New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-13

Burner" (No. 1880 in which a cloud of vapor
issuing from the mouth of dragon is surnount-
ed by eagle bearing on it's back, between its
outstretched wings. the Japanese goddess OF
music. This incense burner is model Of ORR
entail daring and skill in plastic art One has to
look closely to the symbolism Of many g Japan
csc bronze I'm this collection IN order to feel
sympathy with the freedom the old artists gave
themselves In matters OF fern. Our Western
ideas Of sculpture are miles away from the
strange blends OF realism and fantasy in which
the East delights. But 1t requires no effort at
all 10 appreciate the consummate craftsmanship
spent upon the dragons, crabs. birds, animals,
and so on, in which the bronze section abounds,
and there are objects which the veriest
layrnan could not but admire for sheer beauty Of
texture and color. Take. for example, the an
cient Chinese bronze vase CNo. 2.O54, with its
patina OF green and reddish brown Beauty in
metal could scarcely further go, and we may
say as much of the magnihcently wrought old
Sung" Jar (No. 2oSS), and OF the three or four
oviforro vases Of which No 1914 is the type. In
the presence OF many of the naturalistic bronzes
the portraits OF tiny long cared rabbits and the
like one thinks of the Oriental artist pecul-
iarly lover of grotesque motives, but there are
many metal jars and vases here which show that
he has his graver, finer moods, and can wreak
himself with the delicacy and power upon
noble schemes of form and surface.
In one room there have been gathered together
Oh this occasion a number Of Buddhistic statues
and shrines These in their wonderful irnrnobil
ity and their adherence to certain broad lines OF
design, suggest an art Of convention. and there
is much else in the exhibition. as there must be
in every exhibition devoted to the East, which
brings up the same idea But If potters' marks
and the signatures of the Eastern painters and
ed
save to the trained Orientalist, originality is
still there giving often to the nerest trife an
obviously vital stamp. Scholarship is needed
to distinguish between the infinite varieties OF
style illustrated. for example, among the Jap
anese knife handles, of which Mr. Bishop as
senbled an imposing array. But even the OBJ
server unlearned in the nlinutie Of the subject
can apprehend the essential point about these
little masterpieces or about those wonderful
iuros or medicine cases, to the making of which
there has gone some of the best effort Of the
East. Perfection of workmanship counts for
much among these objects but invention counts
for more, and that is the great lesson enforced
by Mr. Bishops orientalia- To traverse these
hundreds OF exhibits in detail would be neither
convenient nor profitable. Whole pages Of the
catalogue are exhausted in the description of
the fnros alone The important thing to note
about q masterpiece among the inros, like NO
1494 one fashioned in the guise OF an ink BLOCK.
is that both in the landscape represented upon
lis face and in the carving Of the wood snail
and lotus of the inevitable netsuke We have the
decorative instinct of the Orient in nutshell
an instinct giving to each development of a con-
ventional object or utensil character as much
its own as that which the greatest OF Italian
painters ever gave to one Of his pictures 1t
does not matter what the shape or size OF the
object may be; II does not matter whether
nature, the human figure. birds, beasts or floral
arabesques have supplied the leading motive
The artist produces always precisely the right
composition fornalized, yet free. and works It
ont with q touch as strong and authoritative as
1t is light and subtle.
II is the same in ali the manifestations of the
artistic genius OF the East, II there are houn-
daries set in the matter Of design by the very
nature Of the task in hand, then the problem is
solved by the perfect manipulation Of texture
and color, as witness certain Of the single color
porcelalns in this collection. like the sang-de-
boeuf vase, No. 957. and it's two companions in
the same case or the beautiful pieces of blue
and white and of decorated porcelain which go
to make UP number OF other groups The pic
torial artists enjoy e fuller license. as may be
seen from the many hne kakernonos p1t the
charm of the Bishop collection lies in the fe-
cundity Of decorative skill which is everywhere
visible, as much in cleaning lacQuers and in
carvings Of jade as in elaborate paintings or in
patiently wrought bronze The average Of ex-
ceIlence throughout the various departments OF
the collection is high. AS we indicated at the
outset. Mr.. Bishop had way OF coming upon
the really characteristic and valuable object AS
time went on he became more and more alb
sorbed In his fades but in all fields Of Oriental
art he maintained the same standard. The dis
persal of his collection affords to American ANA
teurs an opportunity which we believe they VIII
be quick TO sieze