Divine Delights of Asian Art

Recently I went to my local museum for the exhibition “Divine Forms & Earthly Delights: Reimagining Asian Art.” It is truly incredible to see works of art as old as 2,500 years and of immense intricacy and beauty. These particular pieces hold a certain mystique. They've been used for religious and spiritual purposes for hundreds or thousands of years. For me, they feel imbued with an inexplicable power.

I found myself especially inspired by a few particular items. One was a ritual russet jade cup with a poem inscribed inside (pictured below). I’d never seen that before! And as a poet, the idea of inscribing a cup in this way captures my imagination. What words would I choose to place inside? What language would they be written in? And what lettering style would I choose? I think the answers to those questions might just be a poem in the making.

The libation cups on display (pictured below)—used communally for medicinal or health potions—were even more captivating because of their elaborate carvings in Chinese rhinoceros horns. Looking at these exquisite cups, I was awestruck. They are artisticly exquisite. I was also torn. The perceived benefits of the rhino horn have driven demand and poaching, endangering the rhino and bringing them to near extinction. Even looking now at the picture, I find myself holding at once beauty and fragility, art and destruction.

A third item that I circled back to a few times during my visit was a 14th Century Chinese Guanyin (pictured below). At home, I have several statues of Kwan Yin, the goddess of compassion, who reminds me to bring compassion to myself and others.

There were so many other wonders in that exhibition—tomb figures, temple guardian figures (you can see them behind Guanyin in the photo above), a jade disc of a dragon, an intricately carved ivory tusk, Japanese woodblocks.

This might be a good week to find a ritual object to write about or to serve as a muse for your writing. Or maybe both.

Yours in spirit,

Sandra

P.S. I’m going to be offering a monthly online Spirit in Poet poetry workshop from September through December ($35/session, $140 total). Sign ups haven’t started yet but you can learn about it here, including the dates, topics, format, etc. I’ll let you know when registration begins, but meanwhile, be in touch if you have any questions or to let me know you’re interested.