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FEBRUARY 2012
A Fragile Heritage, China Counts its Lost Ruins
January 2012
A Chinese Conundrum: Hong Kong Sales Slow Down
NOVEMBER 2011
Hong Kong Autumn Sales: Reading the Mixed Messages
OCTOBER 2011
Museum der Kulturen Basel Opens After Refurbishment
September 2011
Cover: World Heritage List New Sites
JUNE 2011
Thai Border Clashes Continue Around Preah Vihear Temple
December 2009
Book List 2009
Book List 2009
Here is Asian Art Newspaper's book list for 2009. It has been a good year for Asian and Islamic publications. Each year's list has its own character, this year seems to have brought forth a good selection of books on Central Asia, from guide books, to history and political comment. Shah Abbas also features in the title of some books, including the British Museum's exhibition catalogue of the ruler's life and times. Fiction is always an interesting section to compile. Thanks to the Man Asian Literary Prize (based in Hong Kong), which translates novels into English, many wonderful novels are now being introduced to a much wider audience. This year's winner was The Boat to Redemption by Su Tong. There's a wealth of choice in this category - from Indian and Chinese detective novels, the power of love in Pakistan and Iran to the epic story, Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie, that sweeps across generations and continents. As always, this is not a complete list - there were many, many other good history, reference and art books, we just don't have the space to publish more. We begin, as always with China and the beautiful book on ceramics: Song China Through 21stCentury Eyes: Yaozhou and Qingbai Ceramics by Rose Kerr.
Falnama: The Book of Omens
Falnama: The Book of Omens
When seeking insight andguidance at moments of uncertainty, both courtiers and commoners of 16th and17th-century Safavid Iran and Ottoman Turkey would consult the Falnama,a book of omens. Those produced for the royal court were sumptuous works ofart.
Splendour & Sacrifice: Taoism Of Northern Laos
Splendour & Sacrifice: Taoism Of Northern Laos
The Yao are a major hill tribe in Laos, also found in Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam and along the Chinese frontier. A resilient people who migrated south from Yunnansome 250 years ago, their cultural heritage seems to have survived their wanderings as they adapted to different lands and environments. In Laos, they comprise two groups. The Yao Mun tend to congregate around upland mountain streams in the northern Lao provinces, and are called laohuay, ‘people of the streams'. They are related to the Yao Mien, a bigger group widely scattered in the highlands and as far south as Luang Prabang and Vientiane, known as lao soung, ‘high lao'. According to the 2005 census, there were approximately 27,449 Yao Mun and Yao Mien living in Laos.
Chinese Architectural Models
Chinese Architectural Models
A collection of wooden architectural models from the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage in Beijing is being shown in Munich for the first time outside China. Together with photographs, architectural surveys and the corresponding explanations, the models convey a fascinating insight into the beauty and technique of timber construction, as well into Chinese architecture as a whole.