Asia and the New Silk Road

In 1863, John D. Rockefeller, Sr., selected a charity in China for one of his first public gifts outside of the United States; successive generations of his descendants have since forged their own abiding ties in the region, creating deep and lasting bonds with Asia. Just over a century later, David would make history in 1973 as the first American financier to visit the People’s Republic of China. David was raised in New York City on West 54th Street, and his parents, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, filled their house with Asian prints, porcelain, ceramics, and sculpture, along with treasures from India, the Middle East and North Africa. In later years, Peggy and David would add to their collection a variety of objets d’art, rugs, paintings and sculpture illustrating their continuing appreciation of diverse cultures and genres. Highlights include an Imperial gilt-bronze figure of Amitayus from the Kangxi Period (1662–1722), a rare anhua-decorated blue and white ‘dragon’ bowl (1426–35), a 13th century Syrian incense burner and a West African Mossi female figure from the 19th century.