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Victoria Berkeley, CA Chicago
Denver Houston
Kansas New York
Santa Ana, CA Washington, D.C.

 

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Victoria, British Columbia

Art Gallery of Greater Victoriawww-link

In the past, many ancient tombs throughout China were raided or looted for their artifacts and sold to Chinese scholars, foreign collectors and museums. Art historians have come to admire the great beauty and exquisite workmanship of these tomb artifacts, which offer unrivalled material for the study of daily life and ancient technologies, while revealing the different classes of people found in China and how each prepared for the afterlife. The items come from the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria’s extensive Chinese archaeological collections and will be enhanced by a large intended gift of early gold, silver and bronze treasures from Joey and Toby Tanenbaum of Toronto.
(from the website of the museum)

 

 

 

 

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Berkeley, CA

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archivewww-link

 

“Asian art” is not one but many diverse expressions of culture, religion, and aesthetics. The broad geographical range of Asia, from the subcontinent of India to the islands of Japan, captures enormous diversity in people as well as artistic production. Understanding elements of this vast territory through its arts is one of the goals of the current installation in Gallery 4, which is divided into five sections exploring specific avenues of artistic endeavor in South and East Asia: The Literati Tradition: Scholarly Pursuits in China and Japan; Art for the Afterlife: Chinese Tomb Culture; Ideals of Beauty in India; Tibetan and Buddhist Ritual Arts: The Bernard-Murray Tibetan Collection; and Buddhist Imagery of India and Tibet.
Chinese paintings, the backbone of the collection, are on view alongside a selection of Japanese paintings and woodblock prints. The installation places traditional arts of the scholar gentleman in juxtaposition with newer works by the avant-garde artist Xu Bing, challenging the viewer to see what is new in the old and what is old in the new.
The exhibition also showcases the museum’s astounding collection of early Chinese tomb material, ranging from beautifully crafted storage pots of the Neolithic period (10,000–2100 BCE), with their swirling abstract designs, to guardian figures of the Tang (618–907 CE). A group of bronze vessels highlights the significant role of ancestor worship in early Chinese history.
A noteworthy addition to the new installation is a selection of Tibetan material from the Bernard-Murray Tibetan Collection that was recently gifted to UC Berkeley. This will be the first major presentation of thangkas (religious paintings), ritual objects, and film clips from this extensive collection, which is held jointly by BAM/PFA, the Bancroft Library, and the Hearst Museum. The adventurer Theos Bernard collected the material on a 1939 journey to Tibet, where he participated in festivals and studied Tantric Buddhism. His journals, films, photographs, and art collection are considered an important record of pre-Communist Tibet. An anonymous private collector has also loaned complementary Tibetan material, allowing for an expanded view of Buddhist arts.
(from the website of the museum)

 


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Chicago

THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGOwww-link

 

As the first comprehensive exhibition ever held in North America of the ancient art and culture of Southwest China, “Barbarian Kingdoms”: Ancient Treasures of South and Southwest China will feature more than 150 splendid works of art from the Bronze Age Kingdom of Dian, near modern Kunming in the Yunnan Province, part of the highest plateau on Earth which joins Tibet in the Northwest and extends eastward to south China. The Kingdom of Dian emerged there as a major power during the 4th century B.C. and flourished for nearly 500 years. This exhibition will showcase objects made of bronze, gold, lacquer, and jade that reveal the superb artistry of the Dian. No other culture anywhere in Southeast Asia provides us with such a detailed picture of their customs, rituals, and beliefs. Through these objects, the exhibition will explore ancient Yunnan’s material culture as well as its spiritual world, and aims to make the complex and intriguing art of ancient China accessible to a broad American audience, and to heighten awareness of the role that Yunnan has played in the cultural history of Asia. In addition to art works from Dian, “Barbarian Kingdoms” will also feature objects from neighboring regions in China and Southeast Asia that show Yunnan’s position in a large network of cultural interaction. Bordering Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar and located toward the southwest of central China, the Yunnan region is an important cultural crossroads with a complex history and geography. “Barbarian Kingdoms” promises to break new art historical ground by giving a comprehensive survey of this dynamic region.
(from the website of the museum)

 


 

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Denver

DENVER ART MUSEUM, ASIAN ART DEPARTMENTwww-link

During the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), the Chinese placed objects in tombs to accompany the deceased into the afterlife. This practice prepared for the soul’s journey from one world to another. Jars with mountain-shaped lids conjured images of Penglai, a celestial realm inhabited by spirits and mythical creatures. The Chinese also viewed the afterlife as a continuation of earthly existence. Tomb furnishings reproduced familiar household buildings, livestock, and daily provisions. Models of granaries and wellheads symbolically provided food and water. Sculptures of watchdogs and domestic fowl assured animal companionship, and vessels and containers held food and other commodities.
(from the website of the museum)


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Houston

Museum of Fine Arts, Houstonwww-link

The long-term agreement between the MFAH and the National Museum of Korea includes the loan of Korean National Treasures and serves as the foundation of the Korean Art and Culture Initiative, at the heart of which is the establishment of a larger, permanent MFAH gallery for Korean art of the highest aesthetic and cultural significance. This gallery has been established with support from the Korea Foundation. The Korean Art and Culture Initiative also calls for the introduction of a comprehensive interpretive program for visitors and will involve the local Korean community.

Scheduled to open in December 2007, the Arts of Korea gallery will be located in the Caroline Wiess Law Building and will be the only museum gallery in the Southwest dedicated to Korean art. Ancient and contemporary works spanning 5,000 years will include extraordinary objects on loan from the National Museum of Korea as well as artworks from the MFAH collection. Additionally, a strong component of educational activities and public programs will contribute toward cultural understanding among visitors of diverse backgrounds.

The opening of the Arts of Korea gallery marks the first step toward the goal of full representation of Asian art at the MFAH. By 2008, approximately triple the current exhibition space will be devoted to the display and interpretation of Asian art. Other Asian cultures represented in the MFAH collection are China, Japan, India, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia. Each will have new gallery space, with the Chinese and Indian galleries scheduled to open in January 2008, and the Japanese gallery in the fall of 2008.
(from the website of the museum)

On exclusive loan from the National Museum of Korea are two national treasures from the 5th century Silla Kingdom, a crown with pendants (National Treasure no. 87) and a girdle with pendants (National Treasure no. 88). The two rare gold pieces are making their first appearance outside Korea, and can be viewed at the MFAH through January 2008.
 


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Kansas

NELSON-ATKINS MUSEUM OF ARTSwww-link

Reaching across the rich heritage of China’s ancient dynasties, this exhibition features never before seen new acquisitions from the Nelson-Atkins extraordinary Chinese collection. Each object tells a story of the culture, the people and their beliefs that have endured for centuries. Among the finest surviving examples, from nearly seven centuries of China’s past, these works exhibit master craftsmanship in bronze, stoneware, jade and more. A royal palace dragon stands guard, just as it did nearly five hundred years ago, beckoning visitors to discover the treasures of ancient China.
(from the website of the museum)
 

 


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Santa Ana, CA

THE BOWERS MUSEUMwww-link

 

 

 


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Washington, D.C.

FREER GALLERY OF ART / ARTHUR M. SACKLER GALLERY SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTEwww-link

Clay, jade, and bronze are the dominant materials used in the art of ancient China from around 4000 B.C.E. to the early centuries C.E. Of these, clay and bronze appear to have been closely linked in their developments. Both materials were used to make pots and containers in a variety of shapes, the best of which were buried with their owners as status symbols or signs of wealth. Both required an intimate knowledge of the materials and expert handling to create the finished product.

The selection of ceramic and bronze vessels on view begins at the important juncture between the end of the Neolithic pottery tradition and the emergence of the metalworking tradition (around 2000 B.C.E.), and stops at the end of the Bronze Age and the rise of glazed stoneware (around 200 C.E.). The exhibition shows the complex, changing relationship between two of China's oldest artistic traditions.
(from the website of the museum)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last modified: 15.07.2008

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