Large Tang Dynasty Polychrome Pottery GuardianChina, Ca. 8th Century AD.
Nicely detailed face with strong nose, furrowed brow, and full lips. Atop his head is a helmet. Ample remains of colorful glaze. Missing arms and with repairs restoration and wear.
A large 21-1/2 Inches Height. + base
Ex Prof. Hugo Munsterberg Collection. Lark Mason NY , Howard Nowes Ancient Art NY
Hugo Munsterberg, in his many books, introduced countless individuals to Asian art. He made Asian art accessible and inviting, and his legacy lives on
today in the lives of those he enriched with his scholarship. It is a pleasure to be able to handle this object from his collection.
Hugo Munsterberg (1916-1995) was born in Berlin, Germany. He came to America in 1935, and entered Harvard, from which he received his B.A. in 1938 and his Ph.D. in 1941. His dissertation, written under Benjamin Rowland and Laurence Sickman, was a study of Chinese Buddhist bronzes. It was published as a series of articles in Artibus Asiae as well as in book form. After serving in the
U.S. Army, he began teaching at Michigan State University in East Lansing. In 1952, he and his wife moved to Japan, where he taught the history of Asian art at the International Christian University in Tokyo and he started collecting Chinese and Japanese art. Many of the pieces in his collection were acquired in Japan at this time. In 1956, he returned to New York with his wife and daughter. In 1958, they moved to New Paltz, New York, where he taught at SUNY New Paltz until he retired, Professor Emeritus, in 1979. He also taught at Hunter College, Bard College and Parsons School of Design. He continued to be an active collector, buying Asian art as well as Islamic, Indian, African, Mesoamerican and Ancient art during weekly trips to New York. He died at home after a long illness in 1995.
Munsterberg's publications include:
A Short History of Chinese Art (1949);
Twentieth-Century Painting (1951);
The Landscape Painting of China and Japan (1955);
The Arts of Japan. An Illustrated History (1957);
The Folk Arts of Japan (1952);
The Art of the Chinese Sculptor (1960);
The Ceramic Art of Japan. A Handbook for Collectors (1964);
Zen and Oriental Art (1965; pbk. ed., 1993);
Mingei: The Folk Arts of Japan (1965; exh.cat., Asia Society);
Chinese Buddhist Bronzes (1967);
The Art of the Far East (1968)- also publ. in German; The Art of India and Southeast Asia (1970)-also publ. in German ; The Sculpture of the Orient (1972);
The Arts of China (1972); Dragons in Chinese Art (1972; exh. cat., China Institute of America); A History of Women Artists (1975); The Art of Modern Japan (1978);
Dictionary of Chinese and Japanese Art (1981);
The Japanese Print. A Historical Guide (1982);
The Crown of Life: Artistic Creativity in Old Age (1983);
Symbolism in Ancient Chinese Art (1986);
Unspoken Bequest. The Contribution of German Jews to German Culture (1995);
Images of Asia: Japanese Kimono (1996);
World Ceramics. From Prehistoric to Modern Times (1998)
A lovely figure with good personality
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