Emerald Cities

Description

The Emerald Cities: Arts of Siam and Burma, 1775 - 1950 exhibition is on view at the Asian Art Museum from October 23, 2009 – January 10, 2010. Thailand and Burma, neighboring countries that are approximately the same size in area and population, have many cultural features in common (Theravada Buddhism above all), but have traditionally been adversaries. This exhibition of decorative and religious arts explores Thailand and Burma’s shared aesthetic despite their contrasting histories. Drawn exclusively from the museum’s extensive holdings of artworks from this region and period, many of the sumptuous artworks have never before been on view. The majority of the artworks are from the Doris Duke Collection which the museum acquired in 2002. The more than 100 artworks include gilded and mirrored ritual vessels, black lacquer and mother-of-pearl inlaid furniture, and vibrant, colorful paintings. View videos on the conservation of Emerald Cities, docent training lectures and walkthroughs, talks on Mandalay through the Society for Asian Art, a discussion of the Indian-related culture in Siam and Burma (courtesy of the Society for Art & Cultural Heritage of India (SACHI)), and talks from the October 30, 2009 conference at the University of California Berkeley, arranged in conjunction with the Emerald Cities exhibition, entitled, Object Knowledge: Art, Artifact, and Authority in Southeast Asia (sponsored by: the Institute of East Asian Studies, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Society for Asian Art, Townsend Center for the Humanities, and Department of South and Southeast Asian Studies). *For a more complete list of resources on Siam and Burma, please use the search function at the top right corner of your iTunes browser.