Product Review

Although the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is well known for its extensive holdings of Chinese ceramics, many of the outstanding pieces in the collection have received little or no attention in print. This book remedies that omission. Designed for the general reader, it offers a selection of 78 objects, beautifully photographed in full color, with individual entries focusing on the aesthetic experiece they evoke and the cultural context that produced them. Featuring an essay on the history of the collection of Chinese ceramics, the book also includes brief sketches on the principal types as well as short texts about the archaeology of the tombs and kiln sites. An illustrated time line and a kiln map fill in the historical and geographical settings for nearly 5,000 years of Chinese ceramic art.