Mysterious Spirits, Strange Beasts…

Mysterious Spirits, Strange Beasts, Earthly Delights
Early Chinese Art from the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Collection

Portland Art Museum - Through December 31, 2007

“In 1974, when we first discovered early Chinese objects that were created for the afterlife, we became intrigued by the symbolism, fantasy, mysticism, and beauty of these ancient items. It was then Harold and I began a personal, esthetic journey of collecting these remarkable objects.”
—Arlene Schnitzer

The Portland Art Museum presents Mysterious Spirits, Strange Beasts and Earthly Delights, Early Chinese Art from the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Collection. This private collection has never been seen by the public. It offers a unique window into a crucial period of Chinese history and sheds light on the developmental stages of one of the world’s greatest and most ancient civilizations.

“The Portland Art Museum is honored to share the spectacular collection of early Chinese art assembled by the Museum’s noted patrons, Arlene and Harold Schnitzer. For museums, collaborations with private collectors and donors such as the Schnitzers are among the high points of our histories,” remarked John E. Buchanan, Jr., executive director of the Portland Art Museum.

The pieces of art presented in Mysterious Spirits, Strange Beasts and Earthly Delights are considered remarkable because of the wide range of subject matter represented, as well as the scope of the collection across numerous facets of ancient Chinese life. Some of the artifacts are precious ornaments, while others are objects pertinent to daily life. However, a theme throughout the collection—and much of the art in that era—is the fundamental concern with longevity in the present life and a sustained, pleasurable life after death.

As the homes of the deceased increasingly began to resemble the homes of the living, complete with ornate decorations and important cultural iconography, art provided a glimpse into the sacred habiliments and daily life of people standing at the threshold of a new era. In turn, these thousands of years later, the artifacts of the Warring States period and Qin-Han Dynasty continue to instill a sense of wonder and beauty at the similarities of the basic humanity present in all people.

Mysterious Spirits

Mysterious spirits abound among the burial artifacts of the period, many of which served an undetermined function, perhaps increasing their strange aura. One of the more puzzling and provocative pieces is the “Two-Headed Earth Spirit,” a wooden monster representation from the State of Chu in the early Warring States period. The lacquered figure and its characteristic oversized antlers have been found in similar iterations hundreds of times in tombs throughout the former State of Chu. While the original use of the figure has been lost, it seems evident that it was imbued with magical properties designed to work for the deceased. The beast figurine has almost always been found in close proximity to the tomb’s occupant or strategically placed within the tomb. This particular example is special in that it was created with two sets of heads and necks, while most existing artifacts have only one.

Strange Beasts

Earthenware representation of animals also made frequent appearances in the tombs of the deceased. Watchdogs, dragons and monkeys held special mystical powers, while chickens, swine, domesticated dogs and other animals were representations of a family’s agricultural wealth. All were depicted in the artifacts of the Warring States period and Qin-Han Dynasties.

Horses were popular tomb figurines in Han China, both for their connotations of elite status among owners and for their impressive physical attributes. A convenient meeting of zoology and myth played a dominant role in the horse’s otherworldly status. At the time, native Chinese horses were nothing like powerful imported breeds from Central Asia that first arrived between 140-87 BCE. To most, these prodigious steeds’ place of origin was known only as somewhere beyond the mighty Kunlun Mountains on the Western Chinese border, a place where the mythical Xiwangmu, “Queen Mother of the West” was thought to reside. Via the lore and myth associated with their home, these horses acquired supernatural abilities that mystically transported souls to heaven. These “heavenly” horses are embodied in the beautiful earthenware “Horse” of the Han Dynasty. This piece has etched wings on the body of the horse, and the lips are peeled back as if carried with divine speed, its tongue lolling to the side as if pushed by wind resistance.

Earthly Delights

The Schnitzer’s diverse collection includes an astronomical mirror cast in bronze, a majestic chariot fitting in gilt bronze and numerous lifelike figurines, bowls, wine vessels and other daily, utilitarian items. But one remarkable part of the entire collection is a set of painted earthenware, “Musicians, Chimes, and Bells,” an intact representation of a complete orchestral group. More importantly, as an archeological specimen, this unique find is extraordinary, if not one of a kind. This is the only intact earthenware orchestral group of the Han period of its size that still exists. Isolated finds of individual musicians hint that larger groups may have existed at one point, though none have been discovered. It is an exhilarating specimen of great importance, one that solidifies the Schnitzer’s private collection of Warring States period and Qin-Han Dynasty art as one of the preeminent in the world.

The featured works of art span a 700-year period (481 BCE ñ 221 BCE) during the Warring States period, a time when China was fractured into various autonomous locales. Gradually, unification and development occurred under the military might and political prowess of the Qin and Han Dynasties beginning in 221 BCE. The ensuing 400-year period (206 BCE ñ 220 CE) after unification saw the rise of the Han Dynasty, under whose auspices the nation developed into an economic and military superpower, one whose strength and splendor saw few rivals in the world outside of Rome.

Agricultural and industrial development, as well as modernized trade, launched the Han Empire into unknown heights of prosperity. The bureaucratic, sociopolitical, intellectual, and cultural institutions established during the period solidified China’s political unification, one that is more or less intact today. It can be said that no other period in the history of China has enjoyed similar significance. “The artwork featured in this exhibition dates from one of the most glorious periods in China’s history,” wrote Jay Xu, Pritzker Curator of Asian Art, The Art Institute of Chicago.

The conflicts of the Warring States period tended to stimulate the movement of people, cultural ideals and communication among the remote regions of the vast land. The period is also renowned for brilliant breakthroughs in intellectual activities, characterized by a flowering of schools of thought, each offering competing philosophical guidance and political strategies. Importantly, the Warring States period represents a crossroads of religious development in the country.

Preceding the advent of Han Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism in China, the predominant spirituality of the period was based upon ancient conceptions of immortality, death and the possibilities of an afterlife that predated recorded history. Like other ancient cultures, fostering a successful transition into a comfortable burial and afterlife was a critical impetus for the creation of many of the artifacts of the time. Also during this period, luxury objects in metal and other media for secular uses and daily extravagance began to be produced in great numbers.

In the Warring States and the Qin-Han periods, functional implements used by the living often appeared in the tombs together with mingqi (artifacts made specifically for burial). The objects in the Schnitzer collection naturally fall into these two groups, with a small number of them belonging to the former category, attesting to the luxurious lifestyle or religious practices of the time. Even so, those objects were often later interred in tombs to continue their service in the afterlife.

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Photo Captions:

Western Han dynasty
Commander and Four Soldiers
ca. 150 BC.
Portland Art Museum and Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Collection of Early Chinese Art

Han Dynasty
Female Banquet Chef
206 BCE-220 CE.
Portland Art Museum, Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Collection of Early Chinese Art

State of Chu
Pair of Attendants
4th century BCE.
Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Collection of Early Chinese Art

Eastern Han dynasty
Money Tree
25-220 CE.
Portland Art Museum, Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Collection of Early Chinese Art

Eastern Han dynasty
Five Entertainers
25-220 CE.
Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Collection of Early Chinese Art