| Transcript |
- Exhibition List
Abbreviations
The vast majority of artifacts in this exhibition come from the collection of Rev. Dr. James M Menzies, which is now in the care of his three children, but some have been collected by the individual family members themselves and some were received as gifts from friends. However, for the sake of convenience we have divided the entire Menzies family collection into three groups:
arm Collection of Arthur R. Menzies
fmn Collection of Frances Menzies Newcombe
JMH Collection of Marion Menzies Hummel and her son James Menzies Hummel
In recent times, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria has been the fortunate recipient of some important artifacts from the Menzies family comprising such items as Shang bronzes, Tang and Song ceramics, and Tang paintings and calligraphy. These donations can be identified by an (*) after the above abbreviations in the text.
Colour Plates
A due, ritual wine vessel
bronze, ht. 21 cm
Shang dynasty, Anyang phase, 14th-11 th century, B.C. JMH
Vessel covered with green patina, standing on three splayed legs of tapering triangular section, with typical Anyang phase rounded bottom. Loop handle over one of legs, beneath loop is cast inscription of clan name. Long spout on one side sweeps back to pointed tail�like projecion on other side, the two posts on rim have conical caps. The whole is undecorated except for three circular bands.
B Tomb figurine of equestrienne tri-colour glazed earthenware with pigment, ht. 41 cm
Tang dynasty (618-907) JMH*
Handsome, robust, yellow-glazed horse with light yel�low mane and tail has well-sculpted face, and stands on small thin slab. Female rider with green-glazed trousers and yellow-glazed coat, has arms extended as if holding reins. Her head with high chignon is unglazed but has traces of white slip and coloured pigment. This type of figure is typical of the Luoyang area of Henan province.
C Two five-spouted jars (one missing lid) porcelaneous ware, Yue ware, ht. 27.5 cm and 24 cm (without lid)
Northern Song dynasty, 11 th-12th centuries JMH and ARM
Five-spouted yue celadon-glazed jars with incised designs. The jar with lid on left has incised lotus petals
on three tiers and domed lid is surmounted by stupa�shaped finial. The jar on the right has incised lotus petals on the first tier followed by cross-hatched de�signs on the next two tiers. The left jar has a long neck and long spouts, while the right one has a fourth tier, short neck and short spouts. The interiors of jars are also glazed. This type of vessel may have served as a funerary jar.
D Four bowls
stoneware, Jun ware, diameter of large 16.8 cm and small 12.1 cm
Northern Song/Jin period, 12th-13th centuries JMH, FMN* and ARM
These heavily potted bowls were found in a large iron pot about six kilometres south of Anyang, Henan. A total of 22 bowls and 4 plates were in this �horde�. Perhaps when the Jin (Jurched) invaders from the north were threatening the Song court in 1125/7 A.D., these ceramics were buried for safekeeping, but the owner never had the opportunity to retrieve them. The three large bowls of conical shape have thick streaked bluish glazes, which stop in thick uneven edges short of foot. The small bowl with rounded sides has a lavender-blue glaze, which is less streaky, on the inside and outside.
E Pillow
glazed stoneware, top 24.1 x 16 cm Northern Song/Jin period, 11 th-12th centuries JMH
Ceramic pillow covered with overall glaze of yellow and green with concave slightly forward-slanting yellow top. Relief frieze of young boys playing amidst flowers
|
|---|
