The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac
As recognized, many individuals state that e-books are the windows for the world. It does not mean that getting book The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt For Asian Art Treasures, By Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac will certainly mean that you could get this world. Just for joke! Reading a publication The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt For Asian Art Treasures, By Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac will certainly opened an individual to assume better, to maintain smile, to delight themselves, and also to motivate the understanding. Every e-book likewise has their characteristic to influence the reader. Have you understood why you review this The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt For Asian Art Treasures, By Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac for?
The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac
Best PDF Ebook Online The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac
**One of The Washington Post's Notable Nonfiction Books of 2015**
Thanks to Salem sea captains, Gilded Age millionaires, curators on horseback and missionaries gone native, North American museums now possess the greatest collections of Chinese art outside of East Asia itself. How did it happen? The China Collectors is the first full account of a century-long treasure hunt in China from the Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion to Mao Zedong's 1949 ascent.
The principal gatherers are mostly little known and defy invention. They included "foreign devils" who braved desert sandstorms, bandits and local warlords in acquiring significant works. Adventurous curators like Langdon Warner, a forebear of Indiana Jones, argued that the caves of Dunhuang were already threatened by vandals, thereby justifying the removal of frescoes and sculptures. Other Americans include George Kates, an alumnus of Harvard, Oxford and Hollywood, who fell in love with Ming furniture. The Chinese were divided between dealers who profited from the artworks' removal, and scholars who sought to protect their country's patrimony. Duanfang, the greatest Chinese collector of his era, was beheaded in a coup and his splendid bronzes now adorn major museums. Others in this rich tapestry include Charles Lang Freer, an enlightened Detroit entrepreneur, two generations of Rockefellers, and Avery Brundage, the imperious Olympian, and Arthur Sackler, the grand acquisitor. No less important are two museum directors, Cleveland's Sherman Lee and Kansas City's Laurence Sickman, who challenged the East Coast's hegemony.
Shareen Blair Brysac and Karl E. Meyer even-handedly consider whether ancient treasures were looted or salvaged, and whether it was morally acceptable to spirit hitherto inaccessible objects westward, where they could be studied and preserved by trained museum personnel. And how should the US and Canada and their museums respond now that China has the means and will to reclaim its missing patrimony?
The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac- Amazon Sales Rank: #83173 in Books
- Brand: Meyer, Karl E./ Brysac, Shareen Blair
- Published on: 2015-03-10
- Released on: 2015-03-10
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.54" h x 1.41" w x 6.35" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 432 pages
Review
"Meyer and Brysac do a masterful job of contextualizing the frenzied collecting of Chinese art by Americans into the political, historical and social landscapes of the times...a tale of intrigue, manners and colorful personalities." ―HuffPost Books
“The China Collectors is a racy, panoramic read; a cultural adventure story with serious diplomatic implications...an astonishing tale.” ―The Economist
“Sharply written throughout and packed with anecdotes, The China Collectors is one of those works of cultural history actually intended for readers of novels and newspapers.... Like so much of the best nonfiction, The China Collectors is as entertaining as it is eye-opening.” ―The Washington Post
“...A rollicking account of the acquisition of Chinese art and antiquities by Americans who came to China in the 19th and 20th centuries and took back vast collections from caves, palaces and the back rooms of dealers in Beijing.” ―Jane Perlez, The New York Times
“The China Collectors draws on archives that include reminiscences about looting… [and]describes a range of items, from teacups to columns, that foreign diplomats, merchants, soldiers, archaeologists and explorers funneled to private collections and museums.” ―The New York Times
“Two journalists explore the allure of Asian art …a passion shared by some fascinating figures throughout the past century.” ―Kirkus Reviews
“Meyer and Brysac reunite to present a thorough survey of the key players responsible for shaping many of America's most comprehensive collections of Chinese art.” ―Library Journal
“Historians Meyer and Brysac track the provenance of the Chinese collections housed in U.S. museums in this impressively researched survey of the adventurers who acquired these treasures… the issue of whether Chinese relics should be returned home is a timely one.” ―Publisher's Weekly
“The China Collectors is a journey every bit as thrilling and surprising as the expeditions that fill its pages. From the story of America's hunger for Asian antiquities, Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac have unearthed a tale that is rich with politics, culture, and adventure. It is not only the cinematic story of Boston Brahmins and Beijing Mandarins, dueling for China's treasures, but also an epic drama about great powers, drawn together by mutual fascination and suspicion” ―Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China
“The China Collectors is a treasure trove of indispensable information about North America's abiding fascination with the art, architecture, and archeology of China. It is essential reading for anyone, cognoscente and dilettante alike, with an interest in the history of the acquisition and exhibition of China's artistic heritage in the United States and Canada.” ―Victor H. Mair, professor of Chinese language and literature at the University of Pennsylvania
“In this fascinating book, Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac reveal the extraordinary stories behind the outstanding collections of Chinese art in American museums. From ships' captains and pioneering explorers armed with pick-axes and guns as they braved bandits and frost-bite to pioneering collectors and dealers in the Peking antique markets of the 1920s and 1930s, the cast of characters is stunning. The questions of legitimacy and restitution are also dealt with sensitively. It is beautifully written treasure trove.” ―Frances Wood, author of The Silk Road
“This edifying page-turner is the crème de la crème of archeological adventuring. Combining a connoisseur's vision of Chinese art with the narrative sweep of master story tellers Meyer and Brysac have produced the first comprehensive account of the controversial treasure hunt to pirate imperial artwork, exotic gems and ancient relics from China's vanquished Imperial palaces and the ancient ruins of Buddhist cities. This vibrant tapestry is threaded with unique vignettes and a cast of passionate personalities--who looted or salvaged, transported and traded the coveted historical treasures which now adorn the world's top museums.” ―Audrey Ronning Topping: Author of China Mission: A Personal History from Imperial China to The People's Republic
“A magisterial work of scholarship...written with elegant assurance.” ―Jason Goodwin, The New York Times Book Review on Tournament of Shadows
“An admirable achievement--an enjoyable, encyclopaedic treasure-trove of maverick adventures, duplicitous mischief and mystical swashbuckling.” ―The Sunday Times (London) on Tournament of Shadows
“A treasure trove of anecdotes and original sources for the specialist, and a rollicking yarn for those new to the subject.” ―Charles Clover, Financial Times on Tournament of Shadows
“Beautifully written and researched.” ―The Washington Post on Kingmakers
“Enlightening and commendably told.” ―The New York Times on Kingmakers
“Traces the century-long history of art dealers who traveled to China to acquire - and at times, steal - art and how the pieces have traveled far and wide to the private collections of some of the wealthiest Americans, and how some eventually end up in museum collections.” ―Amy He, China Daily USA on Kingmakers
About the Author
Shareen Blair Brysac has been an award-winning documentary producer for CBS News, the author of four books including Tournament of Shadows and Kingmakers, and a contributing editor of Archaeology Magazine. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, The Nation and Military History Quarterly.
Karl E. Meyer was a longtime foreign correspondent and editorial writer at The Washington Post and The New York Times and the Editor of the World Policy Journal. A Princeton Ph.D., he has taught at Yale, Princeton, and Tufts' Fletcher School. His fourteen books include The Plundered Past, on the illicit trade in antiquities; The Art Museum: Power, Money, Ethics; and The Pleasures of Archaeology.
Where to Download The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac
Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating account of Chinese art in America By NG Fascinating and highly recommended if you have an interest in Chinese art. Lots of previously untold stories about the rich industrialists whose collections ended up in American museums. I would have enjoyed more information about the curators, scholars, and dealers who not only had knowledge and appreciation of Chinese art, but are the ones who guided the rich men who wrote the checks. A useful chronology of events is included at the end of the book, as well as a listing of major Chinese art collections in the US and Canada. A good companion book would be Foreign Devils on the Silk Road by Peter Hopkirk (not mentioned in this book). Because the content is so rich and fascinating, I will be re-reading the book again soon.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Bulls in the China Shop By Christian Schlect A series of light essays on many of most important American collectors of Chinese porcelain, scrolls, jades, figures, and other such treasures from the Middle Kingdom. Most of the activity takes place between 1850 and 1950.The text is uneven, with many direct quotes used (with attribution) from newspaper accounts of the day or books by other authors to flesh out the various chapters.Those wondering how modern museum collections of Chinese art were built in America will find this book of interest. Scholars will find little new.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Thoroughly fascinating By J. I. Uitto This is a thoroughly fascinating book about Chinese art -- and more about men and women from America and Europe who collected it (sometimes through looting, especially in the early times) and brought it to collections and museums in the United States. We read about the adventurers, diplomats, curators and others who entered China a century ago and discovered Chinese art that was not recognized in the West. Famous collectors, like J.P. Morgan, Charles Lang Freer and the Rockefellers play important roles, as do Chinese counterparts and suppliers of art like C.T. Loo. We learn about how major museums in Boston, New York, Kansas City, Washington, DC, and elsewhere -- developed what now constitute major collections of Chinese and other Asian art. We also learn about how the Freer Gallery, and later its pair the Sackler Gallery, on the National Mall came about (one of the most entertaining chapters focuses on the life of Arthur M. Sackler). All of this placed in an historical context: the two World Wars, the Great Depression, and naturally Mao's revolution in China all greatly influenced the collecting of Chinese art by Westerners and the commercial and cultural exchanges more broadly.I took a long time reading this book. Partly, it was because I didn't always find the appropriate time to focus on the book (instead, I found myself reading a number of novels in between). Partly it was because I often felt the need to look up particular cultural periods or art works in a reference volume (for this I used Michael Sullivan's gorgeous The Arts of China, Fourth Edition). But partly it was also that some of the book was a bit tedious. In particular, I found the early parts of the book on the Boston Brahmins and Harvard in the late-1800s a tad unnecessarily detailed. Overall, I found that the book was somewhat uneven.To me the most interesting parts were in the second half and concerned events after WWII. We were there introduced to a number of colorful characters, such as Sackler, Baron Eduard von der Heydt and the former president of the Olympic Committee Avery Brundage. The book ends with current events in China, which has experienced an enormous art boom in recent years and the construction of more than 3,800 museums in the 2010s alone. Chinese art auction houses have also become equal to the Sotheby's and Christie's. In China's new Gilded Age, nouveau riche collectors pay millions of dollars for art, while forgery thrives. The China Poly Group Corporation, owned by the People's Liberation Army, is the largest of the auction houses and aims to become number one in the world. The book ends with a cautiously optimistic note about fruitful exchanges between China and the US, and the development of art in China (including through such mega stars as Ai Weiwei and Zhang Xiaogang), while noting that the Communist Party in China still wants to control how history is written and understood.
See all 12 customer reviews... The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair BrysacThe China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac PDF
The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac iBooks
The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac ePub
The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac rtf
The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac AZW
The China Collectors: America's Century-Long Hunt for Asian Art Treasures, by Karl E. Meyer, Shareen Blair Brysac Kindle
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar