The University of Kansas

Unknown artist (China)

Head of a Bodhisattva, Northern Song (960-1127)
polychromed wood
Gift of John M. Crawford, Jr., in honor of Helen Foresman Spencer, 77.125

The Spencer Museum of Art houses over 4,000 Asian paintings, prints, ceramics lacquer ware, metalwork, textiles, furniture, and sculpture. Although these include fine examples from Korea, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, the strength of the collection is Japanese and Chinese prints and paintings from the 18th through 20th centuries.

Each of the countries represented in this gallery has unique cultural traditions and concepts of beauty. To those unfamiliar with East Asian culture and history, however, the distinctions between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean art may blur. One reason for that is the immense influence that Chinese historical and cultural developments exerted over neighboring countries. We can see this influence in the adoption of Chinese characters and calligraphy, for example, and in the practice throughout East Asia of painting with ink on silk or paper. Further evidence is the widespread popularity of Chinese legends and symbols and the flourishing of religious art and concepts such as Daoism, Cofucianism and Buddhism—the first two having originated in China and the last passing through China as it spread eastward. However, influence also flowed in the reverse direction, since we know from documentary sources that at times certain Korean and Japanese objects found great favor in China. Due to commercial and cultural interchange the various countries in some instances produced art that shared common themes and even external likenesses. For the most part, however, each country responded to ever expanding wave of Chinese influence according to native aesthetics and cultural values, resulting in the vast richness and variety of what we classify together as Asian art.

• Pronunciation Guide
• China's Chronology
• Japan's Time Periods