In the galleries: a few additions

Over the coming months, astute visitors may notice some gallery changes that are not part of our regularly scheduled gallery rotations. This is because with Shanghai is up for an extended period, museum staff have an opportunity to rotate some of our less light sensitive objects, including bronzes, ceramics, and stone sculpture. This week we started by installing three new works in the South Asian and Chinese galleries.

First, newly on view in the South Asian galleries is a recently acquired silver bowl featuring scenes of Zoroastrian rulers. Made in a Burmese silver shop for a well-to-do Parsi family, this impressive bowl measures more than a foot in diameter and was meant for use in an annual ceremony honoring deceased relatives.

Ceremonial bowl with Zoroastrian themes, approx. 1875. Burma. Silver. Acquisition made possible by the Zarthosti Anjuman of Northern California, Rati Forbes, Betty N. Alberts, and members of the board of the Society for Asian Art in honor of Past President Nazneen Spliedt, AAM# 2009.25

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Spring rotations

Have you been in the galleries recently? If so, you may have noticed that we are in the midst of rotation season right now. Each week, we remove another group of light sensitive objects from view and replace them with works from storage. Attentive visitors can track these changes by looking for the blue “newly on view” dots in the galleries.

Japanese baskets, newly on view

Most recently we’ve made changes to our Chinese painting display, Japanese basket area, and the second floor Korean gallery. So what might you see on your next visit?

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Avatar at the Asian, part II

Having now seen the movie Avatar, I can’t say there’s much Hindu lore in it beyond the word “avatar” and an approximation of its ancient concept.

It’s true that the hero of Avatar, like the Hindu deity Vishnu, has blue skin and rides a mighty sun bird, but hey, we’re in the realm of myth, and X doesn’t have to be derived from Y.

Here’s a painting from the museum’s collection showing a very blue Vishnu (and his consort) riding through the sky on the great bird Garuda. It’s from the north Indian state of Rajasthan, and dates from around 1760.

If you see the movie and notice other connections with Hindu lore, write in and tell us, OK?

Avatar at the Asian

There you go again, Hollywood, stealing from ancient Hindu lore.

The word “avatar” comes from Sanskrit avatara, literally meaning “descent.” It referred, originally, to the incarnations of the great deity Vishnu. When humankind was threatened with disorder and violence Vishnu would take on an appropriate form and descend to earth to set things right.

There are usually thought to be ten incarnations, and they include animal or part-animal forms such as The Tortoise and The Man-Lion, and human forms such as The Dwarf, Rama, and Krishna.

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Orchids: A Tribute to Doris Duke

As if Emerald Cities wasn’t glitzy enough, we’ve go a little extra eye candy for visitors attending opening week festivities. For one week only, the Asian Art Museum is presenting Orchids: A Tribute to Doris Duke. Doris Duke, who collected many of the works on view in Emerald Cities, was also a great lover of orchids. In her honor, we’ve invited floral designers from around the bay area to each create a display of these tropical beauties in the museum’s North and South Courts. These striking arrangements will be on view this week through Sunday October 25.  Enjoy them while they last!

Korean Palaces of the Joseon Dynasty

Ceramics, bronzes, screens, and scrolls —- these are the sorts of objects that probably come to mind when picturing the galleries of the Asian Art Museum. However, there are many more artistic mediums out there for our curators to explore. One such medium is photography, represented in our latest rotation by portraits of the lost palaces of Korea’s Joseon dynasty.

As mentioned in a previous post, we routinely remove light-sensitive works from our galleries and replace them with new works from storage. In this case, the contemporary fiber arts that have livened up our Korean gallery for the past year have been replaced by a selection of photographs from the vast archives of the National Museum of Korea.

The Hall of Diligent Rule at the Palace of Great Felicity, approx. 1909-1945; printed 2009, National Museum of Korea

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Favorite Places

I’ve got a lot of favorite places in San Francisco and the Bay Area and I’m sure you do, too.  Long before I worked here, the Asian Art Museum was at the top of my list.  Turns out we’re at the top of Stanlee Gatti’s list, too.  If you’re not familiar with him, according to Google, Stanlee Gatti is “San Francisco’s ‘resident creative genius;’ known for making event design a visual art.”

I know we’re one of Stanlee Gatti’s favorite places because he told us.  Well, actually he told Google and then they told us.  Google asked a number of well-known locals (apparently those with excellent taste) to make a list of their favorite places.  So the next time you’re wondering what to do with yourself you can say “What would Alice Waters do today?” or “What would Nate Query do tonight?” and check out their lists for ideas.

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The “nine planetary deities” and the Hosokawa family crest

Nine deities (detail), 1000–1100. Cambodia, former kingdom of Angkor. Stone. Gift of Edward Nagel, B71S9

We discussed the nine-planet crest of the Hosokawa family in the context of the exhibition Lords of the Samurai. The Hosokawa daimyo family adopted a crest that consisted of eight circles appearing to orbit a larger ninth circle. The term nine planets might suggest the nine planets of our solar system (if we allow Pluto), but of course there is no direct correspondence between the nine-planet motifs of Asian tradition and the nine planets of modern astronomy.

The English word planet comes from a Greek word meaning “wanderer.”
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Reduction woodblock prints

Reduction, or “waste” woodblock printing is a process of printing multiple colors using a single block. The artist must determine the number of prints desired at the outset, because the process renders the block unusable for future prints.

As in other forms of woodblock printing, areas that will not hold ink are cut away. In reduction printing the artist first cuts away any areas that will be the color of the paper and makes prints from the block, using the first color over all of the printing areas. Then the same block is further cut away and a second color applied to all the areas except those that will remain the first color, and so on through the end of the process. Of course exact registration is critical with each successive application of color.

Reduction woodblock prints are among several types of prints that will be shown in the Chinese painting gallery in the northwest corner of the second floor, beginning June 30. The technique is especially popular in the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou.
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