REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 269 



and eleven on Art-Crafts, dealing with bronzes, rugs procelains and 

 carvings. The closing article, by the Chairman, on "Notable Local 

 Collections of Chinese Art Objects" is of unusual value, as the en- 

 thusiastic appreication of the Literary Dept. A.W.C. has undoubtedly 

 proved the key which has opened the doors of all the principal 

 collectors in Shanghai to its members. Mrs. Wilbur's closing words 

 deserve quotation and hearty endorsement. 



"If the Municipality were to maintain an Art Museum, 

 commensurate with its Public Orchestra and its Parks, it could 

 easily display a collection of Chinese antiquities which would 

 give it rank with the art centres of the world. No other city 

 could command the willing services of such a jury of experts, 

 as reside here, trained in the capacity of private buyers. Loan 

 collections no doubt would be available for long or short 

 periods, if a fire-proof building were provided, with bonded 

 custodians, and a curator of such unassailable rectitude as to 

 insure the confidence of owners. The culture of a city is 

 guaged by such collective enterprises as this. A public spirit 

 for art in Shanghai, is revealed by the maintenance, at public 

 expense, of a symphony orchestra and band to give free con- 

 certs throughout the year. The Eoyal Asiatic Society, with 

 its fine library on China and the Orient, and the ripe research 

 of its annual Journal, is further tribute to the culture of 

 Shanghai. Why not also an Art Museum ? 



There is yet time before Tokio, New York and London 



absorb all the antiquities : but not time to lose. The antiquities 



of Japan slipped away almost before that people knew their 



value, so that she now recoups from China, the source of her 



art. The increasing collections of Chinese art treasures are 



known, to every visitor of the Tokio Museums. The ebb-tide 



of China's treasures away from her shores is cause for alarm. 



Why allow these incomparable relics of a noble art to slip away 



to other lands, without reserving one grand collection for 



Shanghai?" 



There is no space to discuss the papers in detail. "Chinese Homes 



and Gardens" by Miss Tuttle is most sympathetic; "Polychrome 



Porcelains" by Mrs. B. A. Edwards shows extremely careful and 



accurate preparation, as do many, but not all, the other papers. Mr. 



Abraham's contribution on "Sung Painting," a subject he has 



throughly at heart, is quite delightful, and Mr. Evan Morgan who 



has made a deep study of early ritual provides a most valuable chapter 



on "Bronze Sacrificial Vessels used in the Sacrifice to Heaven." 



