Art of East Asia
Galleries

Rotations are planned for
the end of August and March

The Art of East Asia galleries are designed to last for many years without major changes. However, a few new items from the Museum vaults are selected and shown every six months. This protects light-sensitive items. Also, the scrolls permanently on view are turned to a new section and a pair of the wooden doors is flipped in the Japan gallery. (You can come and see the peacocks now!) Be sure to visit the Galleries before and after each rotation. Dr. Marika Sardar will give walk-throughs periodically, which will be announced on the AAC Calendar. For more information and pictures, be sure to click on Tombs & Temples, or any gallery tab in the Art of East Asia galleries, and explore these galleries online.

South Asian, Southeast
Asian, and Persian Art

Newly Reinstalled, Opened on
July 11, 2014

Exciting changes have come to what have been called the Temple, Palace, Mosque galleries 9, 10, 11. Dr. Marika Sardar, Associate Curator of Southern Asian and Islamic Arts, now calls the galleries South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Persian Art. It is time to come and see the changes!

Walkthrough with CAIS,
January 24, 2015

The first gallery to the left when entering the Museum (Gallery 9) is dedicated to South and Southeast Asia between the second and 16th centuries. It remains mostly sculpture, but the change in wall color brightens the space and highlights the masterpieces of the collection. New objects are now being displayed, while many have have been removed to give each sculpture more space. Dr. Sardar says, “I have grouped the objects by religion - Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism - and tried to provide the tools for ‘decoding’ the iconography of these three different traditions.”

The next gallery (Gallery10) focuses on South Asia from the 14th-19th century, and includes painting, photography and the decorative arts. Dr. Sardar mixes a variety of media to cover the entire span of the subcontinent from north to south.

The third gallery (11) focuses on Iran, including paintings, ceramics, inlaid metal and wood. In the Persian Art gallery we are excited to have on long-term loan a private collection of lacquerware from the 18th-20th centuries. Excellent quality lacquered pen boxes and mirror cases are included.