Snuff and stuff

A recent exhibition of ancient artifacts spans the secular and the sacred, ranging from the frivolous to the serious. Derek Bosko reports in New York.

A late-Shang Dynasty (c. 16th century-11th century BC) bronze tripod jue gets passed down by generations of an American family, losing two of its legs, as well as the awe it once inspired, only to find its way on a plane back to China, legs in tow and reattached.

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"People don't realize they have a 3,000-year-old Chinese bronze vessel that they are using as a door stop or a dog's water bowl," says Erick Schiess, owner of Jadestone Fine Asian Art, Appraisal & Consulting LLC, a Portland, Oregon-based dealer of Asian art.

Jadestone exhibited in New York during Asia Week, March 15-23, which was a celebration of Asian art by museums, auction houses and cultural institutions.

Jadestone's sales exhibit From Curiosity to Devotion featured Chinese art and artifacts, including Buddhist statuettes, snuff bottles and hand-carved jade objects. Schiess says almost all of them came from early US collections, with a few snuff bottles from a Portuguese collector.

"The majority of the pieces were sold to buyers from the Chinese mainland and are being returned to Chinese collections and Chinese dealers," Schiess says.

About 80 percent of Schiess' clients are from Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an, and some are from Hong Kong and Taiwan. He also has Chinese-American clients in New York and some internationally based American and European clients.

The link among the artifacts on display is reflected in the double meaning of the exhibition's title.