Zhao Wenbing provides an accessible, illustrated introduction to the sculptural art of China, including the magnificent Terracotta Army, Buddhist sculpture, tomb carvings, architectural sculpture, exchange with foreign cultures and Chinese sculpture today. Chinese Sculpture takes the reader through the unique aesthetic features of sculpture in China, arguing that the evolution of this sculpture parallels the development of Chinese culture through history.

Ancient Chinese architecture is not only a source of reference for modern Chinese design, it has also had an international influence and attracted global attention. Moreover, architectural remains in China reveal much about the history of this ancient civilisation. The palaces, gardens, temples, tombs and dwellings of the Chinese people reflect, for example, the military achievements of the Qin emperor, the spirit of the Tang Dynasty, the palace intrigues of the Ming Dynasty, the diversity of Chinese culture through the ages and the skill of countless generations of craftsmen and labourers. Chinese Architecture provides an accessible, illustrated introduction to this essential part of China's cultural heritage.

Tantra is a set of beliefs and practices that originates in India and combines eroticism, magic and metaphysics. This book provides a lucid account of a much-misunderstood ancient mystical tradition that has long aroused spiritual and artistic curiosity in the West. The first part of the book gives an in-depth introduction to Tantrik rites and beliefs, while the eight Themes sections summarize and develop key topics. The book is illustrated throughout with vivid imagery from unusual and out-of-the-way sources worldwide. This is an illuminating introduction to Tantra and the art that expresses many of its erotic, mythical and mystical beliefs.

"The Great Wave" is a colour woodblock print designed by Japanese artist Hokusai in around 1830. The print, of which numerous multiples were made, shows a monster of a wave rearing up and about to come crashing down on three fishing boats and their crews. One of a monumental series known as "Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji", "Hokusai's Great Wave" with the graceful snow-clad Mount Fuji on the horizon, unperturbed but wittily dwarfed by the towering strength of the wave that threatens to engulf the struggling boats has become an iconic image of the power of nature and the relative smallness of man. One of the most famous pieces of Japanese art, this extraordinary artwork has had a huge impact worldwide and has served as a source of inspiration to artists, both past and present. This beautifully illustrated book explores the meaning behind "Hokusai's Great Wave", in the context of "the Mount Fuji" series and Japanese art as a whole. Taking an intimate look at the Waves artistic and historical significance and its influence on popular culture, this concise introduction explains why Hokusai's modern masterpiece had such an impact after its creation in 1830 and why it continues to fascinate, inspire and challenge today.

The V&A has the UK's largest permanent display of Japanese art, housing objects from the 6th century to the present day. Collecting Japanese objects from its founding in 1852, the Museum has played a significant role in bringing the art of Japan to the attention of designers, manufacturers and the British public. This tradition continues to the present day, and in this new book some of the world's leading researchers in the field bring their attention to the V&A's unparalleled collection. Ten chapters focus on subjects including religion and ritual; samurai military and aristocratic culture; the highly aestheticized tea ceremony, which has been a notable feature of Japanese culture from the Medieval period to the present day; Edo-period urban fashions including lacquer and fashionable dress; Ukiyo-e and the graphic arts (prints, illustrated books, paintings, screens and contemporary photography); exchanges with the West and participation in world exhibitions, right up to modern and contemporary crafts and product design, including high-tech design.

This book traces the intimate connections between Britain and China throughout the nineteenth century and argues for China's central impact on the British visual imagination. Chang brings together an unusual group of primary sources to investigate how nineteenth-century Britons looked at and represented Chinese people, places, and things, and how, in the process, ethnographic, geographic, and aesthetic representations of China shaped British writers' and artists' vision of their own lives and experiences. For many Britons, China was much more than a geographical location; it was also a way of seeing and being seen that could be either embraced as creative inspiration or rejected as contagious influence. In both cases, the idea of China's visual difference stood in negative contrast to Britain's evolving sense of the visual and literary real. To better grasp what Romantic and Victorian writers, artists, and architects were doing at home, we must also understand the foreign "objects" found in their midst and what they were looking at abroad.

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. From fashion sketches of smartly dressed Shanghai dandies in the 1920s, to multipanel drawings of refugee urbanites during the war against Japan, to panoramic pictures of anti-American propaganda rallies in the early 1950s, the polymorphic cartoon-style art known as manhua helped define China's modern experience. Manhua Modernity offers a richly illustrated, deeply contextualized analysis of these illustrations across the lively pages of popular pictorial magazines that entertained, informed, and mobilized a nation through a half century of political and cultural transformation. In this compelling media history, John Crespi argues that manhua must be understood in the context of the pictorial magazines that hosted them, and in turn these magazines must be seen as important mediators of the modern urban experience. Even as times changed-from interwar-era consumerism to war-time mobilization to Mao-style propaganda-the art form adapted to stay on the cutting edge of both politics and style.

Collected articles on Iranian art from the Qajar dynasty. The thirteen articles in this volume were originally given as presentations at the symposium of the same name organized in June 2018 by the Musee du Louvre and the Musee du Louvre-Lens in conjunction with the exhibition The Empire of Roses: Masterpieces of 19th Century Persian Art. The exhibition explored the art of Iran in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, while the nation was under the rule of the Qajar dynasty. The symposium set out to present research on previously unknown and unpublished objects from this rich period of art history. This volume, published with the Louvre Museum in France, is divided into four sections. The first, "Transitions and Transmissions," is dedicated to the arts of painting, illumination, and lithography. The focus of the second section, entitled "The Image Revealed," also considers works on paper, looking at new themes and techniques. "The Material World" examines the use of materials such as textiles, carpets, and armor. The articles in the final section discuss the history of two groups of artifacts acquired by their respective museums.

Mount Fuji has long been a centerpiece of Japanese cultural imagination, and nothing captures this with more virtuosity than the landmark woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). The renowned printmaker documents 19th-century Japan with exceptional artistry and adoration, celebrating its countryside, cities, people, and serene natural beauty. Produced at the peak of Hokusai's artistic ambition, the series is a quintessential work of ukiyo-e that earned the artist world-wide recognition as a leading master of his craft. The prints illustrate Hokusai's own obsession with Mount Fuji as well as the flourishing domestic tourism of the late Edo period. Just as the mountain was a cherished view for travelers heading to the capital Edo (now Tokyo) along the Tokaido road, Mount Fuji is the infallible backdrop to each of the series' unique scenes. Hokusai captures the distinctive landscape and provincial charm of each setting with a vivid palette and exquisite detail. Including the iconic Under the Great Wave off Kanagawa (also The Great Wave), this widely celebrated series is a treasure of international art history. Among only a few complete reprints of the series, this XXL edition pays homage to Hokusai's striking colors and compositions with unprecedented care and magnitude. Bound in the Japanese tradition with uncut paper, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji presents the original 36 plates plus the additional 10 later added by the artist. The perfect companion piece to TASCHEN's One Hundred Views of Edo and The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaido, this publication paints an enchanting picture of pre-industrial Japan and is itself a stunning monument to the art of woodblock printing.

Beautifully illustrated with an array of Chinese art, this book offers a closer look at the rich variety of styles, decoration, motifs and patterns - and the sheer craftsmanship - of Chinese culture. The book is arranged thematically and opens by taking a look at the essential nature and meaning of Chinese art. Chapters that follow place the objects and designs into their cultural context. Each of the intriguing and beautiful artworks is then explored further with amazing close-up views, allowing the reader to get even closer than a behind-the-scenes museum or gallery tour. By showing the complete artwork alongside a detail, the authors provide a fresh view of each object which often allows intriguing comparisons between seemingly unrelated objects and media. The selection of art and details evoke the hand and eye of the most talented Chinese craftsmen past and present. Ideal as a spur to creative inspiration or as souvenir or introduction to a museum visit, this stunning book offers an alternative view of the wide range of Chinese art. The book highlights in close-up and gorgeous colour the most breathtaking aspects of workmanship, materials and design found in stunning ceramics, lacquer, jade, metalwork, brush painting and woodblock printing.

Part of a series of handy, luxurious Flame Tree Pocket Books. Combining high-quality production with magnificent fine art, the covers are printed on foil in five colours, embossed then foil stamped. And they're delightfully practical: a pocket at the back for receipts and scraps, two bookmarks and a solid magnetic side flap. These are perfect for personal use, handbags and make a dazzling gift. This example features one of Hiroshige's stunning views of Mount Fuji. In this artwork, we see Mount Fuji as viewed across the slopes of a small-scale replica of the mountain. These mini-Fujis were quite a common feature as they enabled the pious-but-busy to make at least an approximation of the great pilgrimage up Mount Fuji and derive some of the same spiritual benefits.

Chinoiserie, a decorative style inspired by the art of the Far East, gripped Britain from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth century. Despite taking its name from the French word for 'Chinese', the style also incorporated influences from other Asian countries, helping to shape the period's popular fantasy of the 'exotic Orient'. Wealthy consumers jostled to obtain imported wallpaper, lacquered cabinets and hand-painted porcelain, while domestic manufacturers such as Royal Worcester and Chippendale met demand with mass-produced items of their own. Though interest in the style waned as the Gothic Revival took hold, many examples of Chinoiserie have been preserved. In this beautifully illustrated book, Richard Hayman tells the story of this fascinating phenomenon, and explores the profound impact of Chinoiserie on the material culture of the West.

These fine-quality tear-out wrapping sheets feature six whimsical watercolor patterns, suitable for craft projects as well as for gift wrapping. An introduction details the history and meaning behind the designs and provides some wrapping inspiration Tuttle Gift Wrapping Papers are an excellent value--a fraction of the price of a single sheet of gift wrap paper from stationery shops Each sheet is removable by tearing along a perforated line There are six sheets with six different patterns in each book

The art of Japanese woodblock printing, known as ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), reflects the rich history and way of life in Japan hundreds of years ago. Ukiyo-e: The Art of the Japanese Print takes a thematic approach to this iconic Japanese art form, considering prints by subject matter: geisha and courtesans, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, erotica, nature, historical subjects and even images of foreigners in Japan. An artist himself, author Frederick Harris--a well-known American collector who lived in Japan for 50 years--pays special attention to the methods and materials employed in Japanese printmaking. The book traces the evolution of ukiyo-e from its origins in metropolitan Edo (Tokyo) art culture as black and white illustrations, to delicate two-color prints and multicolored designs. Advice to admirers on how to collect, care for, view and buy Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints rounds out this book of charming, carefully selected prints.

This book attempts to expand the grounds and methodology of studying Japanese art history by focusing on the conditions, procedures, events, and social interplay that characterized the production of paintings in late-fifteenth-century Japan.
Though the book's ultimate concerns are art historical, its analysis also draws heavily from the insights of sociology and social history. At its core is a fresh examination of the major primary documents of the period in an attempt to liberate the study from assumptions long embedded in the historiography of late medieval Japanese painting history. Early chapters describe documents, methods, basic sites, and conditions of painting before turning to the main contribution of the book, painting considered as a body of social practices. The production of painting in the late fifteenth century was profoundly social, dynamically related to the circumstances of its agents. Painters, advisors, assistants, clients, and others did not exert themselves simply to bring paintings into existence. They sought advantages (such as wealth and prestige), met obligations, and satisfied the demands of custom.
Surviving documents from the period present rich evidence of the involvement of such persons in the imperial court, the Ashikaya-Gozan community, the great temples of Nara, and the halls of local lords. The author takes into account the patterns of expectation that existed at the various sites but does not construe them as static and mechanically determined. Rather, he shows that expectations evolved in response to changed conditions. Although this study specifically addresses the last quarter of the fifteenth century, it can aid future research in Japanese painting practice in other eras by serving as a model of how new interpretations can emerge from close documentary investigation.

The Mongol period (1206-1368) marked a major turning point of exchange - culturally, politically, and artistically - across Eurasia. The wide-ranging international exchange that occurred during the Mongol period is most apparent visually through the inclusion of Mongol motifs in textile, paintings, ceramics, and metalwork, among other media. Eiren Shea investigates how a group of newly-confederated tribes from the steppe conquered the most sophisticated societies in existence in less than a century, creating a courtly idiom that permanently changed the aesthetics of China and whose echoes were felt across Central Asia, the Middle East, and even Europe. This book will be of interest to scholars in art history, fashion design, and Asian studies.

The Oriental Obsession begins in the early sixteenth century with Cardinal Wolsey waiting two years for the delivery of sixty rare Turkey carpets from Venice, and ends in the age of the great exhibitions and emporia on both sides of the Atlantic, before and after 1900, when Islamic objects were seen, appreciated, and bought by millions of the public. The book is concerned with a subject which has not been treated before - the history over four centuries of Islamic artistic traditions and European ideas of Islam as they affected the visual arts of the west and particularly the English-speaking peoples. Studies of individual aspects have been made previously, but this is the first time that an attempt has been made to consider the subject as a whole. The geographical purview extends from Moorish Spain in the west to British India in the east and, besides architecture, the activities that are involved include painting, ceramics, textiles, metalwork, furniture and bookcrafts.

A History of Chinese Art is a lavishly illustrated work covering the history of Chinese art from the Pre-Qin period (pre-221 BCE) to the early twentieth century in two volumes. Compiled by leading art historians at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, the volumes offer a Chinese perspective on the rich artistic tradition that has flourished throughout China's long history, from ancient pottery and tomb painting to furniture, sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy and fine art. Discussion is supported by full-colour illustrations throughout, sourced from collections in China and around the world, including recent archaeological discoveries. A History of Chinese Art provides an introductory point of reference for those with an interest in Chinese history, culture and art.

- The first volume to explore the staggering collection of Jane and Kito de Boer- Functions as an introduction to Indian modernism, with strong representations of several individual artists as well as major movementsModern Indian Painting presents a survey of Indian painting from the late 19th century to the present day, drawn from the private collection of Jane and Kito de Boer remarkable for its broad historical scope and wide range of artists. The book clearly delineates major developments over a long period of time, while contextualizing them with previously unpublished examples by major artists. The first part of the book features the de Boers talking about their passion for India and Indian art. The second part presents a history of modern Indian painting, with essays on the Bengal School, the so-called 'Dutch Bengal' artists, the Calcutta naturalists, the portrait painters of the Bombay School in the early 20th century, the Progressive Artists Group and the post-Independence artists of Bengal. The de Boer collection also contains strong representations of a few individual artists, such as Chittaprosad, Ganesh Pyne, Ramachandran and Broota, whose works are explored through essays and interviews. The fact that many of these chapters draw almost exclusively on the de Boer collection is a testament to its incredible size and breadth. In this volume, we hope to show how the collection takes a dispassionate view of the global status of Indian art, while at the same time revealing a commitment and long-term engagement with the country and its creativity. With contributions from Partha Mitter, Giles Tillotson, Yashodhara Dalmia, Sona Datta, Sanjay Kumar Mallik and Rob Dean.

My Generation is a striking and appealing new volume that presents 75 artworks by 27 young Chinese artists, all born after 1976 after the end of the Cultural Revolution. Covering all media and types of production, their work opens a window onto a new China, a society that has undergone rapid industrialisation and globalisation in the past two decades. Artists and collectives featured include Birdhead, Chi Peng, Chen Ke, Chen Wei, Cui Jie, Double Fly, Guo Hongwei, Hu Xiaoyun, Huang Ran, Irrelevant Commission, Jin Shan, Li Qing, Liang Yuanwei, Liang Yue, Liu Di, Lu Fang, Lu Yang, Ma Qiusha, Made In, Qiu Xiaofei, Song Kun, Shi Zhiying, Sun Xun, Wang Yuyang, Yan Xing, Zhang Ding, Zhou Yilun. Contents of the book: Foreward by Todd Smith, Director, Tampa Museum of Art, Florida; Curator's Preface & Acknowledgements by Barbara Pollack; Young, Gifted and Chinese by Barbara Pollack; Essay 2 by Li Zhenhua; Main Catalogue/Plates section: 75 artworks; Brief captions for comparative images 1-para; Artist biographies; Selected Exhibitions and Publications; Notes on curator; Index; Photo credits.