APR 2010

VOLUME 41 - NUMBER 3

Our main features in this issue offer fresh perspectives on aspects of Himalayan and Chinese art. Gudrun Bühnemann reappraises the Golden Window in Patan, Nepal and identifies the deities depicted, as well as shedding light on its date of construction. Guntram Hazod revisits early documentation of the history of Lhasa's famous Shöl stele and presents findings from field research in late 2008 that suggest its origin in the valley of Tri. Christian Schicklgruber leads us on a tour of Bhutan's 17th century Trongsa Ta Dzong, expertly restored as a temple/museum. Alice S. Kandell talks about her collection of Tibetan sacred art, on public display for the first time, at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Rubin Museum of Art.

Starting with a tiny Shang period pottery sherd, Sarah Allan examines the development of shamanic imagery on Shang and early Western Zhou jades and bronzes. Only the second loan exhibition from China to Ireland since 1974, 'Telling Images of China: Narrative and Figure Paintings, 15th-20th Century, from the Shanghai Museum' is on show at the Chester Beatty library in Dublin. Ling Lizhong, the exhibition's co-curator, discusses the exhibition concept and his own new research.

Other features include Amy Poster's tributes to two distinguished collectors, an interview with François Curiel, the new President, Asia at Christie's and a review of autumn auctions in France. In our commentary, Alonzo Emery draws a comparison between Indian and Chinese contemporary art.

FEATURES
Hwang Yin. Stories My Ancestors Told Me: An Interview with Ling Lizhong
Sarah Allan. He flies like a bird; he dives like a dragon; who is that man in the tiger mouth? Shamanic Images in Shang and Early Western Zhou Art
A Shrine for Tibet: An Interview with Alice S. Kandell
Christian Schicklgruber. The Tower of Trongsa: Museum, Temple - Or Both?
Guntram Hazod. Wandering Monuments: The Discovery of the Place of Origin of the Shol Stele of Lhasa
Gudrun Buhnemann. Complex Configurations: On the Iconography and Date of the Golden Window in Patan, Nepal
PREVIEWS & REVIEWS
Yifawn Lee. Book Review: The Museum of East Asian Art, Journal Volume VII, The Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, 2009
INTERVIEWS
An Interview with Francois Curiel
NEWS
Amy G. Poster. Obituary: Views on Art: Alastair Bradley Martin (1915-2010)
Amy G. Poster. Obituary: Celebrating Bertram H. Schaffner (1912-2010)
COMMENTARY
Alonzo Emery. Commentary: Silencing Great Expectations: The Pleasure of Surprise in Contemporary Indian and Chinese Art