Throughout its long history, Viet Nam served as a central hub for trade routes connecting the regions of Asia and the West. Merchant ships came from as far west as India and Rome to seek trade with Asia. Arts of Ancient Viet Nam:From River Plain to Open Sea introduces new scholarship on thehistory of Vietnamese art. Approximately 110 objects dating from the first millennium BC through the 17th century are included in the exhibition – on loan from Viet Nam´s leading museums. Highlights of the exhibition feature ritual bronzes, terracotta burial wares, gold jewellery, Hindu and Buddhist sculptures, as well as objects made of jade, lapis lazuli, crystal and carnelian.
The works on loan are from 10 of the leading museums in Viet Nam, including the National Museum of Vietnamese History in Ha Noi and the Museum of Vietnamese History, Ho Chi Minh City. The exhibition guides the viewer through critical periods in the region´s history, beginning with ancient burial items from the 5th century BC along with fine jewellery and religious statues dating from the first millennium AD. The exhibition ends with a collection of 17th-century ceramics. Arts of Ancient Viet Nam examines this work in light of complex patterns of trade and cultural exchange in southern, central and northern Viet Nam. The varied influence of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Japan, China, Rome and even northern Europe are explored.
The show is divided into four roughly chronological sections, each of which explores the art of the period´s most prominent civilisations: Early Cultures (first millennium BC to 2nd century AD) explores Viet Nam´s first ‘Golden Age’, which was dominated by two important civilisations: the Sa Huynh in central and south Viet Nam and their contemporaries in the north, the Dong Son. Particular highlights in this section are the burial wares of the Sa Huynh people, who entombed their dead inlarge upright jars, the bodies positioned in crouched postures with precious offerings, weapons and smaller pottery vessels enclosed as well. This rare practice was not shared by the Dong Son culture in the north, who are better known for their ornamental bronze drums. Other highlights from the exhibition include iron axes, jewellery, beads of semi-precious stones, glass and gold.
The Archaeology of Fu Nan in the Mekong River Delta (1st to 8th centuries) examines the first-millennium civilisation known as Fu Nan, which comprised several major cities connected by an advanced network of canals across southern Viet Nam and into Cambodia. The exhibition focuses on the walled city of Oc Eo, one of this civilisation´s wealthiest, located at the crossroads of trade routes linking the Roman, Indian and Chinese empires. The city was a main centre of manufacture, notable for itshigh-quality gold jewellery inset with semi-precious and precious stones. Inthis section there are examples of this jewellery alongside imported goods from Rome, India and China from the same period.
The Champa Kingdom (5th to 15th centuries). This section explores the art of the seafaringCham people, whose central coastal kingdoms became the locus of power in the6th century and features Cham ceramics, metalwork and sculpture, which demonstrate artistic and cultural exchange between coastal Viet Nam, Indonesia,the Philippine kingdom of Butuan, and other regions of Southeast Asia andIndia.
Finally, Ceramic Trade and Exchange (12th to 17th centuries) explores the city o fHoi An, also known as Faifo, which served as one of Southeast Asia´s primaryinternational ports for two centuries. Located in central Viet Nam about 18miles from modern Da Nang, Hoi An commanded the centre of the ceramic trade between China, Japan and Europe. On show are ceramic wares produced in northern and central Viet Nam. This section looks at the influence of Japanese, Chinese, Dutch and Portuguese traders, who settled in Hoi An during the period.
From 13 September to 3 January, 2010 at the Museumof Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet Street, Houston, TX 77005, ww.mfah.org. Then at AsiaSociety, New York from 2 February until 2 May. A catalogue accompaniesthe exhibition.
