Decorative Arts of Later Imperial China, 1000-1900

This course offers an introduction to the material environment of China’s political and intellectual elites during the last four imperial dynasties (Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing). It surveys the history of ceramics, jewelry, jade, silk, furniture, and lacquerwork. The discussion of representative artifacts touches on a wide range of issues, including collecting and ideas of self-cultivation, taste, and decorum; imperial and aristocratic consumption; ritual design; the iconography and social function of pictorial ornament; art production within an increasingly commercial environment; and international trade and the resulting cultural exchange. Some classes will be held in museums and galleries. 3 credits. Satisfies the geocultural or chronological requirements.