Orientations Magazine

24/04/2025

Shards of Chinese ceramics, from the Tang (618–907) through the Qing (1644–1911) dynasty, have been excavated in various harbours and emporiums of the Persian Gulf, Oman, Yemen, Red Sea, and western Africa, showing that the commerce connecting East and West through the Red Sea was continuing to follow the trading routes already established in the Roman period (Fig. 2). The large amount of Chinese ceramic shards from the Yue, Changsha, Xing, Ding, Longquan, and Jingdezhen kilns found in the Egyptian port of Fustat, in old Cairo, are witnesses to the important maritime trade that passed along the same routes used by the Tyrian sailors in the 10th century.

Read more in Roberto Gardellin's article "Chinese Trade in the Red Sea: Two Shipwrecks with Yuan Blue-and-White Porcelains" linked below:

Shards of Chinese ceramics, from the Tang (618–907) through the Qing (1644–1911) dynasty, have been excavated in various harbours and emporiums of the Persian Gulf, Oman, Yemen, Red Sea, and western Africa, showing that the commerce connecting East and West through the Red Sea was continuing to ...

23/04/2025

A cloisonné enamel censer with taotie (a mysterious beast) mask motifs and four legs is an exquisite example from the Kangxi period (image 1). This square censer, composed of a cover and a body, imitates the form of archaic bronze vessels. Its gilt
bronze body features a predominantly blue enamel ground. Censers in such a square and flat-footed form are prototyped after the Wen Wang Ding (Ding of King Wen), which is recorded in the well-known catalogue Xuanhe Bogutu (Catalogue of antiquities in the Xuanhe era), compiled during the Song dynasty, and later inspired numerous replicas.

In comparison, the Yongzheng Emperor (1722–1735) had a particular preference for painted enamels, especially those with porcelain bodies. During his reign, the superintendent of the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, Tang Ying (1682–1756), successfully developed enamel materials specifically for porcelain production. The Yongzheng Emperor showed little interest in cloisonné enamel, resulting in only a small number of pieces being produced during his reign.

Read more in "All That Glitters: Chinese Cloisonné from the Robert Chang Collection" by Zhang D**g and Cixiang Hua in our current issue.

1. Vase
China; Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736–1795)
Cloisonné enamel; height 48.5 cm (with stand)

2. A cloisonné enamel censer with taotie mask motifs and four legs
China; Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662–1722)
Cloisonné enamel; height 49 cm

2. Vase
China; Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736–1795)
Cloisonné enamel; height 48.5 cm (with stand)

18/04/2025

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Art Museum has evolved significantly since its inception in 1971. Initially serving as a research unit, it has expanded its role to become a public-facing museum that emphasizes accessibility and engagement with a broader audience. The recent addition of the Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion and the Harold and Christina Lee Gallery, designed by Rocco Yim, addresses the growing needs of Hong Kong’s thriving art scene. The museum’s expansion seamlessly blends with the existing campus while enhancing the visitor experience. One of the reopening exhibitions, ‘Transcending Transience: Art and Culture of Late Ming Jiangnan’, showcases treasures from collections worldwide, including the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Asiatische Kunst, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Shanghai Museum.

The May/June 2025 issue marks this occasion with eight articles that provide a comprehensive view of the collection, ranging from the history and significance of art collecting in Guangdong, China, to the often-overlooked art of Chinese rubbings. Particular attention is given to the contributions of notable collectors such as Dr J. S. Lee and the Wong family, originally from Taishan but who achieved success in Johor and Singapore during the late 19th to early 20th century. The CUHK Art Museum plays a pivotal role in promoting the importance of rubbings through collaborations with other institutions and the Bei Shan Tang Foundation. We look at sinicized depictions of Western figures on Canton enamels and painted enamels produced at the Qing court, and explore early Sino-Portuguese trade and custommade porcelain from Jingdezhen. Over the past five years, the collection of 16,000 Chinese paintings and calligraphy has grown by nearly 600 works, mainly through donations; as a whole, these works serve as a cornerstone for academic research, education, and curatorial practice. We also consider the multifaceted role of the snake in Chinese mythology and art, as seen in 24 sets of artefacts that explore its diverse representations throughout history.

16/04/2025

A pair of Qianlong cloisonné enamel incense burners with floral and bird motifs and elephant-shaped feet stand 152 centimetres tall, including the base (image 1). Each consists of three parts: a domed cover, a double-layered covering section with openwork, and a lower burner. The cover is raised and adorned with openwork carvings of auspicious cloud and bat patterns. Among the cloud motifs are three ruyi-shaped cartouches, each inlaid with cloisonné lotus designs on a light blue enamel ground. At the top is a finial featuring an openwork design of clouds and dragons. The body of the burner has a projecting rim filled with light blue enamel. Its surface is decorated with small floral and bird vignettes set against a background of cloisonné wan (sw****ka) openwork. The floral motifs include magnolia, plum blossom, chrysanthemum, peony, herbaceous peony, hibiscus, lotus, and iris. The burner rests on three elephant-head-shaped feet, each adorned with inset gemstones. Primarily used to burn charcoal for warmth and to diffuse incense, the burners embody grandeur and opulence. Their exquisite craftsmanship and rich gilding suggest they were originally made for use in the imperial court.

Read more in "All That Glitters: Chinese Cloisonné from the Robert Chang Collection" by Zhang D**g and Cixiang Hua in our current issue.

Images:
1. A pair of incense burners
China; Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736–1795)
Cloisonné enamel; height 152 cm (including base)

2. Pair of incense pavilions
China; Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736–1795)
Cloisonné enamel; height 107.5 cm

14/04/2025

It is a daunting task to write about a legendary personality whose flamboyant life has been well-documented—particularly when his activities have been covered by so many column inches in the last two decades by those who knew him well. In the field of Chinese art, the name Robert Chang Chung Shien brings a sense of awe and evokes an unequivocal sense of respect among later generations. He surpassed and outlived all his advocates and severe critics of his own generation.

In the field of Chinese art, the name Robert Chang Chung Shien brings a sense of awe and evokes an unequivocal sense of respect among later generations. He surpassed and outlived all his advocates and severe critics of his own generation. 

11/04/2025

Heavenly Path (image 1) and Ancient Quarry (image 2), both housed at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art, are representative examples. In these works, Hong employs visual incongruence, allowing any alleged motifs to dissolve into ambiguity. The entitled Ancient Quarry conjures geological imagery as Hong renders rocky or pebble-like forms with black contour lines, shaded with diluted washes that evoke a sense of volume. Yet these forms do not remain static; they begin to coalesce, fragment, and morph into shapes that suggest proliferating, cell-like membranes. As these organic forms intertwine with undulating lines, their weight dissipates and their structural coherence disbands, leaving behind an ethereal, almost transient impression. Fluid strokes emanate from colour masses further enhancing the impression as they run upwards and sideways, creating an antigravitational effect. Hong’s use of the hanging scroll format provides the only normal sense of gravity, minimally aligning her works with traditional landscape painting. Her seemingly magnified imagery of organic composites in motion creates tension with the expected monumentality the title implies, as solid masses of ‘landscape’ transform, mutate, or become entirely diffuse.

Read more in Youngshin Yook's article "Morphing Landscape: Hong Xian's Ink Abstraction" in the latest issue.

Images:
1. Heavenly Path
By Hong Xian (Margaret Chang, b. 1933); 1971
Ink and colour on paper; 143 x 76.9 cm
National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, DC
Gift of Mary Michieli Rollins (S1998.137)
Photo © National Museum of Asian Art
2. Ancient Quarry
By Hong Xian (Margaret Chang, b. 1933); 1971
Ink and colour on paper (pair); each: 126.4 × 73.3 cm
National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, DC
Gift of Jayjia Hsia (S1998.136.1-2)
Photo © National Museum of Asian Art
3. Green Matter
By Hong Xian (Margaret Chang, b. 1933); 1971
Ink and colour on paper; 185.4 x 94 cm
Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, IL
Gift of Mary McDonald in honour of Professor Harrie A. Vanderstappen (1991.360a-c)
Photo © The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago

09/04/2025

After short-lived forays into paper, Hong consistently engaged in practices that marshalled the capacity of the ink brush. Autumn Hills (image 1) exhibits Hong’s earlier artistic practices in their mature form, employing a variety of textural strokes—with high intensity—to craft an evocative landscape. Presented horizontally, an autumnal, brown-and-grey palette conjures a dense assembly of trees resembling steep hills with jagged ridges sharply ascending. The reserved areas suggest flowing water, but on closer inspection, the scale and direction are significantly distorted in relation to the implied grouping of boulders and peaks below. This deliberate distortion creates a fleeting impression of depth: a presumed immensity or verticality of the mountains, although this feature is not her primary concern. Instead, the work evokes a profound sense of dynamic geological
change and atmospheric energy.

Read more in Youngshin Yook's article "Morphing Landscape: Hong Xian’s Ink Abstraction" in the current issue.

Images:
1. Autumn Hills
By Hong Xian (Margaret Chang, b. 1933); 1968
Ink and colour on paper; 61 x 97.8 cm
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA
Gift of B U. K. Li (2016.230)
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

2. Waves
By Hong Xian (Margaret Chang, b. 1933); 1967
Ink and colour on paper; 57.7 x 89.5 cm
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA
Gift of B U. K. Li (2018.359)
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

07/04/2025

In the second half of the 20th century, Houston-based artist Hong Xian (Margaret Chang, b. 1933) crafted a remarkable corpus of abstract ink paintings. By the late 1970s, her work had reached a wider audience in the United States through solo touring exhibitions organized by Chu-tsing Li (1920–2014), a Chinese American art historian and active promoter of young modernist artists from Taiwan and the United States. At that time, Hong’s work signalled ‘new directions in experiments’ by synthesizing Chinese landscape traditions with so-called Western approaches (Li, 1972). The convergence of ink and abstracted forms in the critical context of Cold War geopolitics has yet to be fully explored, but Hong’s ink abstractions—filled with intriguing biomorphic forms and vibrant hues—invite nuanced attention, although many of her works still lie in quiet seclusion, stored away in museum and private collections across the US and beyond, awaiting their moment in the spotlight.

In the second half of the 20th century, Houston-based artist Hong Xian (Margaret Chang, b. 1933) crafted a remarkable corpus of abstract ink paintings. By the late 1970s, her work had reached a wider audience in the United States through solo touring exhibitions organized by Chu-tsing Li (1920–201...

04/04/2025

The exhibition ‘Royal Bronzes of Angkor, an Art of the Divine’ includes cultural properties recently returned to Cambodia following active campaigns by the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, supported by numerous international partners (images below). Khmer heritage has indeed been the victim of intense looting (stone and bronze statuary, architectural decoration, archaeological objects) in the context of the modern conflicts that have ravaged the country. For several decades now, Cambodia has seen vestiges of its very rich past leave its territory to supply the international art market and museum and private collections. The presentation of some of these works in the exhibition helps to raise awareness among visitors, especially the younger generations, of this large-scale restitution work, which is a source of multiple opportunities. It gives back to these masterpieces, some of which are being exhibited for the first time, the leading place they deserve within Khmer art.

Read more in Pierre Baptiste's article "Royal Bronzes of Angkor, an Art of the Divine."

Images:
1: Seated bodhisattva
Cambodia; Angkor period, first half of 11th century
Gilded and inlaid bronze; height 58.5 cm
National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh (returned 2023) (NMC.2855)
Photo by Thierry Ollivier © Musée Guimet

2: Seated bodhisattva
Cambodia; Angkor period, first half of 11th century
Gilded and inlaid bronze; height 58.5 cm
National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh (returned 2023) (NMC.2855)
Photo by Thierry Ollivier © Musée Guimet

02/04/2025

This exhibition brings together exceptional loans from the National Museum of Cambodia—126 works in addition to the colossal bronze statue of the reclining Vishnu unearthed in the West Mebon temple at Angkor—granted by the Royal Government of Cambodia in the specific framework of a collaboration established between the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, the C2RMF, the EFEO and the Musée Guimet. Around a hundred works from the Musée Guimet and other French collections complete the selection. In an unprecedented manner, a unique set of Khmer bronzes—including Hindu and Buddhist devotional images, ritual paraphernalia and prestige artefacts, and elements of architectural decoration—is presented in dialogue with stone sculptures, archaeological objects, casts, written and graphic records, and photographs, with the aim of deepening the understanding of the political, cultural, and technical context in which they came to life (images below).

These bronze works, nearly all of which are religious in nature, serve not only as supports for beliefs and as ritual tools, but also as accomplished expressions of the aesthetics of Khmer art and as sophisticated technical achievements. The ‘art of bronze’ is considered here in all its aspects.

Read more in Pierre Baptiste's article "Royal Bronzes of Angkor, an Art of the Divine"

Images:

1: Adorned Buddha in meditation
Cambodia, Preah Vihear province, Bakan; Angkor period, 3rd quarter of 12th century
Gilded bronze; height 40 cm
National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh (Ga.3378)
Photo by Thierry Ollivier © Musée Guimet

2: Head of Shiva
Cambodia, Siem Reap province, Kralanh, Vat Por Loboek; Angkor period, mid-11th century
Gilded and inlaid bronze; height 30 cm
National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh (Ga.2726)
Photo by Thierry Ollivier © Musée Guimet

01/04/2025

Angkor, the capital of the Khmer kingdom for more than six centuries (9th–15th century), has preserved from its past glory monumental remains of incomparable magnitude and beauty. The architecture of the temples and the stone statues installed inside have been celebrated many times and are part of the heritage of humankind.

Angkor, the capital of the Khmer kingdom for more than six centuries (9th–15th century), has preserved from its past glory monumental remains of incomparable magnitude and beauty. The architecture of the temples and the stone statues installed inside have been celebrated many times and are part of...

31/03/2025

Around the World: April

Your monthly guide to must-see exhibitions and events worldwide across Asian and Middle Eastern arts.

- "Line, Form, Qi: Calligraphic Art from the Fondation INK Collection", Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 6 April to 19 October 2025
- "City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s–1940s", National Gallery Singapore, 2 April to 17 August 2025
- "Hung Hsien: Between Worlds" Asia Society Texas Center, Houston, 16 April to 21 September 2025
- "Art Dubai", Madinat Jumeriah, Dubai, 18 to 20 April 2025

28/03/2025

Seen from several steps back, Chang’s landscapes appear to float. His ecological conglomerations of brushwork rarely meet the edges of the paper. Instead, as they approach the boundaries of the support, they diffuse into wash or stray lines, forming the weft and warp ends that a viewer may follow into the weave of the image. This float creates a border of negative space to buffer the landscape from whatever exists beyond the frame, increasing the sense that it exists as a separate world beholden to its own organic laws. The large scale of his recent works, as well as their habit of elevating and dispersing the viewing perspective, further dislocate Chang’s images from any concrete space or time. As the where, when, and even the how of our vantage over his scenes become intentionally ambiguous, they begin to envelop the viewer.

Read more in the article "The Idealism of Arnold Chang’s Global Landscapes" by Michael J. Hatch.

Image:
Majestic Mountain
Arnold Chang (American, b. 1954), 2005
Hanging scroll, ink on paper; 143 x 74.3 cm
Private collection
Photo by Arnold Chang

Chilly Mountains
Arnold Chang (American, b. 1954), 2020
Hanging scroll, ink on paper;
143.5 x 78.1cm
Photo courtesy Fu Qiumeng Fine Art

26/03/2025

Chang grounds his approach in another inheritance, the idealist and formalist legacy of Chinese literati landscape painting, the world’s oldest continuous landscape art tradition. To understand the nuances of Chang’s work requires visual fluency in the historical styles of canonical Chinese landscape painters who, like Chang, emphasized rigorous, close study of classical masterworks over examination of the actual landscape. In this idiom, a style of one’s own is only possible through synthesis of the brushwork styles of others, a hard-won feat of self cultivation requiring both dedication and access to authentic classical artworks. As the art historian Kim Wishart has described them, Chang’s paintings ‘are landscapes of the interior, not of nature’.

The separation of landscape from place is not the only dislocation contemporary viewers find in Chang’s work. Because Chang is Asian American and paints in a manner most easily identified as traditional and Chinese, audiences often interpret his ink-and-wash landscapes through the lens of diasporic culture or as a navigation of intersectional identities and histories. From this viewpoint, Chang’s American practice of a classical Chinese artform breaks down the boundaries of presumed categories that link style with nationality.

Read more in Michael J. Hatch’s article, “The Idealism of Arnold Chang’s Global Landscapes”.

Images:
Landscape
Arnold Chang (American, b. 1954), 2021
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper; 98.5 x 187.5 cm
Photo © The Cleveland Museum of Art

Landscape
Arnold Chang (American, b. 1954), 2023
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper; 68 x 143.5 cm
Photo courtesy Fu Qiumeng Fine Art

25/03/2025

Spring Promotion

50 Percent Off Past Issues Until 15 April 2025

Purchase any past issue of Orientations up to Nov/Dec 2024, originally valued at US$35, now only $17.50.

*Excludes current issue Mar/Apr 2025 and Jan/Feb 2025 issue

24/03/2025

My process is different from many contemporary Chinese ink painters. I don’t begin with a clear image in my mind. I generally just start by making a few lines and then allow the brush to lead me. I react to the textures that naturally arise from the interaction of the ink and paper. As the brushstrokes accumulate, I try to build up natural-looking forms and mould them into a composition that is recognizable as a landscape image but is not a depiction of any particular place. I am most interested in the ‘flavour’ of the brushwork—the tactile quality of the lines and washes and the interaction between positive and negative space. I feel that this is close to the way the Yuan dynasty literati masters worked.

Read more in the interview below, from our current issue.

My process is different from many contemporary Chinese ink painters. I don’t begin with a clear image in my mind. I generally just start by making a few lines and then allow the brush to lead me. I react to the textures that naturally arise from the interaction of the ink and paper.

21/03/2025

A significant example is a print from Suzhou (image 1). Here the Herd Boy and the Weaving Maid, appearing to be teen-agers, stand close and look lovingly at each other. They are on separate clouds. An ox accompanies the Herd Boy and looks toward him. The colours are soft and realistic, and there is significant detail overall. The Weaving Maid holds a ruyi (wish-granting scepter) with a lingzhi (fungus) finial. Her floating sleeves, scarf, and sashes indicate that she is in an ethereal environment. The Herd Boy holds a flute and a whip. Several magpies from the bridge hover nearby. Very rare is the inclusion of the two astral formations above the upper-most cloud. They are not exactly the correct shapes associated with the Herd Boy (three stars in a straight line) and with the Weaving Maid (three stars in a triangle). Nevertheless, the designer seems to have included these diagrams as reminders of the astral origin of the two lovers.

A dramatic presentation, also in a Suzhou print (image 2), vividly illustrates the moment of the couple’s sad parting. The Herd Boy, on his ox that seems eager to depart, is already leaving the scene of their meeting. Tumbling water from a narrow waterfall in a precipice will become a rushing stream that feeds the Heavenly River separating the two lovers. The Weaving Maid looks toward the Herd Boy’s straw hat, which the wind has blown toward her. It presumably will become a memento of their meeting.

Read more in “The Meeting of the Herd Boy and the Weaving Maid in Chinese Popular Prints” by Ellen Johnston Laing in our current issue.

The Herd Boy and the Weaving Maid (detail)
China, Jiangsu province, Suzhou; late 18th century
Polychrome woodblock print on paper; 62 x 47.5 cm
Christer von der Berg collection
Photo by Elizabeth Hunter, courtesy of Christer von der Berg

The Parting of the Herd Boy and the Weaving Maid (detail)
China, Jiangsu province, Suzhou; before 1750
Polychrome woodblock print on paper, hand colored; 88 x 52.5 cm
Christer von der Berg collection
Photo by Elizabeth Hunter, courtesy of Christer von der Berg

19/03/2025

Buddhist paintings from Ningbo, which generally depict luohans (arhats), hell kings, and other Buddhist ritual icons, had been commonly understood to have been made specifically for export, an idea reinforced by the inclusion of the street addresses of the painting studios in their signatures. In contrast, Ide has shown that the main constituencies for such works were local religious communities, in particular the network of Tiantai Buddhist temples associated with Yuanqing Si monastery. Founded in 951, Yuanqing Si became an important religious centre under the stewardship of the monk Zhili (960–1028), who promoted Tiantai Amitabha worship through the development of a lay Pure Land Society. As Ide demonstrates, many Ningbo paintings reflect this syncretism in their combination of Tiantai and Pure Land iconography. A striking example is Parinirvana, by Lu Xinzhong (act. 13th century), in the Nara National Museum (image below), in which Shakyamuni’s nirvana scene, most commonly shown within a grove of sal trees, is instead flanked by a pair of seven-tiered jewelled trees typically found in representations of the Amitabha Pure Land.

Read more in Yukio Lippit’s article “An Interview with Professor Ide Seinosuke of Kyushu University” in the current issue.

Image:
Parinirvana (detail)
By Lu Xinzhong (dates unknown); 13th century
Hanging scroll, ink, colour, and gold on silk; 157.1 × 82.9 cm
Nara National Museum, Nara
Photo courtesy of Nara National Museum