**This class takes place on four Saturdays, March 5 through March 26, 2016 or on four Wednesdays, March 9 through March 30, 2016.**
A ritual bronze vessel, a brick from a tomb wall, a ceramic horse, a head of a bodhisattva – these Chinese art objects in the collection of CMOA reveal much about the historical, social, and religious contexts in which they were created. In this course, we will delve into key periods of Chinese art history, using objects from the collection as a starting point. Focused discussions each week include ritual objects in Bronze Age China, grave goods and the afterlife in the Qin and Han Dynasties, Tang and Song depictions of the urban and natural environment, and the role of luxury objects and painting in creating a sophisticated court culture in the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
About the instructor:
Rachel Miller's research focuses on Italian Renaissance and Baroque art with an emphasis on the artistic patronage of the Jesuits, including the art and architecture produced on their overseas missions. Miller also has a strong interest in medieval and early modern Japanese art and the exchange of artistic methods and material culture between Europe and Japan in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her MA paper examined the art and architecture produced by the Jesuits on their missions in Japan from 1549 to 1614. Miller's doctoral thesis is titled Apostle to the Indies: The Global Iconography and Dissemination of Images of St. Francis Xavier. This project examines images of this missionary saint produced both in Europe and on key Jesuit missions, such as in Goa, and aims to provide a new understanding of the global nature of Jesuit hagiography and iconography.
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