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More than 100 rare works of Chinese glass have been drawn together for the first time in this special exhibition, which presents a comprehensive review of Chinese craftsmanship in glass as seen through the rarely viewed private collections of Mr. Walter Shorenstein, San Francisco; Mrs. Emma Dagan, Los Angeles; and Dr. Alan Feen, Tulsa Oklahoma. Each of the 105 pieces in the exhibition reflects the collectors' individual tastes, interests and personalities.
Dating from the fifth century BC right up to the 19th century, the works range from small glass beads and pendants designed to replicate jade, to elegant glass lotus leaves and gourds mirroring the Chinese enthusiasm for natural forms. Of particular note are examples from China's 'Great Golden Age' of glassmaking in the early 18th century, during which commissions by imperial Manchu rulers greatly increased the art's status and popularity.
Emma Dagan and her late husband, Barney, began collecting Chinese decorative arts for their Upland, California home in 1966. Initially, their collecting interests centred on glass snuff bottles; today it includes a wide range of styles highlighted by Mrs. Dagan's most recent acquisition of a rare 18th century amethyst-coloured glass bowl from the Qing Dynasty. Dr. Alan Feen, an oncologist from Tulsa, Oklahoma, began collecting glass in 1986 after first being introduced to the art on a trip to China three years earlier. Today he continues actively to collect pieces which characterize his enthusiasm for large, mono- chromatic styles, including an imposing 18-inch aqua-coloured Qianlong-era vase which is one of the largest pieces of Chinese glass still in existence.
Walter and the late Phyllis Shorenstein of San Francisco started collecting Chinese glass with the purchase of five Qing imperial-marked monochromes during a 1987 trip to Hong Kong; today their collection is arguably the most comprehensive of any in the Western world, with objects dating from the Qin (third century BC) through the Qing (1644-1912) dynasties, and containing masterwork after masterwork in each category.
A chorus of Colours: Chinese glass from Three American Collections is made possible through the generous support of Mr. Walter Shorenstein, Mrs. Emma Dagan, and Dr. Alan Feen. Guest curators for the exhibition are Dr. Claudia Brown, Curator of Asian Art at Phoenix Art Museum, and Clarence F. Shangraw, Chief Curator Emeritus at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.