Collection Chinese

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WANG Qingsong 王庆松 | Knickknack Peddler (貨郎圖 Huolang tu) | Gift of the Jack and Susy Wadsworth Collection of Contemporary Chinese Photographs | 2018:38.1

Renowned for its large and important assemblage of Chinese art, the JSMA’s holdings include one of America's most impressive collections of court textiles, along with superlative examples of traditional Chinese painting, sculpture, ceramics, jade, glass, lacquer, metalwork, furniture, and a small, but growing selection of contemporary Chinese objects. 

When the museum first opened in 1933, founder Gertrude Bass Warner (1863-1951) dedicated its largest gallery to the display of a core selection of superb Chinese works evoking the splendor of the Qing-dynasty (1644-1911) imperial court. With the renovation, expansion, and reopening of the museum in 2005, the exquisitely updated Betty and John Soreng Gallery of Chinese Art still features many of the same objects, in addition to more recently acquired artwork. One highlight is a modern interpretation of a traditional Chinese treasure wall featuring an array of precious decorative objects in various media spanning over six hundred years.  Also on view are examples from the museum’s sumptuous collection of imperial court garments and accessories, a rare nine-foot-tall jade pagoda, Buddhist sculptures, paintings, and brightly colored ceramic roof tiles from the Forbidden City.

Collection Highlights

Art photograph of three people in jackets filled with bubbles standing in a pond with leafless trees in the background.
Here or There? No. 1 | LIN Tianmiao 林天苗; WANG Gongxin 王功新 | 2018:38.8a
CHEN Long-Bin (陳龍斌) | Sotheby's Buddha | Murray Warner Acquisition Fund purchase | 2007:21.1
Manchu Woman's Formal Court Vest (Chaogua) and Collar (Piling) with Five-Clawed Dragon and Wave Design
Ritual Wine Vessel (Jue) with 'Taotie' Design | Shang dynasty (circa 16th-11th century BCE) | MWCH6:54
Flying Tiger Banner | Qing dynasty (1644-1912) | MWCH40:10
Seated Maitreya Buddha | MWCH11:1
Tomb Figure (Mingqi) of Standing Bactrian Camel | 1997:5.1
8 shirtless men stand in water up to their chests, staring at the camera. All have black hair and appear to be of Asian descent. One man near the front holds a child on his shoulders whose arms are wrapped around his forehead.
ZHANG Huan 张洹 | To Raise the Water Level in a Fish Pond | 2018:38.3
Manchu Adolescent Emperor's Semiformal Court Coat (Jifu) with Five-Clawed Dragon, Auspicious Cloud and Wave Design | MWCH45.4

Latest News

A Conversation with Jack and Susy Wadsworth

JSMA Executive Director John Weber and Chief Curator of Collections & Asian Art and Director of Academic Programs Anne Rose Kitagawa spent some time learning about the Jack and Susy Wadsworth Collection of Contemporary Chinese Photography with the collectors themselves.

Read the article