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PROGRAMS & EVENTS | CATALOGUE | IN THE MEDIA | PRESS ROOM | TICKETS | TOURS | STORE |
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February 20–May 10, 2009
Lee, Hambrecht, Osher Galleries
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 East of Mount Everest and bordered by India and Tibet, Bhutan is a remote and mystical kingdom, considered by many as “The Last Shangri-La.” A sovereign nation that has maintained its cultural, artistic, and religious traditions intact, it is one of the few countries in Asia never colonized by its neighbors or Western powers.
The first exhibition of its kind, The Dragon's Gift provides an exceptionally rare opportunity to view some of the most sacred and beloved Buddhist arts in Bhutan.
Many of the 150 objects – intricate paintings, sculptures, textiles, and more – are still used in temple and monastery rituals and never have been accessible to a Western audience.
All are on public view for the first time.
Also documented through video footage are the colorful ancient dance forms that are integral to Bhutanese Buddhist practice.
Don't miss a stunning showcase of Buddhist art from the "Land of the Thunder Dragon."
Click here to see what the press has been saying about The Dragon's Gift.
For a chance to win free tickets, please click here.
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Photo by Gerard Houghton
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In conjunction with The Dragon's Gift, the museum will offer a variety of programs related to Bhutanese Buddhist art and culture, including lectures, performances, film, family events, art activities, and more. Please click here to see the schedule.
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The Dragon’s Gift is documented with a fully illustrated catalogue including all works of art in the exhibition and new photography of many important works of art in situ in Bhutanese monasteries. The catalogue, published by Serindia Press, is a major scholarly contribution to the field of Himalayan studies and includes essays on many aspects of Buddhist art and history Bhutan by American, European, and Bhutanese scholars. A DVD of a sampling of ancient cham dances is included with the catalogue. The fully illustrated catalog is available at the Asian Art Museum store ($49.95 softcover, $65 hardcover). For more information, please call 415-581-3600 or email shop@asianart.org.
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General Admission Tickets
The Dragon's Gift is free with general museum admission. Tickets can be purchased online through museumtix.com with a service charge of up to $2.25 per ticket. Tickets can be picked up at Will Call the day of your visit. Advance and day-of tickets are also available at the museum with no processing fee, subject to availability. Learn more about visiting the museum.
Group Tickets
Groups of 10 or more enjoy discounted admission to the museum. Read more about group visits, or call (415) 581-3624, or email groupvisits@asianart.org for more information
Target First Free Sundays
Museum admission is free on the first Sunday of each month, courtesy of Target. Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to capacity restrictions, admission is not guaranteed. Please note that online reservations for member tickets are not available on Target First Free Sundays.
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Docent Tours
Offered daily, February 20-May 10, except on the first Sunday of each month
10:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm
FREE with museum admission
Tour schedules subject to change
Join a guided tour of the exhibition led by the museum’s highly trained docents. All tours assemble at the information desk on the ground floor.
Private Group Tours
Groups of 10 or more can reserve private tours of the exhibition with our knowledgeable docents for a modest fee. Private tours are available throughout the run of the show with the exception of the first Sunday of each month. Reservations must be made at least one month in advance. Read more about group tours, or call (415) 581-3624, or email groupvisits@asianart.org for more information.
FREE Audio Tour
The museum will be offering a free audio tour of the exhibition. You can enjoy it at your own pace and in any order you'd like. The tour highlights 18 extraordinary objects, with the curator and conservator chiming in with their own insight and experiences, sometimes offering fascinating tidbits of information on certain artworks. Enhance your visit of The Dragon's Gift with this enlightening, lively supplement. To download a podcast of the audio tour, click here.
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Arts and Crafts of Bhutan
The Asian Art Museum store is pleased to present a remarkable collection of authentic, traditional Bhutanese arts and crafts not available anywhere else outside Bhutan.
More than two years ago, our buyer traveled from Paro in western Bhutan to Trashiyangtze in the extreme northeast, working with artisans whose traditions are rooted in the Zorig Chusum, the country’s thirteen traditional crafts. Visiting the workshops of mask carvers, silversmiths, weavers, slate carvers, a papermaker, a bronze foundry, and other artisans, our buyer hand selected works of unique beauty, interest, and value. Many of these pieces were hand carried from Bhutan; others, which were made especially for the Asian Art Museum and took more than a year to complete, have only recently arrived in San Francisco.
We invite you to visit the museum store to see these treasures.
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This exhibition is organized by the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Department of Culture, Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs of the Royal Government of Bhutan. The art conservation, dance preservation, and educational programs of The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan are made possible through the lead support of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.
Major support for The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan is provided by the E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the Michael and Patricia O’Neill Charitable Fund, Susan Pillsbury, and Lawrence and Joyce Stupski. Additional support is provided by Le Burta G. Atherton, the Freeman Foundation, Hotels & Resorts of Halekulani, Japan Airlines, Drukair, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the W.L.S. Spencer Foundation.
Terese Tse Bartholomew, curator emeritus of Himalayan art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, served as guest curator of the exhibition.
Presentation at the Asian Art Museum is made possible by support from the Columbia Foundation, American Express, the Shau-Wai & Marie Lam Family Foundation, Carmen M. Christensen, Frances Bushell, Richard C. Blum and The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, John and Heather Little, and Doris Shoong Lee and Theodore Bo Lee.
Media Sponsors:
 
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