Asian Art and History

Lecture

Asian Art and History Colors of the Universe:
Chinese Hardstone Carvings

Jason Sun, Ph.D., Brooke Russell Astor Curator of Chinese Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hardstone carving is one of the oldest arts in China, dating back to the prehistoric Majiabang culture in the fifth millennium BCE. The full palette of vibrant colors and wide variety of physical properties of the stones—including not only jade, the most esteemed of East Asian gems, but also agate, amber, coral, lapis lazuli, malachite, quartz and turquoise—provide the artists with infinite possibilities and challenging promises. This lecture presents the remarkable works created throughout history, exploring the diverse subjects and styles of lapidary art as well as illustrating the extraordinary imagination and technical virtuosity of the carving masters.

This presentation is part of the Asian Art and History series.

Image: Qing dynasty (1644-1911), late 18th–early 19th century. Malachite. 9 x 7 3/4 inches. Bequest of Edmund C. Converse, 1921. 21.175.136.

Jason Sun

Jason Sun

Jason Sun, Brook Russell Astor curator of Chinese art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, acquired his Ph.D. at Princeton University. Before he came to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he was E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter curator of East Asian art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, where he reinstalled the permanent collection of Chinese art and curated the exhibition The Actor’s Image: the Japan - Virginia Society's C. Coleman McGehee Collection of Ukiyoe Prints. He joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1999 and is now Curator of Chinese art. Sun is a member of the board of trustees of the Museum of Chinese in America, in New York and a fellow of China National Academy of Painting, Beijing. He has published and lectured widely on Chinese art, especially in the areas of jade carving, metalwork, calligraphy and archaeology.