Kaikodo Journal XXVI Spring 2010

Honored Guests

Corresponding to the exhibition held between March 18 and April 8, 2010. 37 Chinese and Japanese paintings; 37 Chinese and Japanese objects (77 color plates). Preface by Howard Rogers. 219 pages.

Includes the essays:
James Cahill:
    “Comments on the Field of Chinese Painting”
Laura Netting
    “John Ferguson (1866-1945) and his Appreciation and Acquisition of the
    Collection of Wanyan Jingxian”

The writers of the 
catalogue believe that each and every work 
of art is an aesthetic object, to be enjoyed on its 
own, very personal terms, but they are also 
artifacts, witnesses from times and ages long past 
that yet today speak of the original circumstances 
under which they were made, used, and enjoyed. 
Defined as “an object produced or shaped by 
human craft, especially ... an ornament of 
archaeological or historical interest,” an artifact is 
a physical survivor, giving us direct and 
immediate access to significant parts of a 
vanished world. Embodying clues to the means 
and methods of their production, they also make 
possible a reconstruction of the visual and tactile 
experiences that they provided for their original 
owners. Although closely scrutinized in the sometimes lengthy entries in this journal, the pieces one all remain first and foremost our honored guest.

There are two essays presented in this issue. The first essay, by James 
Cahill, Professor Emeritus from the University 
of California at Berkeley, was written in response to a 
invitation by Kaikodo to discuss something 
concerning the field of Chinese painting. He was asked to comment in particular on the changes he has observed in the field during his 
more than sixty years of activity as curator and 
teacher, and also for his opinion on the direction 
the field should be taking, the large projects that 
most profitably could be pursued at present.

The second essay, by Dr. Lara Netting, is 
equally appropriate for inclusion here because it 
focuses on John C. Ferguson, a very famous 
scholar, collector, and dealer of the early 20th 
century, one who dealt-figuratively and 
literally-with paintings and works of art coming 
on the market during the early decades of the 
century, just before and after 1911, when the 
Qing dynasty came to an end. Her essay 
illuminates the process by which paintings and 
other works of art came on the market in Beijing 
during that era and also how major institutions 
in the United States made use of Ferguson’s 
knowledge and connections to secure treasures 
for their collections.