Homage to Heaven, Homage to Earth: Chinese Treasures of the Royal Ontario Museum

Lisa Arsenault is a public-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

This beautifully produced coffee-table book presents a comprehensive
overview of the ROM’s Chinese art collection. A concise introduction
outlines the history and origins of the artifacts and describes the
contributions made by collectors in the field and by benefactors who
supplied donations. A chronology of Chinese imperial dynasties at the
end of the introduction will be referred to often by the reader. The
artifacts are grouped into major categories, each of which is prefaced
with a précis by an expert in the ROM’s Far Eastern Department. A
representative selection of colored full- and half-page photographs
follow, and the accompanying descriptions place the articles in their
historical and artistic perspective. Notes to each précis, and a
detailed catalogue, bibliography, and index, complete the book.

What could have been a dry compilation of data with pictures has been
lightened by the inclusion throughout the volume of quotations from
poems, songs, letters, religious tracts, and other contemporary writings
appropriate to the context.

A small cavil is that the essay portion of the book ends rather
abruptly with the last photograph. A short summation with reference to
plans for new acquisitions and future display ideas would have proved
interesting. But the book certainly accomplishes what it sets out to do:
educate the public about the ROM’s Chinese collection, and inspire the
reader to visit the ROM and view the displays in person. Furthermore,
the book is itself a beautiful piece of workmanship.