Accompanied by a full-color catalogue of the same name (available for purchase at the museum in October), Dark Jewels explores the subtle and rich beauty of tea bowls, jars, bottles and other ceramics created during the Northern Song, Southern Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties of China. During each of these periods, patronage by the ruling class, the educated elite and the population-at-large had an impact on the development of distinctive aesthetics in ceramics.

Produced at numerous kilns in China over a large geographic area, the black and brown wares present innovative decorative techniques that produced striking patterns and pictorial designs achieved by sophisticated manipulation of iron-oxide-rich glazes. Abstract and strangely contemporary-looking glazing techniques called hare's fur, tortoiseshell and partridge feathers permeate the collection.

"When looked at closely the pieces reveal a marvelous variety of form and technique," notes renowned Asian art scholar and Chapel Hill resident Sherman Lee in his introduction to the exhibition catalogue. "The simple triad of black, brown and white gives rise to a whole range of decorative effects."

The period in China's history encompassed by the Shatzman collection was one of unprecedented economic growth, a major demographic shift to the Yangzi river valley as center of commercial activity, urbanization and the rise of Neo-Confucianism, all of which fueled a flourishing of the arts and the development of new aesthetics. A new class of elites, the literati, gained official status in the government not by aristocratic lineage but through a system of meritocracy determined by the civil service examination system. Their Neo-Confucian values rejected the sumptuousness and flamboyant decoration often seen in the arts of the Tang dynasty (618-907), instead encouraging a more intellectual approach that favored simplicity of form, ornamental restraint and subtlety of expression.

"In assembling this collection we have always kept in mind that these pieces were created by unknown artisans, most of whom dedicated their lives to their trade," explain the Shatzmans. "The glory of their efforts is the sophisticated glazes they were able to develop." The collection is a promised gift to the Ackland, where it will join the most significant collection of Asian art on display in North Carolina. Mr. Shatzman serves on the Ackland's National Advisory Committee.

Please join the Ackland and the Shatzmans for an opening celebration on October 13 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Dark Jewels is guest-curated by Ellen Avril, chief curator and curator of Asian art at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, where the exhibition will travel in the spring of 2003. The exhibition is made possible in part by the William Hayes Ackland Trust.