Asian art

 

Introduction

Works of Asian art in the national collection range from Neolithic and early Metal Age ceramics from Iran, Japan, Thailand and China, to installations created in the last decade by Thailand's Montien Boonma, Wenda Gu, a Chinese artist based in New York, and Yukinori Yanagi from Japan.

One of the strengths of the collection is Hindu and Buddhist sculpture, which includes Japanese lacquered wooden and plaster images, stone works from south Asia, and lost-wax cast bronzes of India and Southeast Asia. Significant Hindu sculpture is also a feature and includes the great stone Vishnu from the Pala dynasty of Bangladesh, the charming bronze elephant-headed god, Ganesha, and the dynamic dancing figure of the god Shiva from the great bronze artists of the southern Indian Chola dynasty.

Other features of the Asian art collection are: a spectacular array of Southeast Asian textiles; a range of miniature paintings from India originally intended as illustrations for albums and manuscripts; a significant collection of ukiyo-e prints from the Edo and early Meiji periods of Japan; and a rare collection of 20th century Chinese woodcuts.

 

New acquisition highlights

• 2008 Listing | Gallery of selected works
• 2007 Listing | Gallery of selected works
• 2006 Listing | Gallery of selected works
• 2005 Listing | Gallery of selected works
• 2004 Listing | Gallery of selected works
• 2003 Listing | Gallery of selected works

 

The Indian art gallery

In the new entrance-level Indian Gallery recent acquisitions join old favourites. In juxtaposing works of different media – stone, wood, paper, metal and cloth – visitors are introduced the spectacular art of South Asia through fine examples of key images from the major strands of Indian culture and religion.
Go to Indian art

The TT Tsui collection of Chinese ceramics

The majority of Chinese works in the Asian collection are funerary goods: earthenware sculptural pottery in a variety of forms created for burial in the tombs of great noble rulers. They comprise the core of the gift from Hong Kong based entrepreneur TT Tsui.
Go to TT Tsui collection subsite

 

Treasure a textile

The National Gallery of Australia holds one of the finest Asian textile collections in the world. Conserving textiles for display and to stabilise their condition is a time consuming and specialised task.
Go to Conservation subsite

Go to IndonesianTextiles subsite

 

Related exhibitions

A Stream of Stories: Indian miniatures from the National Gallery of Australia<
Beauty and desire in Edo period Japan
Crescent moon: Islamic art & civilisation in Southeast Asia
Inside out: new Chinese art
Life in the Emperor's tomb: ceramics from ancient China
Monet & Japan
Monsoon: Brian Brake's photoessay on India
Montien Boonma: Temple of the mind
Nam June Paik: a selection from 32 cars for the 20th century play Mozart’s Requiem quietly
Sari to Sarong: 500 years of Indian and Indonesian textile exchange
Wenda Gu: intersections and translations

 

More information

Indonesian Textiles
Mandala, Meditation & Monks
The TT Tsui Collection of Chinese Ceramics

 

Selected publications

A stream of stories: Indian miniatures from the National Gallery of Australia, 1997
Beauty and desire in Edo period Japan Gary Hickey 1998
Life in the emperor’s tomb: ceramics from ancient China Charlotte Galloway 2002
The vision of kings: art and experience in India  Michael Brand 1995
Traditions of Asian art : traced through the collection of the National Gallery of Australia Michael Brand editor, 1995
Tsui collection of Chinese art introduction by TT Tsui, 1995

For information about National Gallery of Australia publications visit the library catalogue online