The Elephant and the Lotus: Vietnamese Ceramics in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Truong, Philippe

ISBN 10: 0878467173 / ISBN 13: 9780878467174

Published by MFA Publications, Boston, Massachusetts, 2007

About this Item

Green cloth over boards; Color pictorial dj.; 261 pp.; 258 color plates and figures. Features over two hundred works of Vietnamese ceramics from the collection held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Includes pieces from the 5th-1st century BC up to the 19th century; Extensive text; Nicely illustrated. VG-/VG- ownership bookplate on ffep, light wear to edges and corners of dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 124704

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Elephant and the Lotus: Vietnamese ...

Publisher: MFA Publications, Boston, Massachusetts

Publication Date: 2007

Binding: Hardcover

Edition: First.

About this title

Synopsis:

For more than 2000 years, using the excellent clays of the Red River Valley, Vietnamese potters have produced some of the most sophisticated ceramic artifacts in Southeast Asia, dovetailing the Chinese ceramic tradition with other traditions--such as those of Cambodia and Champa--in original and idiosyncratic ways. The combination of skilled potting with somewhat "casual" finish, calligraphic painting and certain chance effects in glazing are all qualities typical of Vietnamese ceramics. Today, partly prompted by several recent archaeological retrievals, these qualities are stimulating the interest of a widening circle of collectors and connoisseurs. The Elephant and the Lotus: Vietnamese Ceramics in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston considers this vital and hitherto obscured tradition by highlighting over 200 examples from the Museum's superb collection. Ranging from earthy and practical stoneware produced over two millennia ago (the earliest Vietnamese potteries date back to the Hung period in 700 B.C.), to the gloriously decorated ewers and bowls created a thousand years later, or to the fine blue-and-white porcelains produced between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries (before the advent of French colonial rule), the works gathered here reflect the natural wonders of Vietnam and the ingenuity of its ceramists. With extensive presentations by expert Philippe Truong, including an essay on the natural motifs particular to Vietnamese pottery, The Elephant and the Lotus is both the first complete publication of a remarkable collection and an indispensable introduction to a rapidly growing field of study in Asian decorative arts.

Product Description:

Unusual book