Resources

Thumri, a light vocal classical music genre is said to have evolved in North India in the mid-19th century court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow to accompany the kathak dance form, one of the eight major classical dance forms of India. This program presented by Pandit Rai and Sinha evokes the court ambience of 19th-century and early 20th-century India with a fully choreographed performance of dance, music, and storytelling, depicting the close interaction between these two major art forms.

Throne for a Buddha image, 1850–1900. Burma. Lacquered and gilded wood and metal with mirror inlay. Gift from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Southeast Asian Art Collection, 2006.27.1.

Calligrapher Cai Xingyi writes an excerpt from the Thousand-Character Classic in semicursive script. The Thousand-Character Classic in clerical script, written by calligrapher Wen Peng (1498–1573) will be on view at the Asian Art Museum during the exhibition, Out of Character: Decoding Chinese Calligraphy (October 5, 2012–January 13, 2013).

Theatrical headdress for the magical deer in the Story of Rama dance-drama, approx. 1950–1960, Central Thailand. Papier-mache, glass, and mixed media. Gift from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Southeast Asian Art Collection, 2006.27.10.9.

Explore this interactive map.

The Urami Waterfall in Niko, Picture of Famous Places in the Sixty-odd Provinces, August, 1853, by Ando Hiroshige (Japanese, 1797 – 1858), Woodblock print; Ink and colors on paper, Gift of Japanese Prints from the Collection of Emmeline Johnson. Donated by Oliver and Elizabeth Johnson, 1994.48. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

Asian Art Museum storyteller Miriam Mills tells a New Year story from Vietnam in the Southeast Asian galleries of the Asian Art Museum.

Storyteller, Ann Riley, tells a Japanese folktale about a mysterious teabowl with the use of artworks from the Asian Art Museum’s collection.

Students explore the characters and themes in the Story of Rama, making connections between the epic and their lives today.