Such is the fundamental appeal of Dark Jewels, a Chinese ceramics exhibit that debuted Sunday afternoon at the Ackland Art Museum. The exhibit features 70 pieces of the period between 960 and 1368 A.D., all of which were donated by local collectors Herbert and Eunice Shatzman.
The exhibit is surprisingly simple, characterized by pragmatic form and a motif of blacks and browns.
Yet the key to appreciating such simplicity, exhibit organizers say, is a discerning eye coupled with an understanding of the art's context -- tea.
Tea was to Chinese society as alcohol is to the West, explained Timothy Riggs, assistant director for collections. It was a social drink and appreciated for its nuances as wine would be in Europe. The dishes displayed in Dark Jewels originally complemented a white variety of tea, which created an aesthetic contrast.
But the pieces cannot be dismissed as mere function over form.
"The thing that makes this outstanding ... is the subtleties of textures and color," said Andy Berner, director of communications for Ackland.
Some dishes, for instance, feature depictions of animals or leaves, while others are spotted as tortoise shells. The rich darkness of the work's colors bleed together like swirls of midnight sky, even more appreciable considering the unpredictability of glaze and the ceramic medium.
Dark Jewels is a priceless gift to the museum, which is already reputed as holding North Carolina's richest Asian arts collection.
Having no specialist in this type of work, the museum brought in guest curator Ellen Avril from The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, to which the exhibit will move next spring after its stay in Chapel Hill.
