This title presents an annotated index and general orientation of Islamic art collections in museums, libraries, other institutions and on private hands. It includes a short description of each collection, its main characteristics, documentation, publications and exhibitions.

Mary Storm has a Ph.D. in Indian Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an M.A. in East Asian Studies, Japanese Buddhist Art, from Stanford University. She currently teaches at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi in the School of Arts and Aesthetics. She was previously a Ford Foundation Visiting Fellow and Associate Professor of Art History at that university.

No one captures the graces and idiosyncrasies of cats quite like the painters, printmakers, and haiku masters of Japan. From the Edo to the Showa period, many artists turned their gaze toward an unlikely subject: their small feline companions. Closely observed portraits in words and ink elevate the everyday adventures of cats: taking a nap on a Buddha statue's lap, daintily eating a rice ball, courting the neighbor's cat. This curated collection of poems, prints, and paintings will leave you inspired to cultivate the serenity and wonder embodied by these creators - and by the cats themselves. Presented as a sweet, jacketed paperback with thoughtful design touches, this volume includes each poem in both English and Japanese.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) was one of the last great artists in the ukiyo-e tradition. Literally meaning "pictures of the floating world," ukiyo-e was a particular genre of art that flourished between the 17th and 19th centuries and came to characterize the Western world's visual idea of Japan. In many ways images of hedonism, ukiyo-e scenes often represented the bright lights and attractions of Edo (modern-day Tokyo): beautiful women, actors and wrestlers, city life, and spectacular landscapes. Though he captured a variety of subjects, Hiroshige was most famous for landscapes, with a final masterpiece series known as "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo" (1856-1858), which depicted various scenes of the city through the seasons, from bustling shopping streets to splendid cherry orchards. This reprint is made from one of the finest complete original sets of woodblock prints belonging to the Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Tokyo. It pairs each of the 120 illustrations with a description, allowing readers to immerse themselves in these beautiful, vibrant vistas that became paradigms of Japonisme and inspired Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Art Nouveau artists alike, from Vincent van Gogh to James McNeill Whistler. About the series Bibliotheca Universalis - Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe!

The Cambridge Illustrated History of China is an illuminating account of the full sweep of Chinese civilisation - from prehistoric times to the intellectual ferment of the Warring States Period, through the rise and fall of the imperial dynasties, to the modern communist state. Written by a leading scholar and lavishly illustrated, its narrative draws together everything from the influence of key intellectual figures, to political innovations, art and material culture, family and religious life, not to mention wars and modern conflicts. This third revised edition includes new archaeological discoveries and gives fuller treatment of environmental history and Chinese interaction with the wider world, placing China in global context. The Qing dynasty is now covered in two chapters, while the final chapter brings the story into the twenty-first century, covering the transformation of China into one of the world's leading economies and the challenges it faces. Lively and highly visual, this book will be appreciated by anyone interested in Chinese history.

Paint the classic subjects that inspired ancient Chinese masters. This book introduces the venerable art of painting with ink on rice paper using traditional techniques developed over a thousand years ago. It is ideal for a beginner hoping to practice a large variety of techniques and subjects. With this practical guide, you will learn to paint: Towering landscapes The elegant Four Gentlemen Plants like bamboo, orchids, plum blossoms, and chrysanthemums Five animals from the Chinese Zodiac The basic strokes used in calligraphy And more! Known as a "soft martial art," brush painting is as meditative as it is artistic. As you move through the lessons and exercises, you'll gain insight into and appreciation for the symbolism, historical context, techniques, and mindfulness associated with this ancient art form.

These fine-quality tear-out sheets feature 12 prints inspired by the centuries-old art of Japanese shibori--a process of hand-dyeing fabric. These papers are suitable for craft projects as well as for gift wrapping. The variety of designs means they are useful for any occasion--whether a holiday, birthday, anniversary or "just because." An introduction details the history and meaning behind the designs, giving you a better idea of their origin. Some wrapping ideas are also provided for inspiration to maximize your creativity. This paperback book includes: 12 sheets of 18" x 24" (45 x 61cm) paper 12 unique patterns Perforations so the papers are easy to tear out A 3-page introduction with wrapping tips & tricks Pair with the matching Tuttle note cards--Japanese Shibori, 16 Note Cards--for a colorful and cohesive gift! The tradition of gift wrapping originated in Asia, with the first documented use in China in the 2nd century BC. Japanese furoshiki, reusable wrapping cloth, is still in use four centuries after it was first created. Gift wrapping is one custom that has prevailed through the ages and across the world--it should be special for both the gift giver and recipient.

This text deals with Chinese art during the Tang Dynasty, from 618 to 907. It presents the artistic findings from the last ten years of archaeological excavation in China-findings that have never before been published in the West. Court Art of the Tang reveals the magnificence of Tang art through the presentation of ceramics, wall paintings, and utensils made of gold, silver, bronze, and porcelain. The book aims to place these new materials in their artistic and historical context. It structures the new findings in chronological order, using culture and history as a background. The study treats each class of art separately and distinctly, exploring the aesthetic evolution of both secular and religious art. Relevant literary expressions incorporated into the discussions make Court Art of the Tang an especially unique work. The book gives readers a comprehensive and diverse look at the glorious and extraordinary achievements of a ruling family. The book consists of 233 pages of text, a bibliography and an index, a glossary, and 117 illustrations. Court Art of the Tang will provide insightful reading for art collectors and museum-goers and serve as an important text in Asian Studies Departments and in courses in the arts of China.Contents: List of Illustrations; Preface; Ackowledgements; Introduction; Early Tang 618-712; Middle Tang 712-805; Late Tang 805-907; Conclusion; Illustrations; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.

In their art, Tibetans aimed at faithfully transmitting and preserving Buddhism as a spiritual discipline as they had learned it from earlier teachers. Each thangka painting was a small contribution to the larger cause of keeping Buddhism alive and radiant. In this third volume on Tibetan painting, David Jackson investigates painted portraits of early Tibetan teachers. Images of these eminent personages embodied Buddhist ideals in human form. In creating these depictions, Tibetan painters of the 12th through the 14th centuries imitated the artistic conventions developed in Pala- and Sensa-ruled eastern India (Bengal). This style, called Sharri, spread from India to many parts of Asia, but its classic Indian forms, delicate colors, and intricate decorative details were emulated most faithfully by the Tibetans.

In Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs Fourth Edition, scholar C.A.S. Williams offers concise explanations of the important symbols and motifs relevant to Chinese literature, arts and crafts, and architecture. This reference book has been a standard among students of Chinese culture and history since 1941 and, in its Fourth Edition, has been completely reset with Pinyin pronunciation of Chinese names and words. Organized alphabetically, enhanced by over 400 illustrations, and clearly written for accessibility across a variety of fields, this book not only explains symbols and motifs essential to any designer, art collector, or historian, but delves into ancient customs in religion, food, agriculture, and medicine. Some of the symbols and motifs explicated are: The Eight Immortals, The Five Elements, The Dragon, The Phoenix, Yin and Yang. With Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs, you can access hidden insights into the intentions behind works of Chinese craftsmanship, and the thorough explanations of each symbol, accompanied by the historical origins from which they arose, will complement your existing knowledge of any area of Chinese culture, or help you confidently explore new topics within the realm of Asian art and history.

At sixty-two meters the Leshan Buddha in southwest China is the world's tallest premodern statue. Carved out of a riverside cliff in the eighth century, it has evolved from a religious center to a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular tourist destination. But this Buddha does not stand alone: Sichuan is home to many cave temples with such monumental sculptures, part of a centuries-long tradition of art-making intricately tied to how local inhabitants made use of their natural resources with purpose and creativity. These examples of art embedded in nature have altered landscapes and have influenced the behaviors, values, and worldviews of users through multiple cycles of revival, restoration, and recreation. As hybrid spaces that are at once natural and artificial, they embody the interaction of art and the environment over a long period of time. This far-ranging study of cave temples in Sichuan shows that they are part of the world's sustainable future, as their continued presence is a reminder of the urgency to preserve culture as part of today's response to climate change. Temples in the Cliffside brings art history into close dialogue with current discourse on environmental issues and contributes to a new understanding of the ecological impact of artistic monuments.

"Multiple Impressions" examines works by 40 leading printmakers from contemporary China, highlighting the extraordinary innovations, in both technique and conception, which have transformed this long-established art form in recent years. It includes works by such artists as Xu Bing, Kang Ning, Song Yuanwen, Chen Qi, He Kun, and Fang Limin, as well as many other accomplished printmakers.

Essays by noted scholars place contemporary printmaking in its complex art historical and cultural contexts, discuss the relationship between printmaking and contemporary art, and interpret new work by the internationally prominent artist Xu Bing. The book explores three key themes in printmaking today: "Landscapes Old and New" illustrates the variety of techniques and visual idioms contemporary printmakers draw on to create expressive and fantastic landscapes; "Fellow Citizens" turns to the human figure; and "Layered Abstractions" focuses on works that showcase the distinct visual effects and pictorial language that underscore the process of making a print.

Xiaobing Tang is Helmut F. Stern Professor of Modern Chinese Studies and professor of comparative literature at the University of Michigan. Shang Hui is editor-in-chief of "Fine Arts Magazine" in Beijing. Anne Farrer is program director for the MA in East Asian Art at Sotheby's Institute of Art, London.

This book begins with the observation that contemporary artists have embraced and employed gravity as an immaterial readymade. Necessarily focusing on material practices - chiefly sculpture, installation, performance, and film - this discussion takes account of how and why artists have used gravity and explores the similarities between their work and the popular cultural forms of circus, vaudeville, burlesque, and film. Works by Rodney Graham, Stan Douglas, and Robert Smithson are mediated through ideas of Gnostic doubt, atomism, and new materialism. In other examples - by John Wood and Paul Harrison, Gordon Matta-Clark, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Trisha Brown, and Bas Jan Ader - mass and momentum, falling objects, and falling bodies are examined in relation to architecture, sculpture, and dance. In performances, projects and events curated by Bruce Nauman, Santiago Sierra, and Catherine Yass, gravity is resisted in Sisyphean ordeals and death-defying stunts. This account of contemporary art and performance, read through the invisible membrane of gravity, exposes new and distinctive approaches to agency reduction, authorial doubt, and redemptive failure.

This is an in-depth study of the intellectual, technical, and artistic encounters between Europe and China in the late eighteenth century, focusing on the purposeful acquisition of information and images that characterized a direct engagement with the idea of "China." The central figure in this story is Henri-Leonard Bertin (1720-1792), who served as a minister of state under Louis XV and, briefly, Louis XVI. Both his official position and personal passion for all things Chinese placed him at the center of intersecting networks of like-minded individuals who shared his ideal vision of China as a nation from which France had much to learn. John Finlay examines a fascinating episode in the rich history of cross-cultural exchange between China and Europe in the early modern period, and this book will be an important and timely contribution to a very current discussion about Sino-French cultural relations. This book will be of interest to scholars in art history, visual culture, European and Chinese history.

* * Winner of the 2017 Silver Medal for Fine Art (National Level) from the Independent Publisher Book Awards * * Featuring dozens of stunning Japanese woodblock prints, textiles, serving vessels and thoughtful essays, Seduction paints a vibrant and provocative picture of Japan's Uikoyo-e or 'floating world.' 'The Floating World' was catch phrase that defined the pleasure quarters of Edo-period Japan's (1615-1868) and conveyed a fantasy realm where men were led to believe they could drift aimlessly in the pursuit of pleasure. Brothels were a prominent feature, but other entertainments, such as theater, music, and wrestling were also offered. Pursuit of such pleasures prompted a revolution in fashion, literature, and the visual arts, as the pleasure district was marketed not just through the offer of sex but rather through the elaboration of the seductive image of a sophisticated demimonde that beckoned visitors. Seduction show how images of courtesans were constructed as objects of desire, and it considers how the artistic version aligned with or departed from the reality of women's lives. It traces the ways that art was used to transport viewers to a constructed realm of sensory delights to stimulate desires and gratify fantasies of carefree pleasure. Editor Laura W. Allen offers an overview of the seductive spell cast by the floating world and provides helpful entries on each of the featured objects. Essays by Melinda Takeuchi, Eric C. Rath, and Julia Meech introduce the floating world, consider the role of food in the pleasure quarter, and explore the feminine gaze in the Japanese print. A translation of the texts on the Hishikawa Moronobu scroll is included. The result is a fascinating study of the way that visual objects were used to convey insider knowledge about the latest fashions in clothing, hairstyles, accessories, and even games. Armed with such knowledge, a visitor to the pleasure quarters would be prepared for the pursuit of love and other objects of desire.

The popularity of Japanese ceramics in the West caused a vast and delightful variety of wares to be made in the late nineteenth century for export. Colorful Imari porcelain in deep blue, orange-red, and gold, Fukagawa porcelain in imaginative designs, as well as the softly colored Satsuma earthenwares, are the best known of the old Japanese exports, shown here in hundreds of variations created by skilled decorators. This new edition has an updated values reference and additional items shown in each chapter, especially early Imari wares from the period c. 1700. Also presented are the exotic Sumida and Banko wares, relative newcomers to the field whose popularity has grown steadily over the last ten years. Makers' and decorators' marks, unusual shapes, design variations, and hard-to-find examples are all shown in 600 color photographs with identifying captions and concise text.

India's Kochi-Muziris Biennale has been described as one of the most significant newly emergent biennales, alongside Shanghai, Sharjah and Dakar. However, there have been few sustained and critical studies of these events as specific sites of production and reception of contemporary art. This book, engaging with the Kochi Biennale, provides detaile

Place plays a fundamental role in the structuring of the discipline of Art History. And yet, place also limits the questions art historians can ask and impairs analysis of objects and locations in the interstices of established, ossified categories. The chapters in this interdisciplinary volume investigate place in all of its dynamism and complexity: several call into question traditional constructions regarding place in Art History, while others explore the fundamental role that place plays in lived experience. The particular nexus for this collection lies at the intersection and overlap of two major subfields in the history of art: South Asia and the Islamic world, both of which are seemingly geographically determined, yet at the same time uncategorizable as place with their ever-shifting and contested borders. The eleven chapters brought together here move from the early modern through to the contemporary, and span particular monuments and locations ranging from Asia and Europe to Africa and the Americas. The chapters take on the question of place as it operates in more obvious settings, such as architectural monuments and exhibitionary contexts, while also probing the way place operates when objects move or when the very place they exist in transforms dramatically. This volume engages place through the movement of objects, the evocation of senses, desires, and memories and the on-going project of articulating the parameters of place and location.

Painting Stories explores the accomplishments, struggles, and livelihoods of traditional artisans in Raghurajpur, a village known for its patta chitra painters. In this collection, Helle Bundgaard weaves thirty years of observations and experiences into a tapestry of stories, which together present a poignant image of the lives of Indian craft makers and their personal connections to the art that they create. The painters' stories are situated in a rich cultural environment and steeped in social relations. For them, painting is more than a livelihood or an aesthetic expression - it is a way of life. Painting Stories is a window into a part of our world rarely seen, reminding us of both our rich diversity and our shared humanity. Written with the painters, students, and laypersons in mind, the book includes a discussion of ethnographic storytelling and resources for ethnographic writing, as well as color photographs that bring the stories to life.

Kanadehon Chushingura has been one of the most popular bunraku and kabuki plays. This fascinating study explores the full spectrum of ukiyo-e (floating world) representations of the Chushingura story. Essential reading for all students of Japanese theatre, the history of Japanese art and the social history of Japan.

This is a richly-illustrated study of 'The Oracles of the Three Shrines', the name given to a hanging scroll depicting three important Japanese shrine-deities and their respective oracle texts. The scroll has evolved continuously in Japan for 600 years, so different examples of it offer a series of 'windows' on developments in Japanese religious belief and practice.