ARTH5769: Connoisseurship and Curatorial Practice in Early Chinese Art

This course provides students an immersive experience in the study of early Chinese art and material culture from the Neolithic age (ca. 8000?ca. 2000 BCE) to the early imperial period (221 BCE-220 CE). Geographical coverage uses today's China as a point of departure, but its scope also extends to the rest of the world. This course will explore artifacts in a variety of media, including ceramic, jade, metal, lacquer, silk, painting and writing, as well as ephemeral arts. Students are expected to think each artwork as the embodiment of the complex socio-cultural history of the period, in which they were produced. Guided by the instructor, students will have a selective examination of representative works of art from MIA (the Minneapolis Institute of Art), where they are supposed to be engaged in comprehensive object study, consultation and investigation with the curators, and develop essential curatorial skills of working with artworks. Based on two or more selected artworks, students are expected to finish a short research paper that is throughly studied and potentially publishable.

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