The Art of Contemplation: Religious Sculpture from Private Collections, by National Palace Museum Taipei

First Edition. Record of a groundbreaking exhibition of Chinese Buddhist sculpture drawn from collections in Taiwan, the exhibits span a period of over 1,000 years of artistic achievement, from the 5th through to the 16th centuries. Including many examples carved of stone, particularly of the earlier periods, there are also several fine examples executed in wood, clay, porcelain and lacquer. While the exhibits are particularly rich in the early stone sculpture of Shandong province (and in particular the Qingzhou site) mostly acquired in the 1990s, there are also wonderful examples of objects that had been purchased and 'repatriated' by Taiwanese collectors from some of the finest collections in the West, accumulated originally in the early to mid 20th century. An essential reference for the scholar or collector of Chinese Buddhist art.