithsonian Institute, and a post-doctoral fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Technical analysis was provided by Dr. Frank Preusser and Orenda Laboratories.
Highlights in the Throckmorton ASIA WEEK exhibition include a Song period Head of a Guanyin/Bodhisattva with an Intricate Headdress dating to 960-1279CE. Throckmorton says the polychrome and gilt sandstone Chinese head measures 26 inches in height and has a magnificently executed headdress.
Another Bodhisattva headdress comes from the Sui Dynasty, Northern Qi, circa 550-618CE and is limestone with polychrome, standing over 18 inches in height.
A Tang period Buddha is seated on a lotus blossom supported by a group of horses. Measuring 31.5 inches in height, this Chinese sandstone Buddha dates to 618-907CE.
Throckmorton is also offering a Standing Chinese Buddha, originating in the Shandong province, Northern Qi circa 550-577CE in limestone standing 74 inches high.
Throckmorton says the Hebei province had a long history producing Buddhist images, with the craftsman in the villages surrounding Mt. Huang and Mt. Jia taking advantage of the marble found in the area to express their artistic traditions. In fact, from the fourth century, Hebei artists had produced numerous gilt bronze Buddhist images to depict Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
“The sixth-to-eighth centuries represent the ‘golden age’ for artists working in marble,” Throckmorton adds. “The white marble sculptures in this exhibition were commissioned by royalty or those in higher status in society, largely in the second half of the sixth century, during the Northern Qi and Sui dynasties. Examples are in the collections of the Chinese National Museum and Palace Museum in Beijing, as well as Hebei Provincial Museum.
“Sixth-to-eighth century marble works are incredibly scarce and it has taken me 15 years to accumulate enough for this show. Renewed interest in Buddhist art has made it more and more difficult to find really fine pieces and I feel fortunate that I had a chance to collect many of these objects a decade ago.
“There are several styles represented in these marble figures. Late northern Wei artists favored Han Chinese style Buddhist images with thin and elongated faces and bodies, showing the influence of the elites in the south. They often wear a monastic robe covering their shoulders, and an undergarment and belt tied up in front of their chests. This is very like the robes created by artists in the south, but not for Indian and Central Asian figures. You do see Northern Wei Bodhisattva’s with a crown and a long skirt, which is similar to Indian and Central Asian figures. But in the Chinese taste, these marble torsos are often covered with scarves and jewelry. When Emperor Xiaojing (r 534-550) moved the Northern Wei court from Luoyang to Yecheng and established the Eastern Wei kingdom, a new style of Buddhist sculpture was seen with a more plump face and body, and a thin robe.
“Among the marble works produced in Hebei, the central region of Northern Qi, the marble figures from Dingzhou are significant in material, technique, iconography and style. These Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and small scale steles have either one or two figures as the principal deity. With their smooth white surfaces, these figures convey an image of a supernatural deity and miraculous Buddha. While artists generally painted the surface of any sculpted figure, the white marble was the perfect material to create the Bodhisattva images, whose skin was meant to be white in color.”
In the sixth-to-eighth centuries present day Xi-an in Shaanxi province was called Chang’an and served as the Buddhist center in the western part of northern China. Here marble images of Dingzhou grew in popularity in the late sixth century where Northern Zhou artists preferred the columnar style to form Buddhist figures. Masculine style Buddhist figures dominated Buddhist art from the second century until the middle of the sixth century. Then the Sui dynasty’s influence became pivotal with aesthetic tastes moving to the more feminine style that characterizes later art works. Chang’an became the artistic center of the unified Sui Empire.
Throckmorton remarks that, “Chinese artists continued to produce feminine styled images during the Tang dynasty (618-907) but Tang style Buddhas from the late seventh century have a healthier, more slender build and posture as well as obvious vigor and energy. Towards the eighth century images from the period of Emperor Xuanzong (r 712-756) reflect a changing aesthetic and a preference for plump bodies and fat faces. Court ladies were seen with in more regal attire, signifying wealth, and ample flesh.”
For 25 years, gallery founder Spencer Throckmorton has pursued a long held interest in pre-Columbian art, Chinese jades, Asian sculpture and Latin American photography. Throckmorton has continually staged important exhibitions and published numerous publications on those subjects.
Throckmorton Fine Art has also specialized in both vintage and contemporary photography of the Americas, with a primary focus on Latin American talents. The gallery has featured the work of Edward Weston, Tina Modotti, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Martin Chambi, Lucien Clergue, Ruven Afanador, Marilyn Bridges, Graciela Iturbide, Flor Garduno, Mario Algaze, Javier Silva-Meinel, Valdir Cruz, and Christian Cravo.