OCT 2013
VOLUME 44 - NUMBER 7
Objects in a broad range of media are explored in this issue, from humble paper to the richness of gold. What these seemingly unrelated works have in common is what they reveal to the scholar’s eye about the contexts and milieux in which they were created. James Bennett highlights aspects of the exhibition ‘Realms of Wonder’ at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Denise Patry Leidy and Birgitta Augustin re-examine the iconography of a Northern Qi dynasty limestone sculpture in the Detroit Institute of Arts. Ellen Johnston Laing interprets the hidden messages of four 18th century prints in the Museum für Asiatische Kunst in Berlin, while Stephen Salel decodes the humour found in 19th century Japanese shunga, ahead of an exhibition at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Chorong Shim discusses Korean 5th and 6th century gold earrings, which form part of a major exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted to the art of the Silla kingdom, and Huo Wei explains aspects of the Tubo culture as revealed by an examination of two gilt-silver plaques of horses and riders.
In other features, we interview Nicolas Chow as Sotheby’s celebrates 40 years in Hong Kong, and Gretchen Liu reviews Claire Roberts’s Photography and China. In our commentary, Vivienne Chow considers Hong Kong’s art scene through the lens of the city’s recent inaugural edition of Art Basel.
FEATURES
James Bennett. Realms of Wonder: Jain, Hindu and Islamic Art of India
Denise Patry Leidy and Birgitta Augustin. Buddha, Deva, or Devotee? A Sculpture from Xiangtangshan in the Detroit Institute of Arts
Ellen Johnston Laing. Mothers and Sons: Four Newly Discovered 18th Century Chinese Prints
Stephen Salel. Exorcizing Demons: A Consideration of Transgressive Humour in 19th Century Shunga
Chorong Shim. Beauty and Prestige: Gold Earrings From Silla
Huo Wei. Equestrian Treasures: 7th to 9th Century Gold and Silver from the Tubo Kingdom
PREVIEWS & REVIEWS
Gretchen Liu. Book Review: Photography and China, By Claire Roberts
INTERVIEWS
In Conversation with Nicolas Chow
COMMENTARY
Vivienne Chow. The Art Basel Effect?