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Asian Art Newspaper September 2008
Cover News: Tulou Earthen Houses, China, on World Heritage List.
June 2008
Indian Artist Wins the Third Artes Mundi Prize
May 2008
World Record for Japanese Work of Art in New York
APRIL 2008
New Asian Sites Added to World Heritage Fund List
March 2008
Fire Destroys National Treasure in Seoul, Korea
February 2008
South Asian Galleries Open at Royal Ontario Museum
February 2008
Designed for Pleasure
Designed for Pleasure
Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680–1860 is in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Japanese Art Society of America, formerly the Ukiyo-e Society of America. Most ukiyo-e exhibitions in the past have been straightforward shows in which emphasis had been concentrated on the artists themselves, together with an overview of the society in Edo that supported this art form. This exhibition, however, is not so easily satisfied with that limited approach. For the first time, it completes the mosaic of the ukiyo-e world by explaining the interrelationship among artists (as painters, print designers and book illustrators,) subject matter, the public market, woodcut designers, private commissions, patrons and publishers. Therein lays the importance of this anniversary exhibition of approximately 120 prints and illustrated books and 30 paintings
Zhangzhou Ware Found In The Philippines
Zhangzhou Ware Found In The Philippines
For a long time the term, ‘Swatow’ has been applied to a variety of Chinese export ceramics, including those from the 16th and 17th centuries. They were widely believed to come from Shantou, the Guangdong port after which they were named. However, Shantou only began operating in the 19th century. Archaeological excavations conducted at the Zhangzhou kilns in Fujian since the 1990s, have confirmed that a ware similar to Swatow, but with distinct characteristics of its own, was being produced around the same time. In China, the discovery of the Zhangzhou kiln complex has been hailed as one of the major archaeological breakthroughs of that decade, earning it a much-coveted place as a key Chinese Cultural Heritage Site. Zhangzhou ware was identified with the southeastern seaboard, as a product typical of Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) non-official kilns, called minyao. Situated practically between Shantou and Xiamen, formerly Amoy, in Fujian, Zhangzhou is now known to have played a significant part in the Chinese ceramic export trade. After the 200 year-old ban on private maritime trade imposed by the Ming emperor Hongwu (r.1368-98) was lifted in 1567, Yuegang, 50 km away, was designated Zhangzhou’s port.
The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan
The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan
The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan is a highly important exhibition because it is the first in the United States devoted to the Buddhist arts of Bhutan. With the exception of the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, there is almost no Bhutanese art on exhibit in museums. This, combined with the relative inaccessibility of that mountain kingdom, has limited Western exposure, knowledge of and understanding of the artistic and cultural traditions of Bhutan and this exhibition promises to break the bonds of those limits.
Masterpieces from the Ganges Delta
Masterpieces from the Ganges Delta
Following four years of intense preparation, the exhibition Masterpieces from the Ganges Delta: Collections from the Bangladesh Museums was scheduled to open at the Musée Guimet in early January, but now will only reach its audience through its magnificent catalogue. Less than two weeks prior to the opening, the exhibition was cancelled. The events leading to that sad outcome read almost like a thriller. It is inconceivable and sad that an exhibition could be used by local opponents as a political weapon to threaten the government in Bangladesh. During the past year, there had been numerous setbacks – there was a growing opposition in Bangladesh to see treasures from five different museums leave the country for the first time in order to be exhibited at the Musée Guimet. The latest ‘coup’ staged by the opponents to the exhibition was to steal a crate containing two statues representing Vishnu from the airport – just minutes before the items were to leave the country.