Photo courtesy of Palace Museum, Beijing
For those smitten with art and history, the chance to see Napoleon's body armor and Josephine's wee coronation slippers at the "Napoleon" exhibit was nearly akin to ingesting a mind-altering substance. Power and Glory: Court Arts of China's Ming Dynasty, opening on February 22 at the Saint Louis Art Museum, gives visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the splendor of a completely different imperial court. The Ming period, which stretched from 1368 to 1644, was marked by a stable, strong economy and unprecedented patronage of the arts; "Ming" means "bright" in Chinese, an appropriate adjective both for the peaceful, creative period of history it represents and for the lovely collection of objects that the museum has brought into its Main Gallery until May 17, a rich cache of 125 pieces including paintings, jade, lacquerware, porcelain and textiles. This exhibition, which includes objects that have never been seen outside of China, was organized by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, the Palace Museum, Beijing, the Nanjing Municipal Museum and the Shanghai Museum; the traveling exhibit was curated by He Li and Michael Knight of the Asian Art Museum, with Philip Hu of SLAM. It's the very first show of its kind to focus on the Ming period and the first exhibit resulting from a collaboration between three of China's most heavy-duty cultural institutions.
Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors, $6 for kids 6–12, free to members. Saint Louis Art Museum Main Gallery, 1 Fine Arts Drive, 314-721-0072, slam.org.
