Spirit and Ritual: The Morse Collection of Ancient Chinese Art

In 1947, at a time when few Westerners were avidly collecting Chinese art, Earl and Irene Morse made their first acquisition, a ritual bronze vessel dating from the Shang dynasty. That this particular piece is no longer in their collection by no means diminishes its importance, for it ignited the Morses' interest in Chinese antiquities and served as the impetus for subsequent purchases, many of which are now part of the Museum's collection. Over the years the Morses' devotion to Chinese art, expressed through support of scholarship and exhibitions as well as through their personal connoisseurship, has grown. An important exhibition of their Ming and Ch'ing paintings, In Pursuit of Antiquity, was held at the Museum in 1970, and, through their friendship with Wen Fong, special consultant for Far Eastern affairs, their commitment to the Museum continues undiminished. The present exhibition of fifty-nine objects focuses on three spiritual realms of Chinese antiquityritual bronze vessels, tomb.figurines, and Buddhist sculptures-and is further testimony to the Morses' discernment as collectors. We are grateful to Robert L. Thorp, assistant professor of Chinese art and archaeology at Princeton University, and to Virginia Bower, a graduate student at Princeton, coauthors of the informative catalogue that accompanies the exhibition. For coordinating this project, I wish to thank Alfreda Murck, assistant curator in the Department of Far Eastern Art. Finally, I want to thank Earl and Irene Morse themselves for their support in the past and for all they continue to do to enrich the' collection of Far Eastern art at the Metropolitan. Their warmth, enthusiasm, and open-minded response to new challenges is a steadfast resource