America: Van Reed (Amerika koku, Uen riito) from Picture of the Residence of a Foreign Merchant in Yokohama (Yokohama torai isho juka no zu), by Hashimoto Sadahide (Japanese (1807-1873)), 1861. Ink and colors on paper. Fred M. and Nancy Livingston Levin, The Shenson Foundation in memory of Ben and A. Jess Shenson, 2006.7.
Amir Hamzah, uncle of the Prophet Muhammad, spreader of Islam, and hero of the Serat Menak, by dalang Otong Rasta. Indonesia; Bandung, West Java. Wood, cloth, and mixed media. From the Mimi and John Herbert Collection, F2000.86.62.
Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV pushes the boundaries of bamboo art. He dramatically breaks the scale that we expect of the medium with soaring, twisting forms that stretch from floor to ceiling. His dramatic, immersive environments evoke the bamboo forests where these works began their lives.
We will refer to Ancient China as the time between the Neolithic period (ca. 6,000‒ ca. 1750 BCE) and the Han dynasty (206 BCE‒ 220 CE), which is roughly equivalent to the period of the Roman Empire in the West. This is the formative stage of Chinese civilization. During this time, what we now call China developed from a collection of isolated cultural communities to a set of organized states which eventually coalesced around the idea of a single unified state, and then expanded to include contact with other civilizations.
With simple beginnings in the pre-Islamic period, Arabic script developed rapidly after the rise of Islam into not only a writing system but also an art form. Includes audio by Qamar Adamjee, Malavalli Family Foundation Associate Curator of Art of the Indian Subcontinent.
Buddhism has deeply influenced the character and evolution of Asian civilization over the past 2,500 years. It is based on the teachings of a historical figure, Siddhartha Gautama, who lived around the fifth century BCE. As it moved across Asia, Buddhism absorbed indigenous beliefs and incorporated a wide range of imagery, both local and foreign, into its art and religious practices. Buddhism continues to evolve as a religion in many parts of the world.
Buddhism was officially transmitted to Japan in 525, when the monarch of the Korean kingdom of Baekje sent a mission to Japan with gifts, including an image of the Buddha, several ritual objects, and sacred texts. Buddhism's journey from India to China, Korea, and Japan had taken about a thousand years.
Experience for yourself the art of brush-and-ink painting. Begin by learning how to hold the brush. Once you feel comfortable, experiment by applying varying degrees of pressure, speed, and moisture. Finally, create your own brushpainting masterpiece.
In China, painting and writing developed hand in hand, sharing the same tools and techniques.
All Chinese characters are made up of a number of strokes. These strokes are painted in a prescribed order, depending on the script. Generally, strokes move from top to bottom and from left to right.
Islam is one of the world’s major religions. It shares with Judaism and Christianity a belief in a single god. The Arabic name for God is Allah. The word Islam means “surrender (to God).” The followers of Islam are called Muslims, which in Arabic means “one who surrenders to God.”
Professor Robert Sharf, University of California, Berkeley, discusses Japanese Buddhism at the Medieval Japan Teacher Institute at the Asian Art Museum.
The first geisha were male entertainers, serving guests with music, lighthearted conversation, and comical play. The first female geisha appeared around 1750. They quickly outnumbered their male counterparts, and by 1780 the word geisha was mainly applied to women...
Kabuki was one of the three most popular dramatic forms of Japan, the other two being Noh drama and puppet theater (bunraku)...
Buddhism became the official religion of one of Korea's early kingdoms in 372, after a priest arrived from China with Buddhist images and scriptures. From the time of its introduction it had the enthusiastic support of the rulers and the aristocracy. By the middle of the 500s, Buddhism had been officially accepted by all three kingdoms that reigned in Korea at that time.
The word maharaja, which means “great king,” is rooted in the ancient concept of “king above kings” (in Sanskrit, maharajadhiraj). Although rulers were sometimes addressed as “maharaja,” this lofty title was rarely adopted formally until the nineteenth century.
Islamic mysticism, or Sufism, was a distinct tradition within Islam that aimed to cultivate inner spiritual life. Sufism probably derives from the word suf, meaning wool, a reference to the woolen clothing worn by early Sufi mystics. The focus of Sufism changed over the centuries as Islam grew and expanded. Initially moved by the fear of God, Sufism eventually adopted an affirming doctrine of love, and later the concept of the spiritual journey of the individual towards God.
Learn about the geography of Bali.
Much of China, a country slightly larger than the continental United States, is hilly or mountainous. To its east lies the Pacific Ocean; to its south thick jungles. Learn more.
Part of a long archipelago off the eastern rim of the Asian continent, the island country of Japan has four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. Learn more.
Korea is a mountainous peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides. It shares its northern borders with China and Russia, and its closest southern neighbor is Japan, which lies across a narrow strait. Learn more.
What are often thought of as “Indian” art and culture spread not only throughout the modern nation of India but also through Pakistan and Bangladesh. This huge area was never politically unified except under British colonial rule (1858–1947). Learn more.
Only in the past sixty years has “Southeast Asia” been used to refer to the region comprising modern-day Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines. Learn more.
The Himalayas are the highest mountain ranges in the world, and from them flow the major rivers of Asia. Learn more.
Iran's rich history stretches back to about 8000 BCE, when the first settlements appeared in western Iran and the Caspian sea.
The Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) of Korea was a period of intense religious fervor. Its people—from the rulers to their lowest subjects—were ardent believers in Buddhism.
The Han Dynasty is one of the great dynasties in Chinese history, encompassing nearly four hundred years of expansion and consolidation which coincided with the period of the Roman republic and empire in the West. The period is usually broken down into three stages . . .
Learn more about the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) of Korea.
Known as the “Land of the Thunder Dragon,” Bhutan is a remote Himalayan kingdom located east of Nepal and west of Burma, between Tibet and India. On its northern border, Bhutan is flanked by some of the tallest mountains in the world.
The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) arose following a series of natural disasters that had hit China during the early and middle 1300s, adding to the misery of a people under the harsh rule of the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)...
