Arts of Asia
Xiaodong Fan and his students traveled to the Philadelphia Museum of Art through videoconferencing on Friday, December 18th. The Philadelphia Museum of Art was the first museum in the US to conduct educational programs via videoconferencing which started in 1995. Our program guide, Lynda O’Leary shared pieces of Asian art such as the crystal ball, dragon plate, Mandarin scholar and dog cage with our students. Our students especially liked the elaborate dog cage that gave us an idea of the luxurious lifestyle of the imperial court and the extravagant wealth extended to the dogs. We toured the reception hall of a Chinese palace built in the 1600’s which was brought here to the US piece by piece. The dignified beauty and decorations of the palace were quite impressive. We learned about tomb figures such as the fully laden camel that were buried with the dead. Potters used glazing techniques that produced rich tones of color on the figures. This was a great field trip for our students!
