Magazine Features Cloisonné Collection At Anniston’s Berman Museum

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Representing a colorful, mythic world of dragons and masks, the cloisonné of China is one of the least understood and least studied forms of Chinese decorative art. Anniston’s Berman Museum is doing its share to rectify that problem.

Karen Henricks, an art history professor at Jacksonville State University, details the Berman collection in the summer 2000 issue of Alabama Heritage magazine, describing the intricate process of cloisonné production, its storied and sometimes mysterious history, and its significance as a cultural artifact.

Farley and Germaine Berman of Anniston were passionate about the objet d’art they collected, and their cloisonné collection — now housed in the museum that bears their name — reflects their savvy as collectors. Gathered over many years, the Berman cloisonné includes an impressive number of pieces from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries — the period when cloisonné was popular both in China and as a trade item to the West. China’s cloisonné production was periodically disrupted during the last century, but never fully discontinued. Today, it is manufactured in state factories by the People’s Republic of China, and also produced in Taipei.

In the museum’s holdings are approximately 20 edged weapons (swords, daggers, and knives) with cloisonné scabbards and handles and over fifty sculptural or utilitarian cloisonné forms. Among the most impressive pieces are the large animal figures, some of which stand almost two feet in height, and the ceremonial swords with carved jade insets and elaborate bronze decoration — many of which are pictured and described in detail in the article.

Karen Henricks, who holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, has been teaching art history at Jacksonville State University since 1987. A consultant and guest curator with the Berman Museum for the past year, Henricks has actively involved students and others in the research and exhibition of the Berman’s diverse holdings.

Alabama Heritage is a nonprofit quarterly magazine published by The University of Alabama and The University of Alabama at Birmingham. To order the magazine, write Alabama Heritage, Box 870342, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0342, or call 205/348-7467.