Orient art

Orient art

The orient art in collection of the museum is represented by art of China, Japan, India and Iran. During many centuries of development, peoples of these countries created works of art in painting, graphics, and applied art. The Great Silk Road played important role in development of orient culture, which explains many parallels in orient art and defines their tight mutual influence. At the same time each of these cultures has got bright national peculiarities. 

Remarkable monuments of Chinese painting represented in horizontal and vertical scrolls from simple or silk paper were painted as a rule by Indian ink, water colors and gouache. Chinese painters didn’t use light and shadow in depicting objects and didn’t compare perspective of the line, but feeling the volume and space in picture pretty well. They attained their depiction by extraordinary construction of composition consisting of number of sketches. The scroll “Council of wise men” by painter Juan Tyan is the vivid example of narrating genre, it shows the figures, which are assumed as images of playing and relaxing philosophers, but at the same time thinking on mysteries of the Creation. 

Love of Chinese nation to their land is reflected in creative activity of Qi Baishi. He worked in “Gokhua” style and estimated tasks to express variety of life experience of man in his art. This painter became a discover, who could show in painting of China a new human beauty and light joy of life through world, seemed to be true to life. The painter created expressive images of landscapes, flowers, birds and animals in his sketchy manner of broad painting in spots. Apart from the fact that there are not images of people in works by Qi Baishi his art is humanistic. Most of his works are full of humor and care of people, they express decorative inscription. In the painting “Cat” in simple ways, Qi Baishi magnificently showed characteristic habits of the animal, which gave specific lyric charm to his work.

One of the most favorite and spread forms of fine arts of Chinese people is “Niangua” New Year cards. Allegoric New Year wishes are reflected in nice wood engravings. They are usually gifted to each other for joyful events or holidays. Chinese “Niangua”, presented in collection of our museum, are particular to this type of painting: they are decoratively bright, beautiful in color and depiction, and clear for everyone. Also some samples of Chinese embroidery made in “gold and silver thread”, “susu”, “pinsu” technique are represented in collection of the museum. There are also items, executed in dividing-enamel technology. They are elegant and solemn, landscape motives and subject compositions not fettered by ornamented scheme, used on surfaces of vases, censers and dishes. The censer in the view of fantastic creature Qilin is made of bronze. Fragrances and fumigation, concerning cults of Daoism, were burned inside the censer. Such censers were found in Chinese temples.

Famous Chinese porcelain by its artistic importance and technical quality made great contribution to art of the world ceramics. One of the most ancient methods of decoration ceramics is covering surfaces with colorful glaze – from dark-blue to black, from red to purple tones. Celadon glaze – “color of apple” has deserved special glory for its gamma. The vivid example is the set “Golden peons”, presented in permanent exposition of the museum. 

The porcelain painters mastered their art with extraordinary agility and assurance. Multicolored, polychromic painting was created by Chinese artists, as a rule, with prevalence of green or rose color, so these paintings were identified as "green family" or "rose family". There are plastic arts of well-known porcelain workshops of Deihua in provinces Funczyani, in the collection of the museum, specializing on production of milky-white or ivory porcelain.

Extraordinary variety of methods of working with ivory are demonstrated in Chinese carved products of ivory: sculptural group expressing family, elephant tusk demonstrating genre scenes.

The art of Japan is presented by small collection of colored engraving in our museum. The main way of art expressiveness of them is a line, sometimes glaring precise, sometimes fine and disappearing. Color most often sounds as accompaniment to the main emotional contents of the image, created by means of lines. Painter expresses embodiment of created heroes so elegantly and fluently in his engravings like "Two ladies together", "Lady under the tree", "Portrait of the lady".

Japanese ceramics is characterized by preciseness and modesty of color palette of glaze, frugal, common, but elegantly created decor. The Tea ceremony is reflection of Japanese culture. The items of the tea ceremony were made of rough clay manually. Japanese valued the simplicity and intentional crudity, asymmetry. Items of the tea ceremony are presented in the collection of the museum: vessel for hot water, bowl for tea, plates, vessel for keeping aromatic herbs and other things. 

Sculpture in small forms is one of the brilliant pages in history of Japanese art. Miniature plastic art is an evidence of high culture of transformation of natural material into plastic perfection of forms, in harmony of image and exclusive performance. Japanese painters demonstrate inventiveness in genre of miniature sculpture, so-called netsuke. There are such authentic works of art in our museum. Box with depiction of grimacing faces is created virtuously. It is made out of bone and pleasing gropingly because of careful polishing. Whole decor of the item is submitted to artistic intention features of personages, variety of images on whole surface of the box.

Ancient and beautiful art of India is characterized by skilled technique of completion. Ivory jewelries from the collection of our museum combine noble simplicity and elegancy. Excepting this there are metal jewelries in the collection with using different techniques, like cut, filigree and inlay. Metal in Indian art was elaborated from ancient times. Lots of statuettes, representing male and female deities and warriors were created. Small bronze, copper and brass statuettes in the museum are connected with different religious cultures of ancient and modern times.       

India is Motherland of the textiles. Fabrics, sari, hand-bags, coverlets, tablecloths and belts- all variety of Indian decorative and applied arts are presented in collection of our museum.

Iranian wooly carpets get world glory. Their production comes from ancient times. In rich decor of Iranian carpets one can find various ornamented plant motives and depiction of animals. Noble coloring gamma of Iranian carpets, from museum collection, gives especial festivity and decorativeness to them.                                      

        Preservers and scientific staff of the museum of fine arts held expositional and exhibition activity. Annual exhibitions from the funds of the museum are organized and permanent exposition is renewed. It promotes propaganda of museum collection, more varied show of treasuries of funds to great number of attendance. The museum funds are supplied by the objects of culture and art. Employees of the museum work hardly in this direction. The most important work is organization of exhibitions of modern painters. The importance of this work is assiduous attention to the problems of modern art, learning its peculiarities. Some of objects of such exhibitions become exhibits of the museum, enlarging collection of spiritual values of present time, with the aim to show them to future generations.