A collection from China

Exhibit of ceramics, artifacts that Leo Lambert bought when he was living in the Far East

A. KOROXENIDIS

The objects that different civilizations produced often bear a striking resemblance. This is one of the thoughts that will spring to mind when viewing an unusual exhibition which is on display at Cats & Marbles and includes Chinese ceramics, ancestor paintings and other artifacts dated from the Neolithic period to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1622-1911), China’s last dynasty. The artifacts all belonged to the collection of the late Leo Lambert, a international business consultant who was born in New Zealand to Greek parents.

The shapes of the ceramic vases and the motifs with which they are decorated will, in many cases, bring to mind Greek antiquities, as do the ceramic animal figurines.

A collector of antiquities and art, Lambert was mostly interested in the decorative quality and craftsmanship of the objects he collected and not their uniqueness. This explains why many of the ceramics in the exhibition are copies and not originals.

Among the objects, one will notice three large Neolithic ceramic storage pots, all originals and all impressively well preserved. The pots were made using the coil method, which involves building the vase with coils of clay and, in the final stage, evening out the surface to produce a unified effect. Another unusual find from the Neolithic period is the model of a house. Apparently, such objects that refer to everyday life are a typical category in Chinese ceramicware. The seated clay figurines (most of them copies of Neolithic-era originals) represent musicians and other members of the Chinese society. In many cases these objects were used as funerary offerings.

An unusual ensemble of ceramics dates from Qija period. These rounded vessels – one of them animal-shaped – look like the ceramics that Picasso made and are remarkable for their modern shapes and unadorned surfaces.

The exhibition also includes several of the so-called ancestor paintings, most of them dated from the period between the mid-17th and the early 20th century. As a rule, ancestor paintings were commissioned by wealthy and noble families and were symbols of prestige. Primarily, however, they are objects tied to the Chinese tradition of ceremonies honoring and propitiating the dead. Vibrantly colored, these ancestor paintings were made on silk or paper which was glued onto fabric.

Also impressive is the painted wooden statue of a warrior dated from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The paper has flaked in several parts and paint has been applied in layers in different periods of time, making this object resemble a palimpsest.

The exhibition spans a broad time period and includes diverse objects. Yet the predominance of earthenware (some items of furniture are also included) gives it coherence and a warm quality. The exhibition does not include porcelain, for which the Chinese are so famed. But it brings out another aspect of the Chinese civilization and craftsmanship while also paying tribute to the cultural sensitivity of a man who left this life recently at a premature age.

“A Private Collection of Chinese Art,” at Cats & Marbles (12 Fokylidou, 210.361.3942) to March 24.