Orientations Magazine

The Mystery of the Meiji Model of the Shogun's Mausoleum

by William H. Coaldrake, Edwin O. Reischauer Visiting Professor of Japanese Studies at Harvard University.

The author unravels one of the greatest mysteries of Meiji period art in his account of how a model of the shrine of the second Tokugawa shogun, presented by the City of Tokyo to King George during his visit to the Anglo-Japanese Exhibition in London in 1910, came to light after being lost for half a century. Also discussed in detail is the restoration of the model which is not only of a once great building destroyed in the bombing of Tokyo, it is also a work of sublime artistic accomplishment exemplifying the highest technical and artistic standards of Japanese traditional craftsmanship.


Export Carved Furniture: From Official Pieces to the 'Meiji Baroque'

by Yumiko Yamamori, a PhD candidate at the Bard Graduate Center, Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture in New York.

The article was adapted from her MA thesis, Japanese Export Furniture with Particular Emphasis on the Meiji Era, 1868-1912, Sotheby's Institute, London (in affiliation with the University of Manchester), 1999.The author provides an overview of the little-known type of sculptural, carved wood furniture that was produced for the West in Japan from the 1890s to the 1920s. Virtually unknown in Japan, the author briefly examines a few existing pieces in Western collections to illustrate the way in which export carved furniture metamorphosed from the earliest official designs to 'Meiji Baroque' version.


The Japanese Garden at Pocantico

by Cynthia Bronson Altman, curator at Kykuit, the Rockefeller family home in Tarrytown, New York.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Asia Society, the author provides a tour through the Japanese garden which is part of the Rockefeller family home in Hudson Valley, now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and considers its early design in 1908 and its expansion at mid-century.


Lotus Flowers of the Lacquer Pond

by Monika Bincsik, curator of Japanese art at the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts, Budapest.

The author has taken one highlight - a Meiji period lacquer tray with a lotus-pond motif - in the exhibition '19th Century Japanese Lacquer Art - Maki-e from the Collection of the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts, Budapest', for her discussion on the changing world of maki-e art during this time and briefly refers the role of collectors and art dealers in the process. The tray, which was acquired by Ferenc Hopp during the 19th century, a good example of the high-quality export lacquer of this period, is one of the more than 250 objects on display until the end of 2006.


Goddess or God? A Case of Stolen Identity

by Mary Shepherd Slusser, Research Associate at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

After centuries of oblivion, the author has been able to reidentify, through recent research, a 6th/7th century stone image of Kumara, the martial son of Shiva, in a shrine in Indrachok bazaar in Kathmandu. However for those who still bring offerings, they are in the name of the goddess Kumari, the virgin aspect the goddess Durga.


Function, Fashion and Status: Qing Dynasty Belt Ornaments

by Marilyn Gardner Hamburger, collector of Chinese textiles and accessories, and Linda-Ruth Salter, assistant professor at New England Institute of Technology, specializing in the impact of art on technology.

The authors' discussion reveals how belt ornaments provide significant information about the importance of apparel in the Qing dynasty and how their symbols, range of materials and beauty speak to the strengths of Chinese decorative arts. Illustrated with jade, gilt-bronze and silver examples.


Wang River Villa Again

by Richard A. Pegg, Curator of Asian Art for the MacLean Collection, Chicago.

The author would like to thank A.J. Reading and Julie Yamamoto for their assistance.The handscroll titled Wang River Villa Again by Liu Dan, now in the collection of Robert Rosenkranz in New York, is a work that is entirely modern while simultaneously emerging from a long tradition in China. The author's discussion briefly contextualizes the work by examining the original source of the poetic theme of the Wang River Villa written in the 8th century, the painting done in the early 18th century by Wang Yuanqi that provided the framework for Liu Dan's version, and finally the painting itself.


Fang Zhaoling (1914-2006)

Michael Knight pays tribute to Chinese painter Fang Zhaoling who died in Hong Kong on 20 February 2006 at the age of 92. His discussion on her long life reflects the chaos and challenges faced by many Chinese during the 20th century and reveals her unique contribution to 20th century Chinese painting.


Hu Shih-chang (1924-2006)

by T. June LiJune Li pays tribute Hu Shih-chang who died on 20 February 2006 in Hong Kong, at the age of 82. Internationally recognized as an eminent collector of Chinese lacquer, Hu was also a discerning scholar who published extensively on the subject.

In his review of the proceedings at the symposium 'Court Culture in Qing China: New Directions in Research' at SOAS in London on 4 and 5 March 2006, John Finlay discusses the content of the papers presented and how speakers opened new avenues of inquiry or challenged previous research.


Two recent publications on Japanese art are reviewed in this issue. In her review of Inspired Design, Japan's Traditional Arts by Michael Dunn, Patricia Salmon discusses how the book offers a literary and visual feast. To Japanophiles it will revive pleasurable memories and bring new insights, and, for the uninitiated, it provides an inspiring stroll through Japanese art.


According to Liza Dalby Fashioning Kimono: Dress and Modernity in Early Twentieth-Century Japan, edited by Annie M. Van Assche, is an excellent compendium of general information on the history of Japanese clothing and specific details about the fabrics and the women who wore them during the watershed period called Taisho.


On 25 May, HRH Prince Charles will host a luncheon for 120 people at Clarence House, London, in support of the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) and in particular to launch the 'International Campaign to Restore the Patan Royal Palace Complex'.

The KVPT's project is to restore the remaining structures and extend the museum. Project costs are estimated at US$2.3 million over eight years: major grants by the Robert W. Wilson Challenge Grant Program (to provide matching funds of up to US$400,000 for those raised by the campaign) and by private donors Ludwig Kuttner and Beatrix Ost (who have pledged US$100,000) will be announced at the launch.

A small exhibit called 'Selections from the Nepal Architecture Archive' will be on view at Clarence House.
On 7 June, KVPT will be holding its annual benefit 'New York for Nepal' at the Greenwich Village residence of Andrew Solomon and John Habich followed by dinner at Da Silvano Restaurant.

Lord Camoys will serve as Honorary Chair, and KVPT's executive director, Erich Theophile, and the board will honour Prabhakar S.J.B. Rana for his support of cultural heritage preservation in Nepal.

Contact info

@kvptnepal.org or see

http://www.kvptnepal.org/



Highlights of a number of Asian art exhibitions taking place during May and June are discussed in this issue.

Tribal and ethnic costumes and textiles from the minority tribes of southwest China - on loan from Teresa Coleman and Eric Boudot - will make up an exhibition at the Silk Museum in Beirut from 5 May to 30 September. Particularly beautiful and elaborate clothing was worn by women and children in the region on ceremonial occasions; as in the rest of China, motifs and symbols were widely used.

Susan Ollemans' exhibition 'Fine Indian Antique & Gold Jewellery' at Altfield Gallery, Hong Kong will take place from 12 to 20 May. The two main areas of the display are Mughal-style jewellery and also traditional everyday jewellery made of solid gold, particularly from southern India. The exhibition comprises earrings, bangles, chokers and necklaces with pendants and amulets.

Alisan Fine Arts, Hong Kong is showing 'Painting & Calligraphy: New Visions, Recent Work by Jiang Dahai', as part of Le French May 2006. The exhibition, featuring twenty of his works, runs until 10 June. Playing on the texture of paper and wetness and dryness of the brush, Jiang fragments and reconstructs his characters so that they dissolve into a hazy mist and become mysterious and abstract images.

Hong Kong-based Lam & Co. Antiquities will be holding their first gallery exhibition - 'Tang Antiquities' - from 25 to 31 May, with an emphasis on sculptures. Among the highlights are a pair of blue-glazed earth spirits, a pair of fat ladies, and a bronze mirror with mother-of-pearl decoration.

Linda Wrigglesworth's exhibition from 9 to 21 June in London - 'A Mark of Excellence' - explores purses and insignia badges of the Qing period, and how these designated wealth or status among the Chinese aristocracy. Notable is a set of purses in red silk couched with gold-and-silver wrapped thread, which can be identified as originally belonging to a member of the imperial family by their yellow tapes and tassels.

Giuseppe Eskenazi is holding 'Recent Works by Arnold Chang' from 19 June to 14 July at their London gallery. Fifteen Chinese landscapes painted from 2000 to 2006 will be on display, offered for prices between £5,000 and £30,000. Most of them are hanging scrolls, executed in ink on paper, some with colour; each took several months to complete. Chang's works are in the literati style, a school of painting which emerged in China in the 12th century, and for which landscape was the main subject-matter.


Rossi & Rossi is the only dealer to feature Asian works among 'the magnificent seven' taking part in London Sculpture Week from 15 to 23 June. One of the highlights among their sculptures from Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and India is a seated image of the Buddha from Kashmir. It bears an inscription suggesting a date of circa 644-54: this makes it important as it shifts the chronology of such images to about a century earlier than previously thought.

Another important work is a magnificent newly discovered late 17th/early 18th century Mongolian gilt-bronze image of Shadakshari Avalokiteshvara which is embellished with semi-precious stones, one of only twenty known examples from the atelier of the master artist Zanabazar. There are no published works outside Mongolia or Beijing of such quality as this example, underlying the significance of the Rossi piece.

In Paris, Myrna Myers will be showing a collection of fifteen Edo period costumes in an exhibition titled 'Poèmes à Porter' from 18 May to 24 June. No and aristocratic women's robes and Buddhist kesa explore the significance of poetic motifs and offer a glimpse into the Japanese approach to textile design.

In Taipei, Jeff Hsu's Art is presenting the 'Bronze Collection of Peter Hsu' from 9 to 18 June. The exhibition comprises about sixty pieces - ding, gui, jue, jia, you and he vessels - primarily from the Shang to Zhou dynasties, and will be accompanied by a catalogue. One fine piece is an archaic wine vessel from the Warring States period.


Two Asian art fairs are planned for the end of May in Hong Kong.

The 'Asia International Arts & Antiques Fair' will take place at the Asia World-Expo near the airport from 26 to 29 May. Organized by Raymond Chak and Paper Communications, and with the participation of the Palace Museum, the Shaanxi History Museum, the Poly Art Museum and the National Museum of China, the AIAA advertises itself as 'the best stepping stone into the PRC market as the first professional antique arts exhibition in Hong Kong'.

Teresa Coleman will show a 'kaleidoscope of gems' including imperial dragon robes, rank badges, and finely embroidered Qing and Ming costumes and accessories; these will be complemented by works made expressly for export to the West, including a collection of carved and painted fans and rugs from China and Tibet.

Joyce Gallery will present a wide range of pieces including ritual bronzes, gilt metals and ancient Buddhist art. The important being a pair of 8th century BCE bronze hu vessels with interlocking dragon patterns and covers.
Of note among Po Yuen Tong's display of early pottery, Song ceramics and Ming and Qing porcelain is a pair of early Tang painted pottery horses with detachable saddles excavated from Shanxi province.

Knapton Rasti will bring from London a broad selection of Chinese works which cater to current taste - white jades from the Qing dynasty, Ming and Qing porcelain, and good Qing pieces in wood and hardstone. There is a small celadon-and-russet jade carving of a serene standing boy, carrying a branch with five pomegranates over his shoulder.
Laurence Paul will be exhibiting a selection of antique Chinese wooden stands.

Orientations Gallery brings from New York Japanese artworks inspired by Chinese culture: some exhibits have landscape or Daoist and Buddhist imagery. The focus is on silver, Satsuma, gold lacquer and cloisonnè enamel.
Robyn Buntin has selected from his Honolulu gallery some of his finest Chinese paintings, jade and scholar's-table items.


The 'International Asian Antique and Art Fair 2006, Hong Kong', sponsored by Andy Hei Ltd, opens at the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre on 26 May with a preview to benefit the Fine Arts Department and the Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The proceeds will go towards an education and training programme for future scholars in Chinese art and museum and arts management in Hong Kong.

The fair runs until 31 May, concurrently with Christie's auctions and is within ten minute's walk away. Not only will it attract Hong Kong's group of active high-end collectors and growing number of young enthusiasts, and people in town from Taiwan, Japan and Southeast Asia, but the fair also stands to benefit from the recent emergence of China as one of the largest collecting markets. Apart from its convenience, the sizeable space at the centre will be transformed into an elegantly appointed hall with custom-built stands.


A group of leading dealers who participate in a number of international fairs have elected to show at this event. Andy Hei will reveal for the first time a few of his prize examples of Ming and Qing furniture. Collectors will be interested to see a pair of huanghuali display cabinets of the late 16th century. Hei will also show a collection of paintings and calligraphy by the legendary 20th century painter Shi Lu.

Oi Ling Chiang will jointly exhibit with Contes d'Orient an impressive collection of Han to Tang period pottery from a private collection alongside some important 18th century furniture. The pottery objects clearly show how styles evolved over the centuries.


Charles Wong of Ever Arts Classic Furniture will show recently acquired examples of huanghuali and zitan furniture and wood and bamboo carvings for the scholar's desk.

Robert Hall's exhibition of snuff bottles will attest to the remarkable workmanship in shaping, hollowing and carving diverse materials during the 18th and 19th century - bottles in yellow glass for imperial use only and in extraordinary translucent green jade so highly regarded by the Qianlong emperor; the brown skin on chalcedony agate examples cleverly carved; and beautifully conceived and skilfully carved overlays of glass in different colours.

Rossi & Rossi will present a selection of late 17th/early 18th century Mongolian gilt bronzes from the school of the great artist and statesman Zanabazar. An image of Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen Pelzango is a testament to his achievements. Their show will also include some important thangkas including a circa late 13th/early 14th century image of Amogasiddhi. And to keep pace with current trends, the gallery will show a selection of contemporary works by Tibetan artists, some of which reflect the subtle shifts in identity through diasporic experiences.


Highlights in Samina Khanyari's exhibition of 18th and 19th century Indian jewellery include some remarkable kundun examples set with precious stones. For example, an elaborate necklace comprises diamonds, natural Basra pearls, old Burmese ruby beads and Colombian emeralds. A large and opulent armband set with five diamonds from the legendary Golconda mines would have been worn by a ruler as a proclamation of his royalty and wealth.

David Loman was a charming and erudite bookseller specializing in Middle and East Asian antiquarian books and manuscripts. He founded one of London's oldest mail-order establishments, which boasted over 6,000 antiquarian and out-of-print titles. Now, on 31 May, Bloomsbury Auctions in London is selling 'The Asiatic Library of David Loman', which consists of his stock-in-trade, reference library and private collection.

One of the highlights of the sale is the complete three-volume Asia Portuguesa by Faria y Sousa (1666); in beautiful condition and rarely on the market, it is estimated at £4/6,000.


The second Brussels Oriental Art Fair takes place again in the historic district of Sablon from 9 to 15 June. A number of dealers from abroad will once again lease spaces in and around Place du Grand Sablon. A highlight of the organizer Georgia Chrischilles's exhibition of Southeast Asian jewellery will be a 7th century matching necklace and pair of earrings from Vietnam in Champa gold set with a variety of semi-precious cabochon stones and rubies; the symbol of a snake features on the necklace's clasp, and on the earrings.

Alan Pate of Akanezumiya hopes to connect with other ningyo collectors in Europe, and to meet with museums to discuss their collections, in preparation for his second book on the subject.

Galerie Alexis Renard will show an expressive sandstone head of a deity from 11th century India, a group of Indian miniatures including a Deccani hunting scene, and a 17th century Iznik blue-and-white tile.

The exhibition by Espace 4 will be an eclectic display of Chinese snuff bottles and Japanese lacquer and clocks. Lotus Gallery will have Japanese netsuke, and Chinese scholar's desk items and archaic bronzes on display, including a ding from the Spring and Autumn period.


Oxus will be displaying provenanced stone Buddhist works from Gandhara and the Kashmir region, including a 7th/8th century Kashmiri terracotta bust of a celestial female which illustrates the unique cultural mix of styles present in the area then.

Sara Kuehn focuses on pieces from West Central Asia, such as Bronze Age objects in gold, silver, bronze, lapis lazuli and other precious stones, and faience and earthenware of the late 3rd to early 2nd millennium BCE - an example of the latter is a compartmented seal featuring an enthroned deity flanked on either side by composite quadrupeds bearing offerings.

Suzy Lebasi of Soo Tze Oriental Antiques will show a variety of items covering the spectrum of Himalayan arts. Her emphasis will be on early repoussT panels, since these were of particular appeal. A gilt and pigment repoussT image from Tibet shows the Buddha with a flower behind each ear and his hand in the gesture of granting wishes.
Gabriella Tallon of Studio Arga finds will present pieces of different cultures and provenance: Kushan sculptures, Indian terracottas, and Nepalese and Tibetan bronzes. A highlight is a 1st to 2nd century terracotta panel from India apparently illustrating an episode from the Ramayana in which Rama's mother faints at the news that her son will not be king.

Bruno Piazza will mostly Indonesian and Southeast Asian tribal jewellery, ornaments and tribal artefacts.
Kyoto Gallery will have a collection of Japanese metalwork, Satsuma, netsuke and sculpture.

Gisèle Croës will show a few select items by appointment in her new gallery. These include a sculpture of a monk in pinkish sandstone from the Tang dynasty, and a bronze garment hook (daigou) from the Warring States period. The body of the daigou is covered with a turquoise ground punctuated by large gold geometric motifs interspersed with three fish in silver and gold. The fish motif was already in existence as early as the Shang period, but rarely found on daigou.

The 'Summer Fair' runs from 8 to 18 June a Olympia. It has a more refined look this year with architect-designed stands for its over 300 exhibitors. Those showing Asian art include Vanderven & Vanderven who will present their blue-and- white, famille-verte, enamel on biscuit and blanc-de-Chine wares made for the West, as well as Han and Tang pottery sculpture.

Nicholas Grindley will show creations by Danish designers Wegner and Haslev who were influenced by Chinese furniture forms. Notable Ming examples in huanghuali include a horseshoe armchair and a folding stool.


Susan Ollemans' 19th century Indian ivory miniatures depict famous scenic spots and portraits of Mughal rulers in remarkable detail and accuracy. They were produced during the British Raj as mementos for tourists.

Featured in adjoining galleries at Olympia, the 'Textile and Tribal Art: The Hali Fair' comprises three zones - traditional woven art including rugs, embroideries and textiles; ethnographic art; and contemporary ceramics and carpet weaving that use traditional skills. A number of Asian art specialists will be participating. Robin Cahill of The Kimono Collection will show kimono and obi in painted and embroidered silk from the late Edo to Taisho periods. The highlight of Francisa Tung of Lotus Asian Art's exhibition is a batik decorated with calligraphy from Bengkulu, Sumatra.


A few more Asian art dealers will lend diversity this year to the 'Grosvenor House Art and Antiques Fair' to be held again at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London from 15 to 20 June. Ben Janssens will show a more representative array of works including those from India and Southeast Asia. A torso of the Buddha from the Northern Qi period typically shows influence from Indian Gupta sculpture with the sober modelling of the body evident through thin diaphanous robes. The use of marble rather than limestone makes this example particularly unusual.

Gregg Baker returns with his collection of Japanese screens; and, in step with the current interest in works by contemporary mainland Chinese artists, he will show with his associate Olyvia Oriental a collection.


Susan Ollemans will have a unique display of Indian jewellery. Notable is a 19th century bracelet from Jaipur which is inset with cabochon rubies and diamonds in the kundun style. A collection of religious jewellery depicting Krishna and Shiva and other Hindu gods are finely decorated with minar enamels.



In the commentary 'Chinese Porcelain Fakes - Ming to Mao', Peter Wain examines the problems that researchers face as a result of the huge output of fakes from Jingdezhen throughout the 20th century, particularly as whole 'collections' of fakes have been published for the sole reason of giving them provenance. The latest ceramics to be copied are those of the Cultural Revolution period as a result of increased international interest. The author concludes how important it is set the record straight before credibility is given to the fakes by the passage of time.