We have reserved a guided tour from 2 – 3pm for the China Gallery. 

China Gallery 

A large portion of our collection is from China. From early China, we have examples of Shang dynasty oracle bones, Shang and Zhou dynasty bronzes, and Neolithic jades. Oracle bones were used a method of divination by the ruling class during the Shang and contain the first known Chinese writing. Bronze vessels were used in rituals and burials, and were often covered with a monster-like design known as the taotie. Neolithic jades are often in the form of blades, disks with a hole in the center, or cylinders. They are found in burials, but their exact meaning is unknown. Some examples of these objects are in the gallery and others are kept in storage in order to be preserved and studied by researchers and visiting art history classes.

We also have a collection of Chinese paintings on silk that were featured in the February 2001 issue of Orientations magazine. Their subject matter covers landscapes, bird and flower, and animal paintings. In the galleries, we have large wall paintings from China. These were once part of a temple and are similar to paintings found at the Nelson Atkins museum in Kansas City and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.