5,000 Years of Japanese Art: Treasures from the Packard Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

By: Meredith Nelson

 

 

Haniwa Boar with Bound Feet, 5^th cent. Japan Kofun period (ca. 300-710) Earthenware sculpture, 3 ¾ x 3 x 4 7/8 in. (9.5 x 5.1 x12.4 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975 (1975.268.418).

    

 

This exhibition celebrates the thirty-fifth anniversary of The Metropolitan Museum's acquisition of over four hundred works of Japanese art from the collector Harry G.C. Packard. Above all else, however, it is an example of Recession-era thriftiness. Calling to mind the last scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark with its numerous, mysterious crates stacked up in seemingly endless rows, the Met has thrown open the doors to its own storerooms and pulled out some remarkably beautiful, and in some cases previously un-exhibited, pieces of art. The collection, purchased in 1975 by then director Thomas A. Hoving for a (at the time) gasp-inducing sum of $5.1 million, serves as a wonderful survey of Japanese artistic production spanning millennia and media. 

The collector Harry G.C. Packard initially developed an appreciation of Japanese art while stationed with the United States Navy in Japan during the American occupation after World War II. He furthered his education in Japanese art history at the University of California at Berkley and later at Waseda University in Tokyo. Taking advantage of the art market's disinterest in Japanese art, he acquired vast amounts of it on the cheap, eventually amassing the largest collection of Japanese art in the United States. His collection as a whole illustrates a fine sense of the Japanese aesthetic and an appreciation for its many manifestations and adaptations over thousands of years of production.

The collection includes a wealth of archaeological materials from Japan's prehistory. These periods are represented in the collection admirably by several bone objects, such as fishhooks, hair ornaments and harpoons from the Jōmon period Ōbuda shell mound in the Ōfunato Bay. The delicate articulation of these quotidian objects gives them a value far beyond their utilitarian functions. There are also several prominent haniwa, enigmatic terracotta objects that take on a multitude of forms, but whose function is still unclear. The Bust of a Soldier is a common fixture in the permanent Japanese galleries, however, the small haniwa of a Boar with Bound Feet clearly steals the show with its charmingly simple but naturalistic form.

A large number of hanging scrolls from numerous periods can also be found, with special emphasis placed on Buddhist themes In the woodblock printed triptych of hanging scrolls of Fudō Myōō and Two Attendants after Ryushu Shutaku, from the Nanbokuchô period, carefully detailed, hand-painted Buddhist deities spring out at the viewer from monotone backgrounds with their strange, comic book-like appearances. Another later, less esoteric example titled Miscellaneous Paintings and Calligraphy for the Third Year of the Bunsei Era by 68 separate artists illustrates the allure of popular auspicious motifs paired with spring themed poems in calligraphy.

Folding screens and painted panels are also abundantly present. The so-called highlight of the exhibition, and clearly one of the finest pieces in the collection, is The Old Plum by Kano Sansetsu c.1647. Creeping across four sliding door panels (fusuma) is a gnarled, knotted plum tree whose melting appearance brings to mind the nightmarish, surrealist works of Dalí. Close by and in stark contrast stands the pair of six panel folding screens by Nagasawa Rosetsu with calligraphy by Hanazono Shuo from 1785. The stark black and white panels make an immediate impression with large blocks of calligraphy paired with fluidly articulated images of landscapes figures, flowers and birds. 

There is also a wide variety of ceramics, some undoubtedly influenced by Chinese art such as the Edo period porcelain incense burner with a royal purple lion standing on top of a blue colored bobbin. A Hizen ware water jar with a horizontal striped design from the late 18th century Edo period, however, certainly maintains a contemporary appeal and resembles something out of a West Elm or Crate and Barrel catalog.

But perhaps one of my absolute favorites, and one of the most endearing pieces in the collection is a woodblock printed handscroll by Ho Jakuchu titled Happy Improvisations from a Riverboat from around 1767. The scroll lovingly illustrates and describes in poetry (inspired by six Tang dynasty poems) a journey by riverboat from Kyoto to Osaka, something akin to a Japanese version of Huck Finn's journey on his raft down the Mississippi. With a portion of the scroll unraveled, you can follow the path of the boat and simultaneously read the phrases of poetry accompanying the continually changing images.

Throughout the exhibition you might notice a lack of in depth, descriptive wall or label texts accompanying the objects. While some might find this lack of contextual information frustrating, it serves as a way to force the viewer to look at the aesthetics of the object rather than focus on the text. All too frequently when people pass through an exhibition (including yours truly, I shamefully admit) they read the label information, glance quickly at the object and then move along to the next work. With so little historical information available, the viewer now confronts the object from the point of view of an admiring connoisseur rather than an historian attempting to catalogue and categorize it. With this tactic, the true formal beauty of the objects becomes apparent and we can understand and appreciate why Harry G.C. Packard was so drawn to these pieces. 

All in all, the exhibition is most definitely worth visiting. You do not need a lot of background knowledge on Japanese art to enjoy the works on display. If you simply appreciate the aesthetic beauty of Japanese art, this exhibition is for you. It's a small show, and the lack of overly detailed wall and label texts means it's approachable and one can go through the whole exhibition feeling as though they've seen everything. 

 

 

"5,000 Years of Japanese Art: Treasures from the Packard Collection" runs through June 6, 2010

 

 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1000 Fifth Avenue

Take the 4, 5, 6 trains  to 86th Street

Museum Hours: Tues-Thurs, 9:30-5:30; F-Sat, 9:30-9:00; Sun, 9:30-5:30 

Exhibition Website: 

http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={ED61A36E-C1C2-4C15-A16F-5EE3F3702912}

Comments

[lnyc]

Every once in a while, a museum show like this one is fool-proof and totally enjoyable. I appreciate the review, and am looking forward to seeing it.

[jwolf]

I agree. Good find! The entire Asian wing at the Met gets too little foot traffic as it is, and hopefully this example of "Recession-era thriftiness" will entice the masses. I will definitely check this one out.

[Reggie Lynch]

It's interesting that the curatorial staff has chosen such limited background information, given what little general knowledge there is of Japanese art. It seems fitting, however, since eastern art is so focused on aesthetics and experience.