NOV 1999

VOLUME 30 - NUMBER 9

This November, dealers, auction houses and museums will come together to celebrate the second 'Asian Art in London' event. An extraordinary range of pieces from East, South and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas will be on view, among them a large number of national treasures, underlining London's importance as a centre for Asian art. This issue of Orientations primarily commemorates the various activities, with Carol Michaelson and Jessica Rawson's articles being written around the exhibition 'Gilded Dragons: Buried Treasures from China's Golden Ages' at the British Museum; Michaelson uses works of art from the show to illustrate the role of the thoroughbred horse in China, while Rawson defines three major 'design systems' in early Chinese art.

A calendar of the main exhibitions and auctions is also featured. Events in other parts of Europe are highlighted as well, including the opening of two new Asian art museums: The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Sweden, and the Sammlung Julius Eberhardt in Vienna, Austria.

Shelagh Vainker reviews the catalogue of Eberhardt's collection of early Chinese art, while Robert P. Piccus reviews the second volume of Dr S. Y. Yip's collection of classic Chinese furniture, selections from which are on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London. The authenticity of two Chinese bronzes from a private European collection is discussed in 'A Rare Case of "Yigu Weishi"', and two European gallery shows are reviewed in 'Gallery News'.

Additionally, The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition 'The Artist as Collector: Masterpieces from the C. C. Wang Family Collection' is celebrated by a portrait of C. C. Wang by Valerie C. Doran.

FEATURES
Valerie C. Doran. C.C. Wang: The Artist as Collector
Friedrich G. Zeileis. A Rare Case of 'Yigu Weishi'?
Jarl Vansvik. The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Sweden
Jessica Rawson. Design Systems in Early Chinese Art
Carol Michaelson. The Thousand Li Horses
PREVIEWS & REVIEWS
Robert P. Piccus. Book Review: Shing Yiu Yip and Grace Wu Bruce, with contributions by Tian Jiaqing and Tung Chiao, Chan Chair and Qin Bench: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture II
Shelagh Vainker. Book Review: Regina Krahl, concept and production by Christina Wesemann, Sammlung Julius Eberhardt: Fruhe chinesische Junst/Collection Julius Eberhardt: Early Chinese Art
INTERVIEWS
An Interview with Julius Eberhardt
COMMENTARY
Robert A. F. Thurman. Commentary: The Fine Arts of Tibet in their Current Context