Asia Pacific Museum

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Back in November, I went with a group of teachers to the Asia Pacific Museum in Pasadena. We had a tour with a docent. I thought we would focus on China but discovered that this museum is as its name is. It represents art and culture of about eight countries. First was Thailand. The Thailand exhibit featured ceramics. I have observed that many other cultures also feature ceramics. However, each culture’s ceramics have unique characteristics. Thailand has earthenware fired at lower temperatures and stoneware with shiny smooth and glassy surface. These date from the 14th-16th centuries A.D. There were two China Art Exhibits. The first China Art Exhibit was next, after Thailand. The Chinese value(d) jade and made many items from it. To them, jade was more valuable than gold and they used it in trading. Another interesting and different exhibit was the cricket cages. The Chinese have respect for crickets and they enjoy the sounds. They gave farmers important information and became good luck symbols. They carried them in gourd cages. For sport, they made “cricket ticklers” which they used to annoy the crickets. Then they would put them together to fight. In the Korean exhibit, they featured the work of three women in protest against Confucian theory with its male domination. Confucian theory shapes personal conduct and group hierarchy. Koreans have separate distinct characteristics from Japan and China. Also displayed were hats which were a status symbol. The hairpins were worn by married women to distinguish her husband's importance. Next was the Himalayan display. This area had religious objects of Hinduism and Buddhism. The Tibetan display showed Buddhas wearing jewelry. This is significant since the reason Buddhism started was to renounce all worldly materialism to find the enlightenment within. The Buddhas are always sitting. Each had different hand positions which have their own meanings. New Guinea is in the Pacific Ocean north of Australia. It's the second largest island in the world. Their display was along the lines of totems and wood carvings over doorways. They hand carved their own canoes. They are very animistic which is displayed in their art and artifacts. The next section of the museum was about Southeast Asia, specifically the religion of Hinduism. Featured are the three main gods – Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. They look mean. Also featured is Chinese artwork, influenced by Confucius. His basic teachings were: 1.) filial piety, including ancestors, 2.) propriety and 3.) harmony. Many pieces include pine tree, bamboo, and plum designs. Some display cases showed items that rich people took in their tombs. We saw a room about the route and artifacts of the Silk Road. In the courtyard, the docent explained about the Foodogs. She said they were (mythical) Chinese lions. They are always at the entryway of buildings. They are there to ward off any evil spirits. (This is also a form of animism). The courtyard also has a huge piece of uncut jade sitting on a bench. One room has porcelain from China. They used kaolin clay which can be fired at a higher temperature. Designs often were dragons and phoenixes. A five clawed dragon resembled the emperor. A phoenix was the symbol for the empress. When the Silk Road was established, designs on the porcelain changed. The Chinese designed them with whatever design their customers wanted. They traded their crafts for the crafts of the other countries that they traded with along the route. They got cobalt from Iran and Iraq. They used it in their ceramics and then sold their ceramics back to customers in the Middle East. Trade went both ways. The last room was on Arts of Japan. There were wood carvings, even on a door and on a wall. There was a god carved on each panel of the wall. They had paintings with fish and beautiful ceramics. In one section of the room was a Japanese room with a huge floral display. This, the docent said, was a typical tea and tea ceremony room.

[Anonymous]

Great job recounting your trip. I too have gone to the Pacific Asia Museum. I agree that it is a beautiful place to visit and I was pleased that they do allow photography as long as you remember to turn off your flash. I can't wait to go back because the museum was under minor construction when l went and several of the latter displays you mentioned were not totally finished yet. I took lots of pictures and read many of the panels on the wall but after attending this seminar I'm sure I would find the experience even more interesting now that I have more information and a much broader base of reference to bring to the event.

I will be sure to call ahead next time or look it up on the web so that I can take a guided tour like you did. I'm sure that will make the experience even more memorable. You were able to come away with a lot of great facts that I missed. I like the details you included in your post about the crickets. I always wondered why they were considered good luck and now I now that it has to do with farming and perhaps gambling on their fights. You made a great report on your trip to the museum. [Edit by="jdavidman on Jun 30, 5:42:22 AM"][/Edit]

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