Art of China, Africa fills Elvehjem’s galleries

A couple who married in China at the tail end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) received a most wonderful gift: a bronze mirror inscribed with a wish for “double happiness” and lavishly decorated with bats, the traditional symbol of good fortune.

Such literal glimpses into China’s past will be on view at the Elvehjem Museum of Art, Saturday, Dec. 20-Sunday, Feb. 29.

“Circles in Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors” features more than 100 examples dating from the fifth or fourth century B.C. through the early 20th century. Through these artifacts, the exhibition explores design and decoration, production, value as a commodity and more.

The Chinese conceived of the mirrors, each with one polished side and one decorated, as the universe in miniature. Motifs include animals mythic and real, signs of the zodiac, stories of the constellations and traditional heroes, Confucian sayings and other adornments.

A reception will mark the exhibition on Friday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m. in Paige Court.

Museum guests also can see more than 800 pieces from the “Bareiss Family Collection of African Art,” through Wednesday, June 30. Reflecting aesthetic, cultural and geographic diversity of the region, the exhibition includes masks; ivory, wood and clay carvings; ceremonial axes; and fly whisks. Objects date from about 1200 to the early 1900s.

Guest curator for the African exhibition is Nicole Bridges, a UW–Madison Ph.D. candidate in art history specializing in the art of central Africa. She served as a student curator for the Elvehjem’s spring 2002 exhibition “Revealing Forms: African Art from the Elvehjem Collection,” part of a yearlong museum studies class taught by art history professor Henry J. Drewal.

For additional information, contact the Elvehjem at 263-2246 or see http://www.lvm.wisc.edu.