Cabinet Q: Shelf 2

Selections from the Ellen and Richard Laing Collection

The art collection of Drs. Richard and Ellen Laing was donated to the Museum in 2006. It consists of painting, calligraphy, prints, ceramics, and other decorative arts, reflecting their diverse interest in East Asian culture. What makes the Laing Collection unique is its focus on Chinese folk culture and art. Dr. Ellen Laing, a renowned scholar of Chinese painting and prints, and her husband Richard traveled to Taiwan and China in the 1960s and 70s, collecting objects used in everyday life. In this period just before many hand-made artifacts began to be mass produced, they were also made from natural materials rather than plastic. These fascinating objects, which had mostly disappeared by the late twentieth century, are characterized by sensible utilitarian design and intricate motifs based on folk beliefs.

Among them are many lacquered boxes and containers; these were often used to hold precious gifts and other items as part of the trousseau or dowry of a bride. The red color, used often in folk artifacts, is considered auspicious and believed to summon good fortune. Many of the decorative motifs seen here convey good omens and good wishes through pictorial motifs. Bats, for example, connote luck because the pronunciation of the character fu (bat) is identical to that for blessing. Because many motifs from the Chinese pictorial vocabulary were transmitted to the Korean peninsula, where people adopted the written Chinese language, the same bat motif also can be seen on lacquer objects from Korea.

Japanese
Blue-and-White Storage Jar
porcelain with blue underglaze painting
8 1/2 in. x 7 1/4 in. x 7 1/4 in. ( 21.6 cm x 18.4 cm x 18.4 cm )
Gift of Ellen and Richard Laing
Dutch
Blue-and-White Small Delftware Bowl
porcelain with blue underglaze painting
2 5/8 in. x 4 5/8 in. x 4 3/4 in. ( 6.67 cm x 11.75 cm x 12.07 cm )
Gift of Ellen and Richard Laing
Shallow abstract plate with the character Shou (Longevity) circled by four crabs no the surface.
Chinese
Shallow Abstract Plate with the Character Shou (Longevity) Circled by Four Crabs
Porcelain with blue underglaze painting
1 1/4 in. x 7 in. x 7 in. ( 3.18 cm x 17.78 cm x 17.78 cm )
Gift of Ellen and Richard Laing
Chinese
Blue-and-White Small Bowl
porcelain with blue underglaze painting
2 5/8 in. x 5 1/8 in. x 5 1/8 in. ( 6.67 cm x 13.02 cm x 13.02 cm )
Gift of Ellen and Richard Laing
Blue-and-white plate with abstract design of flowering plants on the surface and outside of the plate.
Taiwanese
Blue-and-White Plate with abstract design of flowering plants
porcelain with blue underglaze painting
1 1/8 in. x 6 3/8 in. x 6 3/8 in. ( 2.86 cm x 16.19 cm x 16.19 cm )
Gift of Ellen and Richard Laing
A 4 tiered cylindrical box that is decorated with blue, yellow, and red bats and clouds.
Chinese
Canton Ware Tiered 4-part Cylindrical Box
porcelain with overglaze enamels in pastel blue, pink and green
6 3/8 in. x 4 1/4 in. x 4 1/4 in. ( 16.19 cm x 10.8 cm x 10.8 cm )
Gift of Ellen and Richard Laing
This mirror box is decorated with lacquer and mother-of-pearl inlaid designs. Thelid of the box opens upwards, and has brass hinges and a closure in the sahpe of a flower. The lower drawer has a handle in the shape of a bat.<br />
<br />
This box has a mirror attached to the inside of its lid and was used by women. The box is decorated with hexagon and bamboo motifs by employing <em>kkeuneumjil</em> and <em>jureumjil</em> techniques. Hinges made of nickel are decorated with chiseled peonies on a ringmat ground. The corner brackets, or side wrappers, are in &ldquo;I&rdquo; shape. The single drawer has a handle in the shape of a bat, realistic to the extent of depicting antenna. Lacquer was heavily repainted on the base of the drawer. The frame of the mirror inside was decorated with fret-patterned band on left and right sides, and saw-tooth design on upper and lower sides.
<p>[Korean Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art (2017) p. 266]</p>
Korean
Mirror Box
lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlay and brass? fittings
4 15/16 x 7 3/16 x 9 11/16 in. (12.5 x 18.2 x 24.5 cm)
Gift of Ellen and Richard Laing

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Cabinet A: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

Cabinet A: Shelf 2
<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

Cabinet A: Shelf 3
<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

Cabinet B: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

Cabinet B: Shelf 2
<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

Cabinet B: Shelf 3
<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

Cabinet C: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

Cabinet C: Shelf 2
<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

Cabinet C: Shelf 3
<p>Inkwells </p>

Cabinet D: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

Cabinet D: Shelf 2
<p>Inkwells </p>

Cabinet D: Shelf 3
<p>Inkwells </p>

Cabinet E: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the James Marshall Plumer Collec...

Cabinet E: Shelf 2
<p>Selections from the James Marshall Plumer Collec...

Cabinet E: Shelf 3
<p>Selections from the James Marshall Plumer Collec...

Cabinet F: Shelf 1
<p>Mortuary Art from China </p>

Cabinet F: Shelf 2
<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

Cabinet F: Shelf 3
<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

Cabinet G: Shelf 1
<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

Cabinet G: Shelf 2
<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

Cabinet G: Shelf 3 
<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

Cabinet H: Shelf 1
<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

Cabinet H: Shelf 2
<p>Mortuary Art from China </p>

Cabinet H: Shelf 3
<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

Cabinet I: Shelf 1
<p>Art of Islam</p>

Cabinet I: Shelf 2
<p>Art of Islam</p>

Cabinet I: Shelf 3
<p>Art of Islam</p>

Cabinet J: Shelf 1
<p>Art of Islam</p>

Cabinet J: Shelf 2
<p>Art of Islam</p>

Cabinet J: Shelf 3
<p>Art of Islam</p>

Cabinet K: Shelf 1
<p>Religious Sculpture from India</p>

Cabinet K: Shelf 2
<p>Religious Sculpture from India</p>

Cabinet K: Shelf 3
<p>Art of Islam</p>

Cabinet L: Shelf 1
<p>Blue-and-White Porcelain and Stoneware</p>

Cabinet L: Shelf 2
<p>Blue-and-White Porcelain and Stoneware</p>

Cabinet L: Shelf 3
<p>Blue-and-White Porcelain and Stoneware</p>

Cabinet M: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Dora and William Hunter Coll...

Cabinet M: Shelf 2
<p>Selections from the Dora and William Hunter Coll...

Cabinet M: Shelf 3
<p>Blue-and-White Porcelain and Stoneware</p>

Cabinet N: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Margaret Watson Parker Colle...

Cabinet N: Shelf 2
<p>Selections from the Margaret Watson Parker Colle...

Cabinet N: Shelf 3
<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet O: Shelf 1
<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet O: Shelf 2
<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet O: Shelf 3
<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet P: Shelf 1
<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet P: Shelf 2
<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet P: Shelf 3
<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet Q: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Ellen and Richard Laing Coll...

Cabinet Q: Shelf 2
<p>Selections from the Ellen and Richard Laing Coll...

Cabinet Q: Shelf 3
<p>Selections from the Ellen and Richard Laing Coll...

Cabinet Q: Shelf 4
<p>American Plaster Casts</p>

Cabinet R: Shelf 1
<p>American Plaster Casts</p>

Cabinet R: Shelf 2
<p>Apostle Spoons and American Silver</p>

Cabinet R: Shelf 3
<p>Modernist Glass and American Art Pottery</p>

Cabinet R: Shelf 4
<p>American Plaster Casts</p>

Cabinet S: Shelf 1
<p>American Silver</p>

Cabinet S: Shelf 2
<p>Tiffany Glass</p>

Cabinet S: Shelf 3
<p>American Silver</p>

Cabinet T: Shelf 1
<p>American Art Pottery</p>

Cabinet T: Shelf 2
<p>American Art Pottery</p>

Cabinet T: Shelf 3
<p>Native American Art</p>

Cabinet U: Shelf 1
<p>American Art Pottery</p>

Cabinet U: Shelf 2
<p>American Art Pottery</p>

Cabinet U: Shelf 3
<p>Native American Art</p>

Cabinet V: Shelf 1
<p>The Human Figure in African Art</p>

Cabinet V: Shelf 2
<p>African Miniature Masks</p>

Cabinet V: Shelf 3
<p>African Masks and Masquerades</p>

Cabinet W: Shelf 1
<p>The Head in African Art</p>

Cabinet W: Shelf 2
<p>Selections from the Helmut Stern Collection</p>

Cabinet W: Shelf 3
<p>Selections from the Helmut Stern Collection</p>

Cabinet W: Shelf 4
<p>African Masks and Masquerades</p>

Cabinet X: Shelf 1
<p>Modern Sculpture</p>

Cabinet X: Shelf 2
<p>Modern Sculpture</p>

Cabinet X: Shelf 3
<p>Modern Sculpture</p>

Cabinet X: Shelf 4
<p>Modern Sculpture</p>

Cabinet Y: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Fusfeld Art Collection</p>

Cabinet Y: Shelf 2
<p>Contemporary Art</p>

Cabinet Y: Shelf 3
<p>Contemporary Art</p>

Cabinet Y: Shelf 4
<p>Contemporary Art</p>

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June 8, 2020 1:13 p.m.

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