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VOLUME 25 NO. 2 JUNE 2016 TAASA Review CONTENTS

Volume 25 No. 2 June 2016

3 EDITORIAL: PROVENANCE TAASA REVIEW Lucie Folan & Bronwyn Campbell, Guest Editors THE ASIAN ARTS SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA INC. Abn 64093697537 • Vol. 25 No. 2, June 2016

4 ART CRIME AND ITS AFTERMATH: AUSTRALIA’S RESPONSE TO THE SUBHASH KAPOOR CASES ISSN 1037.6674 Registered by Australia Post. Publication No. NBQ 4134 Lucie Folan & Natalie Seiz

editorIAL • email: [email protected] 8 COLLECTOR’S CONUNDRUM: THE ‘PROVENANCE’ CHALLENGE FOR TODAY’S COLLECTOR General editor, Josefa Green Bronwyn Campbell publications committee 10 SHIPWRECKED? THE ETHICS OF UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE IN INDONESIA Josefa Green (convenor) • Tina Burge Natali Pearson Melanie Eastburn • Sandra Forbes Charlotte Galloway • Marianne Hulsbosch 12 RETURNING CAMBODIA’S TREASURES: SCULPTURES FROM KOH KER AND BEYOND Ann MacArthur • Jim Masselos • Ann Proctor Sabrina Snow • Christina Sumner Melanie Eastburn design/layout

15 ADAPTATION IN BAGUIA’S TEXTILES FROM 1935-2014: tracing CHANGE THROUGH Ingo Voss, VossDesign A MUSEUM COLLECTION printing John Fisher Printing Joanna Barrkman Published by The Asian Arts Society of Australia Inc. 18 PRESERVING JAPAN’S CULTURAL HERITAGE: A MODEL APPROACH PO Box 996 Potts Point NSW 2011 Russell Kelty www.taasa.org.au

Enquiries: [email protected] 20 CHINESE ANTIQUITIES, AUTHENTICATION AND LAW: THE ROLE OF THE ASIAN ART HISTORIAN www.facebook.com/taasa.org

Charlotte Galloway TAASA Review is published quarterly and is distributed to members of The Asian Arts Society of Australia Inc. TAASA Review welcomes 22 RESTORING AFGHANISTAN’S CULTURAL HERITAGE submissions of articles, notes and reviews on Asian visual and St John Simpson performing arts. All articles are refereed. Additional copies and subscription to TAASA Review are available on request. 24 CONSERVING YAO SCROLL PAINTINGS AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA No opinion or point of view is to be construed as the opinion of Claudia Motolese and Andrea Wise The Asian Arts Society of Australia Inc., its staff, servants or agents. No claim for loss or damage will be acknowledged by TAASA 25 IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN: SMALL TREASURES AND A GRAND LEGACY: DR GERTRUDE LANGER’S Review as a result of material published within its pages or NETSUKE COLLECTION AT QAG in other material published by it. We reserve the right to alter or omit any article or advertisements submitted and require Tarun Nagesh indemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages or liabilities that may arise from material published. 26 EXHIBITION REVIEW: THE EMBROIDERERS’ GUILD OF VICTORIA’S THREADS OF ASIA All reasonable efforts have been made to trace copyright holders. Susan Scollay

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The deadline for all articles Changsha bowls stowed inside a Dusun-type storage jar (detail), FOR OUR NEXT ISSUE IS 1 JULY 2016 Belitung shipwreck, 1999. Courtesy: Michael Flecker See pp10-11 in this issue. The deadline for all aDvertising FOR OUR NEXT ISSUE IS 1 AUGUST 2016 Visit the TAASA website, www.taasa.org.au to access ways of searching information published in the TAASA Review since its beginnings in 1991.

2 TAASA COMMITTEE EDITORIAL: PROVENANCE

Gill Green • President Lucie Folan & Bronwyn Campbell, Guest Editors Art historian specialising in Cambodian culture

ANN PROCTOR • Vice President Art historian with a particular interest in Vietnam This special issue of TAASA Review explores Broadening the scope, Natali Pearson’s Asian art provenance research and its article examines the issues of commercial Todd Sunderman • TREASURER relationship to collecting ethics, cultural underwater excavation and the complex Former Asian antique dealer, with a particular interest heritage preservation, crime, repatriation and ethics underlying museum displays of in Tibetan furniture art-historical knowledge. It is a timely focus, archaeological objects. The story of a Chinese Dy Andreasen • SECRETARY as questions about the origins and ownership ship’s cargo bound for the Middle East, Has a special interest in Japanese haiku and histories of Asian works of art are increasingly wrecked in Indonesian waters and on display tanka poetry raised in the press and in academic and legal in Singapore highlights issues that apply on Siobhan Campbell forums, especially in relation to the international land and under the sea. Lecturer, Indonesian Studies, Sydney University trade in illicit art. While provenance research with an interest in Balinese art is essential in identifying and redressing the Tarun Nagesh and Russell Kelty look at loss of heritage material that has historically provenance in the Japanese art context. Bev Dunbar occurred across Asia, it is equally important for Nagesh describes Queensland Art Gallery’s Has an interest in Asian artefacts and textiles, an understanding of the legal art trade with its collection of netsuke acquired from Dr particularly from Southeast Asia, as well as European shifts in collecting methods, tastes and ethics, Gertrude Langer, an influential Queensland medieval icons and for recovering details that enrich our art historian and patron. Kelty thoughtfully Josefa Green knowledge of Asian art history. introduces Japanese approaches to cultural General editor of TAASA Review. Collector of heritage preservation. Underpinned by Chinese ceramics The issue opens with an overview of the widely centuries-old traditions of caring for cultural Boris Kaspiev reported cases related to New York art dealer treasures, the model ensures that Japanese Private collector of Asian art with a particular interest Subhash Kapoor, charged in relation to temple art and its provenance is recorded, but made in the Buddhist art of the Himalayan region robberies in India and the selling of stolen and accessible to collectors worldwide. Jillian Kennedy illegally exported art to private collectors and Former lecturer, Asian Studies, with an interest international museums, including Australian Relevant for collectors, Bronwyn Campbell’s in Vietnamese ceramics institutions. Lucie Folan and Natalie Seiz, article explains some of the potential legal curators at the National Gallery of Australia and ethical pitfalls of the art market, and the MIN-JUNG KIM (NGA) and Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW), importance of provenance information in Curator of Asian Arts & Design at the draw on firsthand knowledge to discuss the legitimising ownership and preserving art- Powerhouse Museum allegations and the implications for their historical and monetary value. James MacKean respective galleries, both of which repatriated Collector of oriental ceramics a sculpture as a result of the affair. They raise Charlotte Galloway considers the Natalie Seiz concerns about the possible implications for complexities surrounding the importation Assistant Curator, Asian Art, AGNSW with an Asian art representation in Australia, and the into Australia of Chinese antiquities and other interest in modern/contemporary Asian Art impetus for improved collecting standards cultural objects and the difficulties art experts

CHRISTINA SUMNER and dedicated provenance research projects. and officials face in establishing authenticity and legality. While provenance information Former Principal Curator, Design and Society, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Museums are often negatively implicated in assists art history researchers, conservators provenance discourse, cast simply as self- Andrea Wise and Claudia Motolese illustrate Sandy Watson serving collectors of cultural objects that the role of science in establishing provenance, Collector of textiles with an interest in rightfully belong elsewhere. Articles by St specifically the origin, age and significance photography and travel John Simpson and Joanna Barrkman suggest of a group of Mien Fang paintings created in Margaret White a more nuanced reality, accentuating museum early 19th century Vietnam. Former President and Advisor of the Friends of contributions to restitution, protection and Museums, Singapore, with special interest in preservation of culture. Barrkman writes about Internationally there is growing awareness Southeast Asian art, ceramics and textiles the collections compiled in Baguia, East Timor of the movements of art objects, and the TAASA Ambassador in 1935 by the Museum der Kulturen, Basel, implications of places of origin, collecting and its value in understanding tradition and methods and ownership histories. In the Jackie Menzies change in textile production in a region which context of Asian art, the term provenance is Emeritus Curator of Asian Art, Art Gallery of NSW. has suffered devastating cultural heritage loss. now closely associated with illicit material. President of TAASA from 1992 – 2000 Simpson outlines the destruction and looting Sustained provenance research is therefore state representatives of cultural material in war-torn Afghanistan, necessary to clarify the histories of individual AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY and the British Museum’s fostering of works of art and shift the perception that recovered works of art in anticipation of their all Asian material in Australia is suspect. It Melanie Eastburn safe return to Afghanistan. is hoped that this edition of TAASA Review Curator of Asian Art, National Gallery of Australia cultivates interest in and appreciation of QUEENSLAND The spirit of international cooperation is provenance research through articles that celebrated in Melanie Eastburn’s interview indicate the manifold applications of Asian Tarun Nagesh with Kong Vireak, Director of the National art provenance research. Assistant Curator, Asian Art, QAGOMA Museum of Cambodia. The discussion SOUTH AUSTRALIA focuses on recent Cambodian restitution Finally, we are sure that all TAASA members cases, particularly the efforts to reunify will join us in wishing Melanie Eastburn, James Bennett sculptures from fragments dispersed across Curator of Asian Art at the NGA since 2004, Curator of Asian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia international collections, realised through all the best in her new role as Senior Curator VICTORIA collaboration and shared heritage goals. of Asian Art at the AGNSW.

Carol Cains Curator Asian Art, National Gallery of Victoria International 3 ART CRIME AND ITS AFTERMATH: AUSTRALIA’S RESPONSE TO THE SUBHASH KAPOOR CASES

Lucie Folan & Natalie Seiz

rimes involving art from Asia, usually knowledge and information from media and Past, specialising in Indian art. He began the C unsolved, are increasingly reported, researchers. Please note that Subhash Kapoor is dealership after moving to New York in 1974 studied and prosecuted (Gruber 2014: 221- pleading not guilty to the charges he faces. (Matthews 2013). Over decades, Kapoor sold 235). Recent examples centre on Subhash and donated art to museums such as: Los Kapoor (born India, 1949), a New York art Following Indian police investigations and an Angeles County Museum of Art; Honolulu dealer with many international museum Interpol alert, Subhash Kapoor was arrested Academy of Arts; Asian Art Museum of San clients who is awaiting trial in India on at Frankfurt Airport, Germany, on 30 October Francisco; Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, and charges relating to the theft of Indian temple 2011 and extradited to India in July 2012 Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore. In sculptures. In 2014 the Australian Government (Selveraj 2012). He has since been in a Chennai 2009 New York’s Metropolitan Museum of returned to India two sculptures bought from prison (Subramanian 2016). Police summaries Art held the exhibition Living line: selected the dealer by the National Gallery of Australia indicate that Kapoor is charged with organising Indian drawings from the Subhash Kapoor Gift. (NGA) and Art Gallery of New South Wales thefts and illegal export of Chola-period (9th– (AGNSW), respectively. This article explores 13th centuries) bronzes from disused village Details of the alleged thefts emerged Australia’s recent unprecedented exposure temples in Suthamalli and Shri Puranthan, gradually. Police documents state that 18 or 20 to art crime, and strategies to manage art of Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu. It was later Chola-period bronzes were reported missing suspect provenance. revealed that US authorities were building a from a Suthamalli temple in April 2008, and parallel case (Jenkins and Ramanathan 2012). eight from a Shri Puranthan temple in August Allegations against Subhash Kapoor 2008. Investigators contend that Kapoor This summary reconciles disparate reports, Before his arrest Kapoor operated prominent orchestrated the burglaries from Chennai in drawing on police and legal transcripts, firsthand Manhattan commercial gallery Art of the 2005 and 2006. The Shri Puranthan sculptures are believed to have been taken around two years before they were reported missing. The Suthamalli robberies are suspected to have taken place in early 2008, with some bronzes exported to New York via Hong Kong and England (Tamil Nadu police website www. tneow.in).

The temples did not hold records of their sculptures, but most had been documented by the French Institute of Pondicherry (Institut Français de Pondichéry, IFP). From around 2011 Tamil Nadu police circulated small black and white IFP photographs of the missing bronzes,

Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja), south India, Chola period, 11th or 12th century, bronze. Shiva Nataraja, Suthamalli, Tamil Nadu, India, Chola period,

Photo: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra 11th or 12th century, bronze. Photo: S. Natarajan, Institut Français de Pondichéry/École française d'Extrême-Orient 4 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 NGA Asian Art Gallery, 2013. Photo courtesy National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

initially without qualifying details or source Doubts diminished as Shri Puranthan’s the State of New York in February 2014 and information. Collectors were urged to compare Ganesha and Parvati were matched with received a favourable judgement in June 2015. the images with items acquired from Kapoor. bronzes acquired from Kapoor by Toledo Museum of Art and Asian Civilisations The AGNSW bought six works from Art of the The NGA bought 22 items from the dealer Museum. In 2015 a Manhattan collector Past between 1994 and 2004, four sculptures between 2002 and 2011, notably the dynamic surrendered another Shri Puranthan bronze and two miniature paintings. The Chola Chola-period bronze Shiva as Lord of the Dance bought from Art of the Past (Allicott 2015). period Ardhanarishvara c. 1100 was purchased (Nataraja) for US$5 million in 2008. Its alleged Other matches were discovered during in 2004 for AU$321,000 and, like the NGA legitimacy was supported by: a purchase property searches (www.ice.gov, 2012) and Shiva, had provenance documentation that is receipt dated 14 May 1970 to Abdulla through comparison with Art of the Past now doubtful. Ownership was connected to Mehgoub purportedly from the dealership catalogues (www.poetryinstone.in). Abdullah Mehgoub through an Uttam Singh Fine Art Museum, Delhi; statements & Sons receipt dated 15 April 1970, and a describing ownership and export; and an In December 2013 Art of the Past gallery ‘Letter of Provenance’ dated 25 March 2003 Art Loss Register certificate. Relationships, manager Aaron Freedman was charged in New from Raj Mehgoub, stating that the work was changing addresses and phone numbers were York with conspiracy and criminal possession purchased during her husband’s posting in found to accord with public records. The of items from Suthamalli, Shri Puranthan and Delhi from 1968 to 1971. Tamil Nadu police website, Interpol stolen art the Bharhut Stupa, Madhya Pradesh. The database, art theft forums and publications theft, illegal export and sale of Shiva as Lord of The AGNSW was among the first institutions were checked, with no theft or matching the Dance to the NGA and Parvati to the Asian to reveal works purchased from the dealer, sculpture identified. Attempts were made, but Civilisations Museum were cited as overt acts publishing details online. Subsequently, the IFP archives cannot be searched remotely of conspiracy. Freedman pleaded guilty and a photograph apparently of the AGNSW without a temple name. remains imprisoned. Kapoor’s sister, Sushma Ardhanarishvara was discovered in Douglas Sareen, indicted for criminal possession Barrett’s Early Chola architecture and sculpture Shiva as Lord of the Dance resembled the IFP in October 2013, and Selina Mohamed, a published in 1974. The IFP provided three photograph of Shri Puranthan’s Nataraja. Kapoor associate charged with conspiracy, photographs of the Ardhanarishvara situating In 2013 the NGA received images suitable possession of stolen property, and provenance it at Vriddhachalam’s Shiva Temple, Sri for comparison, together with confirmation falsification, pleaded guilty to lesser charges Vriddhachalesvara, in 1958, 1967 and 1974. that the Nataraja was photographed in Shri of, respectively, obstructing justice and There is also an undated photograph in the Puranthan in 1994, and hence prohibited from misdemeanour conspiracy. Each entered into American Institute of Indian Studies Center export by India’s The Antiquities and Art plea bargains allowing conditional release for Art and Archaeology Photo Archive Treasures Act, 1972. Compelling similarities (see www.chasingaphrodite.com for court (http://dsal.uchicago.edu/images/aiis/aiis_ suggested that the NGA sculpture was the documents). search.html?depth=Get+Details&id=7965). Shri Puranthan Nataraja, despite the larger base of the latter. However, identification was The New York trials confirm a larger pattern Other items from Kapoor’s inventory have delayed because the Shri Puranthan Nataraja of criminality centring on Art of the Past. With been identified as displaced temple sculptures, was listed as 160 x 150 cm, while the sculpture evidence that Shiva as Lord of the Dance was their removal presumed unlawful, but with measures only 128.5 x 106 cm, an unexplained stolen and fraudulently sold, the NGA filed a no crime reported. Sculptures missing from discrepancy. case against Kapoor in the Supreme Court of Karitalai, Madhya Pradesh, and publicised

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 5 Pratyangira, Vriddhachalam, Tamil Nadu, India,

Goddess Pratyangira, south India, Chola period, 12th century, granite, Chola period, 12th century, granite. Photo: Institut

Collection: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra Français de Pondichéry/École française d'Extrême-Orient

relevant holdings online. Institutions including the NGA, AGNSW, Toledo Museum of Art and Honolulu Museum of Arts also released provenance documentation previously regarded as confidential. Standard provenance checks – understandably ineffective in detecting unreported thefts – were found to overly rely on dealer reputation, assumed propriety of public sale, art loss databases of limited scope and documents open to fraud. In reaction, the Australian Ministry for the Arts released the Australian Best Practice Guide to Collecting Cultural Material in October 2014. Australian institutions now require more robust evidence by Plundered Past (www.plunderedpast.in) obtained objects (Mackenzie & Yates 2015) of ownership and export, and consultation and Interpol, correspond to works offered and an obscuring culture of confidentiality with source countries. by Kapoor. US Immigration and Customs (O’Keefe 1997: 87–88). Enforcement (ICE) estimate that they have The Art of the Past findings and the identified 2,500 potentially illicit objects Australian and international responses possibility of other suspect art on the market associated with Art of the Past, with a value Throughout the saga, the AGNSW and NGA threaten to limit public Asian art collections of around US$100 million (https://www.ice. have worked with the Indian High Commission internationally (Neal 2014: 22). The March gov/news/releases/ice-hsi-partners-major- in Canberra and the Indian Consulate General 2016 seizures during New York’s Asia Week art-collector-recover-stolen-idol-india). in Sydney to facilitate official cooperation reinforce that reluctance (Moynihan 2016). and resolution. On 5 September 2014 Prime The AGNSW and NGA have elected to focus The information illustrates the vulnerability Minister Tony Abbott endorsed India’s on contemporary rather than historical Asian of Indian heritage within the transnational restitution claims, returning Shiva as Lord of the art. This does not, however, address the illicit art trade, despite laws and ethics Dance and Ardhanarishvara. Others followed. uncertainty surrounding material already fostered since the 1970 UNESCO Convention In 2015, returns of the Shri Puranthan Parvati outside its country of origin, most of which (Gruber 2012: 3-8). India has a population of and Ganesha were announced (Angeleti 2015) will continue to be traded privately. over one billion, many in poverty. Important and Germany’s Linden Museum repatriated art is held in innumerable private collections, a tenth century Goddess Durga (Sivakumar Asian art provenance research archaeological settings and temples of varying 2015). Honolulu Museum of Arts relinquished Museums internationally are seeking accurate security. Government and other organisations sculptures to US investigators, with director information about art from Art of the Past, are justifiably unable to protect all heritage, Stephan Jost stating: ‘Kapoor’s name on an and checking for other illicit material. and legislation has failed to regulate trade item means it smells bad… owning tainted art and export (Shroff & Shroff 2015: 75-85). is not part of our mission’ (Mashberg 2015). The AGNSW Asian art provenance project Concurrently, the market provides monetary follows new best practice standards, requiring incentives, but inadequate mechanisms to In an attempt to bring transparency, most greater due diligence and strict compliance distinguish between legitimate and illegally museums have declared and published with new museum codes of ethics, a

6 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 Ardhanarishvara c. 1100, Tamul Nadu,

granulite 112.0 x 46.0 x 29.0 cm. Photo: AGNSW manifestation of policies in place since 2012. catalogue Manifestations of Shiva (Kramrisch The ongoing project will also scrutinise 1981: 150). Appropriate actions will depend past acquisitions, beginning with 22 South on information about the sculpture’s Asian sculptures purchased by AGNSW. A whereabouts between 1958 and 1981. list of these works with current provenance information will appear on the AGNSW Other items have good provenance, the website, and includes three sculptures publication of which adds to art historical purchased from Art of the Past: Varaha and collecting knowledge. The NGA’s rescuing the earth goddess, Bhudevi 10th century; Prajnaparamita, goddess of wisdom was bought A winged deity 2nd century BCE-1st century in India in around 1930, legally exported and BCE; and Rattle in the form of a lady playing the loaned to the Philadelphia Museum of Art drum 2nd century BCE-first century BCE. until 1941. A Chola-period Sita was exhibited in France in 1935. Vishnu with attendants The NGA provenance project aims to research appears to have been legally transported from and publish ownership histories for the entire East Pakistan in 1969. Asian collection, initially focusing on art with identified issues or risks. In 2015 the NGA Another positive outcome is the development engaged former justice of the High Court of cross-institutional relationships. Key of Australia, Mrs Susan Crennan to check Australian galleries are actively engaging assessment processes. Her review confirmed with colleagues in institutions across Asia, the conclusions reached by the NGA that 13 including the National Museum of India, of its remaining 21 Art of the Past items have Archaeological Survey of India, American suspect provenance. Institute of Indian Studies and Institut Français de Pondichéry. Since February Purchase receipts for Goddess Durga and 2015, Australia’s Asian art curators have Worshippers of the Buddha match the discredited met regularly to discuss provenance, align source of the AGNSW’s Ardhanarishvara. The policies, learn about regulations and share Gruber, S., 2014. ‘Perspectives on the Investigation, Prosecution dancing child-saint Sambandar, Processional information, enriching knowledge and paving and Prevention of Art Crime in Asia’, in Saskia Hufnagel and Duncan Chappell (eds), Contemporary Perspectives on the standard (‘alam) and Arch for a Jain shrine are the way for collaborative projects. Detection, Investigation and Prosecution of Art Crime: Australasian, also connected to the spurious collector of European and North American Perspectives (Ashgate, 2014), Shiva as Lord of the Dance and Ardhanarishvara. The cases relating to Art of the Past illustrate pp.221-235 Seated Jina has the same provenance, but has the art market’s susceptibility to corruption, Jenkins, C. and Ramanathan, A., 2012. ‘The temple raiders’, on also been traced to a 2002 auction, suggesting and the importance of international Live Mint (September 12, 2012) http://www.livemint.com/Specials/ that false paperwork may have been supplied cooperation in the detection and restitution bir2aNHcarLs6Iw8sWAGTM/The-temple-raiders.html even for legitimately purchased items, perhaps of illicit art. Archive photographs and art loss Kramrisch, S., 1981. Manifestations of Shiva (Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1981), p.150 to satisfy museum standards or attract higher registers, essential in proving and publicising prices, further complicating matters. losses, urgently need to be extended, Mackenzie, S. and Yates, D., 2015. ‘Collectors on illicit collecting: Higher loyalties and other techniques of neutralization in the secured and made accessible. Having been unlawful collecting of rare and precious orchids and antiquities’, in New York court documents alleged that Selina inadvertently involved, the NGA and Theoretical Criminology (Sage, 2015)

Mohamed falsified provenance for the NGA’s AGNSW are committed to improving due Mashberg, T., 2015. ‘Museums Begin Returning Artifacts to India in Lakshmi Narayana and Pair of door guardians. diligence, legal and ethical standards, and Response to Investigation’, in The New York Times (April 7, 2015)

Mohamed also provided provenance for provenance research. The next challenge will Matthews, A., 2013. ‘The man who sold the world’, in GQ Goddess Pratyangira. On visiting the IFP in 2015 be ensuring historical Asian art continues Magazine (December 5, 2013) NGA curator Melanie Eastburn was alerted to to be collected and publicly displayed in Moynihan, C., 2016. ‘Federal Agents Raid Christie’s, Seizing 2 images matching the sculpture, taken in 1958, Australia, through careful acquisitions, loans, Ancient Sculptures’, in The New York Times (March 11, 2016) 1967 and 1974 in Vriddhachalam, Tamil Nadu, exhibitions and perhaps, select purchases Neal, J.T., 2014. Provenience, Provenance and the UNESCO the same location in which the Ardhanarishvara from source countries. 1970 Convention: Two Schools of Thought on the Publication of Indeterminate Artifacts. Middle East-Topics & Arguments, 3, was photographed. Research is underway pp.19-28 to authenticate the apparent match, and Lucie Folan is the National Gallery of Australia’s O’Keefe, P.J., 1997. Trade in Antiquities—Reducing Theft and Curator of Asian art, and a researcher on the NGA ascertain circumstances of removal. Destruction (Archetype, 1997). pp.87–88 Asian art provenance research project. Dr Natalie Selveraj, A., 2012. ‘Antique smuggler Subhash Kapoor to be Seiz is Assistant Curator, Asian Art, AGNSW carrying IFP researchers also matched a 1958 extradited from Germany’, in Times of India (July 8, 2012) Antique photograph to the NGA’s Chola-period out provenance research on the Asian collection. smuggler Subash Kapoor to be extradited from Germany Sambandar bought in 1989 from New York Antique smuggler Subash Kapoor to be extradited from Germany art dealer William Wolff, now deceased. The REFERENCES Antique smuggler Subash Kapoor to be extradited from conclusions are ambiguous. From 1947 until Allicott, S., 2015. ‘Upper East Side collector returns million-dollar GermanySivakumar, 2015. ‘Germany returns Durga statue stolen statue after learning it was stolen’, in Eye Witness News (July 1, from J&K’, in The Times of India (October 2, 2015)Germany The Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 2015) returns Durga statue stolen from J&KGermany returns Durga statue took effect in 1976, export of Indian antiques stolen from J&K Angeleti, G., 2015. ‘Flood of restitutions deepens as museums was regulated but not prohibited. Wolff’s investigate objects bought through Subhash Kapoor’, in The Art Subramanian, L., 2016. ‘Gods forsaken’, in The Week (April 3, claim that the bronze was in New York in Newspaper (October 21, 2015) 2016) http://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/illegal-trade-of-art- and-artefacts.html 1970 is unverified, but the sculpture was in Gruber, S., 2012. The fight against the illicit trade in Asian cultural the USA by 1981, appearing in Philadelphia artefacts: connecting domestic strategies, regional cooperation and Shroff, C. and Shroff, R., 2015. ‘India’s antiquities laws: an Museum of Art’s high-profile exhibition and international agreements (AsianSIL working paper, 2012), pp.3-8 antiquated relic?’ in Trusts & Trustees, 21(1-2), pp.75-85

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 7 COLLECTOR’S CONUNDRUM: THE ‘PROVENANCE’ CHALLENGE FOR TODAY’S COLLECTOR

Bronwyn Campbell

A group of ladies bathing c. 1780, Deccan painting, possibly Machilipatnam style.

Opaque watercolour, gold leaf, tin leaf. The Gayer-Anderson Gift 1954

n 2005 London art collector and dealer I Edric van Vredenburgh was involved in a court case that left his personal finances and Portobello Road dealership ruined. In 1996 he bought a battered 17th century Italian marble inlay table-top from a north London warehouse worker who had taken it home to use as a garden ornament, rather than discard it as directed. His neighbours complained about the ‘eyesore’, however, and he was ordered to remove it. Luckily for art history, although unluckily for van Vredenburgh, it found its way to the dealer, who invested considerable resources restoring and researching it, eventually selling it through Sotheby’s to the Prado Museum, Madrid.

In 1999 British heiress Isabella Goldsmith contacted the warehouse to retrieve the table-top she had stored there in 1985 and was horrified to find it gone. She traced it to the Prado but was unable to secure its return. Goldsmith sued Sotheby’s, who in turn sued van Vredenburgh. Despite having bought and sold the table in good faith, van Vredenburgh was forced to sell his inventory and personal collection to pay legal fees, eventually leaving Britain with his livelihood and reputation tarnished (Gallagher and Smith 2007, Goldsmith v Sotheby’s, Inc. 2005). The situation dramatically illustrates the devastating effect unclear provenance can have on a private individual.

‘Provenance’ can mean many things, including a work of art’s place of origin, history of ownership and movements. It is increasingly used outside the museum and collecting context, even appearing on menus, where citing the origin of an ingredient and the hands through which it has passed implies quality and ethical production. So too in the world of collecting, ‘good provenance’ increases desirability and value in many ways. is heightened during times of conflict. There Cultural Property came into effect on 24 April Knowing the original context can contribute has long been awareness that art located in 1972. It seeks to prevent illicit trafficking of to the understanding and appreciation of Europe between 1933 and 1945—the years of cultural property, allowing any country to an object and the culture that produced it. A Nazi rule and occupation—could be liable to request the return of illegally exported or documented chain of ownership, especially a claim for return by Holocaust survivors or stolen cultural property if the action occurred involving well-known collectors, also assists their descendants, for instance. after the enactment of the convention by in authentication and the establishment of both party states. This introduces a variety legal title, increasing worth and caché, and In the 20th century, the need for legal of permutations, so most museum ethical adding layers of historical detail. frameworks to protect cultural heritage codes simply use the date of the Convention, became increasingly evident through wars 17 November 1970, as a threshold. It also helps to protect a collector from and post-colonial struggles to establish acquiring stolen, looted or illegally exported nationhood. UNESCO’s 1970 Convention on Australia’s Protection of Movable Cultural items. The importance of due diligence in the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Heritage Act 1986 was instituted to activate researching the background of a work of art Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of the UNESCO Convention in Australia and

8 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 upholds foreign cultural heritage protection due diligence inquiries in the private sector in India almost immediately afterwards, laws, irrespective of UNESCO signatory (Cornford 2007). The same can be said of Thomas collected paintings and drawings status. The Act is currently under review, but purchasing from local antique shops, galleries wherever he travelled and carefully recorded on present advice, to legally acquire an item or auction houses. In April last year Australia the date and place of each purchase, a practice imported after the legislation came into effect returned a number of ancient Egyptian objects he continued on his return to England. on 1 July 1987, the collector must be certain at the request of the Egyptian Government that its export complied with source country (Attorney-General for Australia 2015). The The Gift includes 13 distinctive Eastern Deccan laws at the time of export. The 2014 Australian items, seized from a Melbourne auction house paintings, such as A group of ladies bathing c. 1780. Best Practice Guide to Collecting Cultural and a private collector, were similar to stock Thomas’s friend WG Archer, who was in charge Material, available online, provides a clear found in many antique dealer’s shops or of the Indian section of the Victoria and Albert picture of current expectations. collector’s cabinets. The key difference was Museum, discovered a group of paintings of provenance. Seizure and repatriation under this type in Walker Galleries, London, in 1952. To be sure of acquiring a foreign work of art the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Thomas purchased them, giving one to Archer legally, under Australian legislation you must Act 1986 is one end of the possible legal (now in the India Office Library collection at the be able to establish when it left its country of spectrum. The other is the possibility of being British Library) and dividing the rest between origin, what laws may have applied to the taken to court by a rightful owner if the work the NGA and the Victoria and Albert Museum. export of cultural material of its type at the was not the vendor’s to sell, as in the van The Gayer-Anderson catalogue records the time, and if its export was compliant. This has Vredenburgh case. purchase at Walker’s, while Archer records that many practical implications for the private the paintings were from the former collection of collector. Australian legislation does not put Alarmed? It is alarming. But it is also avoidable. Sir Henry Russell, who purchased them while the onus on a country of origin to enforce its As an ethical collector, and to ensure that your stationed in Hyderabad between 1798 and 1820. cultural heritage protection legislation at the collection retains its financial and cultural point of export. If there is a law preventing the value, it is important that you discover and The paintings are traditionally understood to export of an item, the import into Australia record as much provenance information as originate in Machilipatnam, a town with which will be illegal, even if the importer is unaware possible. Keep a catalogue of your collection, Russell had an intimate personal connection of the law or its application to the item noting where you purchased each item, from as his mistress, the beautiful and tragic Khair purchased, or if the purchase was made in whom and for how much, as well as purchase un-Nissa, lived there. Archer’s record of the another country altogether. receipts, shipping documents, export and connection to the Russell collection helps import permits, and any old stickers or establish when the paintings were exported In addition, Australian legal status is not tags. Document any rumoured associations from India. Moreover, armed with clues from influenced by the lack of enforcement and keep photographs that show it in your the paintings’ provenance, further research measures in the country of origin. Imagine, or possession to help substantiate how long and the identification of similar paintings remember, browsing a flea market in Europe, you have owned it. Familiarise yourself with from other collections will no doubt yield a a Southeast Asian textiles stall, or a north the UNESCO Database of National Cultural better understanding of the distinctive but African antiques bazaar. Something catches Heritage Laws—if you know when an item little-known Machilipatnam style. For lovers your eye: a dusty wood carving, an intricately was exported from its country of origin, you of art, this is perhaps the most meaningful woven wrap, or a charming stoneware jar. might be able to ascertain its legal status in aspect of provenance: a better understanding Unless your guidebook stipulates export Australia by consulting the laws of the time. of an object and its significance for those who restrictions on such an item, how likely are created it, and those who cherished it. you to think of checking local laws, assuming So, what does a good provenance look like? this were even possible? Most would probably Essentially, the object will have been legally Bronwyn Campbell is a researcher on the Asian Art feel confident buying an item of low monetary imported into Australia, either prior to 1987 Provenance Project at the National Gallery of Australia value on the open market and carrying it or with proof of legal export after 1987, and home. Some treasures, however, are found ethically obtained. Its movements and history REFERENCES in unlikely places, and while your particular of ownership will be well documented, Australian Best Practice Guide to Collecting Cultural Material, http://arts.gov.au/collections/best-practice find may not be threatened with confiscation preferably with independent verification. UNESCO Database of National Cultural Heritage Laws, http:// and repatriation as long as it remains in www.unesco.org/culture/natlaws/ your home, an unclear legal status will The value of all this is impossible to Goldsmith v Sotheby’s, Inc. (8 September 2005) Supreme Court, potentially devalue it. At the most extreme understate, but is illustrated in the following New York County. Available at http://law.justia.com/cases/new- end, possessing a work of art that is found to case study: york/other-courts/2005/2005-51702.html. be illegally exported puts a collector at risk Attorney-General for Australia, Minister for the Arts 2015, of forfeiture without compensation. It may The Gayer-Anderson Gift and the value Egyptian antiquities returned to Egypt [8 April 2015], https:// not be suitable for loan or gift to a museum, of documenting a private collection www.attorneygeneral.gov.au/Mediareleases/Pages/2015/ limiting resale value and public enrichment, In 1954 Australia received the Gayer- SecondQuarter/8-April-2015-Egyptian-antiquities-returned-to- Egypt.aspx. and its eligibility under the Cultural Gifts Anderson Gift, a collection of mostly Indian Cornford, Philip, 2007. ‘Precious stolen map turns up in Sydney’, Program tax-incentive scheme. painting, drawing and sculpture amassed by Sydney Morning Herald [October 20 2007] Irish twin brothers, Colonel Thomas Gayer Gallagher, Ian and Smith, Martin, 2007. ‘Cherished heirloom that All this is important to consider even when Gayer-Anderson (1881–1960) and Major vanished from storage and reappeared in a Madrid museum’, buying online. In 2005 a Sydney gallerist lost Robert ‘John’ Grenville Gayer-Anderson, Daily Mail [12 May 2007]

$160,000 when the old map he purchased Pasha (1881–1945). Their Indian painting Dalrymple, William, 2003. White Mughals; love and betrayal in online turned out to be the Ulm Ptolemy collection started in 1926 when Robert, eighteenth-century India, Flamingo, London World Map, stolen from Spain’s National resident in Cairo, gave his visiting brother Library, a powerful argument for conducting six locally-bought Indian paintings. Stationed

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 9 SHIPWRECKED? THE ETHICS OF UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE IN INDONESIA

Natali Pearson

The Tang Shipwreck Collection on display at the Asian Civilisations Museum,

November 2015. Courtesy: Asian Civilisations Museum

n November 2015, almost two decades I after its discovery and excavation, the Tang Shipwreck Collection went on display at its new, permanent home: the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) in Singapore. The exhibition features the cargo of a 9th century dhow, discovered by a trepang (sea cucumber) diver off the Indonesian island of Belitung in 1998 and believed to be the earliest evidence of maritime trade between the Tang dynasty (618–907) and the Abbasid caliphate (750– 1258) (Krahl et al. 2010).

Since its discovery this dhow and its cargo have come to embody contested areas in the study of underwater cultural heritage. The transformation from submerged cargo to permanent museum exhibit prompts reflection on the ongoing tensions between ethical and commercial approaches to the protection and preservation of underwater the Belitung, located within the territorial 9th century. The success of Singapore as an cultural heritage, and the extent to which zone established by UNCLOS, was legally exchange point of global shipping thus has they impact on the heritage landscape and excavated in 1998–1999 under a licence issued ancient roots’. legislation in Indonesia. by PanNas BMKT. Singapore’s claim to prominence in the Excavating the Belitung: the regulatory The Belitung carried the largest and most ancient maritime histories of Southeast framework intact collection of Tang dynasty ceramics Asia was also evident in a 2011 exhibition At the time of the Belitung’s discovery, found in a single location, and has been said Shipwrecked: Tang treasures and monsoon Indonesian legislation relating to the to ‘enlarge forever the boundaries of our winds at the ArtScience Museum. Publicity protection of underwater cultural heritage knowledge of Chinese Tang dynasty maritime materials included waterproof posters placed was limited and vague. The 1986 looting of history and of the nature and dimensions of in community pools inviting swimmers to the Geldermalsen by British treasure hunter early Asian trade’ (Leow 2009). Its location ‘discover Asia’s sunken past’. The posters Michael Hatcher prompted the Indonesian so far south is significant for Indonesia, featured the excavated cargo ‘fashioned in government to establish the National as it supports the theory that the ancient the shape of Singapore’. The exhibition gave Committee for Salvage and Utilization of Indonesian thalassocracy of Sri Vijaya (7th– ‘historical credence to a position that is crucial Valuable Cargo Objects from Sunken Ships 14th centuries) was an entrepôt for maritime to Singapore’s self-image today: as a global, (PanNas BMKT) in 1989. The Geldermalsen, a trade between the Middle East, South Asia maritime entrepôt, and the lodestone on Dutch East India Trading Company vessel, and China (Millbank 2014). which Southeast Asia turns’ (Leow 2009). sank near Riau, south of Singapore in 1752 carrying tea, ceramics and gold ingots Another Southeast Asian entrepôt Controversy: storm in a Tang teacup? from China to the Netherlands. In 1986, The Belitung also has a contemporary tale to tell. The Shipwrecked exhibition was organised its porcelain and gold was auctioned by in conjunction with the Smithsonian Christie’s Amsterdam for over £10 million. Following its sale to Singapore in 2005, Institution, with plans for it to be exhibited the Belitung cargo was renamed the Tang at the Freer|Sackler in March 2012. However, Meanwhile, Act No. 5 of 1992 mandated the Shipwreck Collection. This is indicative of the Smithsonian cancelled the Washington protection and preservation of material over the politics at play: using ‘Tang’ instead of leg of the exhibition just months before its 50 years old and of historic, scientific or ‘Belitung’ disassociates the wreck from its scheduled opening. The main concern, voiced cultural value – but with no specific mention find location in Indonesia, and roots it in a by the Archaeological Institute of America of underwater cultural heritage. more broadly Asian past – and one which (AIA), was that the commercial nature of the Singapore can more easily lay claim to. The excavation made it little better than a treasure At an international level, Indonesia ratified section of the ACM website relating to the hunt. Museum professionals and academics the 1982 United Nations Convention on the exhibition avoids mentioning Indonesia feared damage to the Institution’s reputation. Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in February 1986. directly; instead, the wreck is said to have UNCLOS came into force in 1994, with a been discovered ‘southeast of Singapore’, The Smithsonian found itself caught between focus on trade and fishing; provisions for and ‘off Belitung Island in the Java Sea’. The contradictory imperatives: the desire to make underwater cultural heritage were minimal. ACM reminds us that ‘Singapore’s region lay historically significant objects visible to the It is within this regulatory context that at the heart of a global trading network in the public, and the principle that commercial

10 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 Green-glazed storage jars, Belitung shipwreck, 1999.

Courtesy: Michael Flecker involvement in excavation had tainted the agree that they can ‘safeguard at least selective objects forever. Rohde believes that the shipwreck histories if professional standards Smithsonian was particularly vulnerable to are adopted’ (Tjoa-Bonatz 2016b). external pressures because of its iconic status within American culture (Rohde 2013). Certainly, a more permissive definition of ‘commercial excavation’ could incorporate The Tang Shipwreck Collection has not become certain conditions as part of the licensing the international touring exhibition organisers process such as committing to professional had anticipated. Since the Smithsonian’s archaeological standards and keeping withdrawal, the exhibition’s only overseas excavated objects together for conservation showing has been in Canada, when it was and sale purposes. Archaeologist John Miksic displayed at the Aga Khan Museum as The has suggested that excavated objects are lost dhow: a discovery from the maritime silk registered, even those that are sold, so that route (December 2014 – April 2015). Note researchers may access them as required the different emphasis here, reflecting the (Tjoa-Bonatz 2016a). Aga Khan’s mission as a museum of Islamic heritage and minimising both the Indonesian In the absence of such alternatives, is and the Chinese connections. commercial excavation preferable to in situ preservation? Would in situ preservation, Although it has found a permanent home in Indonesia at least, inevitably result in the in the ACM’s eponymous Tang Shipwreck looting of its underwater cultural heritage, that the objects now on display at the ACM Gallery, the issues raised by the Belitung and at what cost to the international research would have been looted and sold on the black about underwater cultural heritage in community? And to what extent is state- market, to the detriment of the viewing public Indonesia remain both unresolved and deeply sponsored excavation an option? and international scholarship. polarising. In Indonesia such debates are not merely Until legislation relating to underwater Protecting wrecks: in situ preservation? theoretical. Indonesia’s underwater cultural cultural heritage in Indonesia is streamlined The AIA’s preference for in situ preservation heritage legislation remains fraught and strengthened, the state of underwater drew on the principles of the 2001 UNESCO with inconsistencies, ambiguities and archaeology will remain, as one observer has Convention on the Protection of the even contradictions. The 1989 legislation suggested, ‘shipwrecked’ (Green 2011). Underwater Cultural Heritage, which establishing PanNas BMKT treats underwater Natali Pearson is a PhD candidate whose research preferences in situ conservation and stipulates objects as ‘marine resources’ that can be used is focused on the ethics of cultural heritage in that underwater cultural heritage ‘shall not be and recovered but, as Tjoa-Bonatz notes, ‘these Indonesia. She is jointly supervised by the Museum commercially exploited’. terms are incompatible with safeguarding and Heritage Studies and Asian Studies programs and protection’ (Tjoa-Bonatz 2016b). As noted at The University of Sydney. Natali has worked at There is evidence that looters were active on earlier, heritage legislation from 1992 did not the Asia Society’s galleries in New York and Hong the Belitung wreck site both before PanNas mention underwater cultural heritage. More Kong, and is Postgraduate Coordinator at the Sydney issued a commercial excavation permit, recently, Act No. 11 of 2010 makes provisions Southeast Asia Centre. and during the monsoon-enforced break in for heritage listings, but thus far not a single operations. Had in situ preservation been listing has been made. REFERENCES favoured in Indonesia, the Belitung would Coleman, P., 2013. ‘UNESCO and the Belitung shipwreck: the surely have been destroyed by looters (Flecker In light of these ‘opposing concepts of heritage need for a permissive definition of “commercial exploitation”’. 2002). protection issues and the exploitation and The George Washington International Law Review, 45, 847-874

economic use of archaeological finds’ (Tjoa- Flecker, M., 2002. ‘Ethics, Politics, and Realities of Maritime Furthermore, the 2001 Convention, which the Bonatz 2016b), in 2010 Indonesia placed a Archaeology in Southeast Asia’. International Journal of Nautical Smithsonian cited as key to their decision to moratorium on new commercial excavation Archaeology, 31, 12-24 cancel the exhibition, was introduced some permits. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Green, J., 2011. ‘Shipwreck [sic]: Tang Treasures and Monsoon three years after the discovery and excavation Fisheries has indicated that 18 applications Winds’. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 40, 449-452 of the Belitung. This Convention places are pending, of which three were agreed Leow, R., 2009. ‘Curating the Oceans: The Future of Singapore’s Past’. History News Network Cliopatria Blog [Online]. http://hnn. significant resource impositions on states, and before the moratorium but now also placed us/blogs/entries/100689.html [Accessed 14 July 2009 2014] neither Indonesia nor America is party to it. on hold. The moratorium was due to expire Millbank, J., 2014. ‘The role of Sri Vijaya in early international Many countries, including Indonesia, have at the end of 2015, pending new laws and trade: 2014 ST Lee Lecture by Professor Qin Dashu’. TAASA Review, instead introduced their own underwater regulations. To date, these legislative revisions v.23, 17-18 cultural heritage legislation. have not occurred. Dr Hilmar Farid, recently- Rohde, P., 2013. Sunken Treasures, Worldly Pleasures: The appointed Director General of Culture at Smithsonian’s Shipwrecked Exhibition and the Museum’s Role in the …or better regulation of commercial the Ministry of Education and Culture, has Preservation of Underwater Cultural Heritage. Master of Liberal Arts excavators? spoken about the delay: ‘There are differences in Extension Studies, Harvard University Some observers have urged UNESCO to of views on underwater heritage’. Tjoa-Bonatz, M. L., 1 February 2016 2016a. Personal communication with John Miksic consider public-private partnerships in situations where the risk of leaving the wreck Had the Belitung been discovered today, a Tjoa-Bonatz, M. L., 2016b. ‘Struggles over historic shipwrecks in Indonesia: Economic versus preservation interests’. Hauser- in situ would expose it to far greater risk from commercial excavation permit would not Schäublin, B. & Prott, L. V. (eds.) Cultural Property and Contested looting than would excavating it under permit have been issued. Nor would the wreck have Ownership: The Trafficking of Artefacts and the Quest for (Coleman 2013). Some commercial operators been preserved in situ. The likely result is Restitution. Abingdon-on-Thames, Routledge

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 11 RETURNING CAMBODIA’S TREASURES: SCULPTURES FROM KOH KER AND BEYOND

Melanie Eastburn

Fragments of sculptures found at Prasat Phnom Da, Cambodia, 1935.

Photo: École française d’Extrême-Orient, Fonds Cambodge

ssues of provenance, ethics and ownership I of works of art have led to a series of sculptures being returned to Cambodia in recent years. Perhaps best-known is the Duryodhana (the eldest of the hundred Kaurava brothers in the Hindu Mahabharata epic) that was due to be auctioned by Sotheby’s New York in 2011 but withdrawn after Cambodia requested its return on the grounds it had been stolen in the 1970s. US Department of Homeland Security launched an investigation into its illegal importation, and court processes were instigated before the sculpture was voluntarily returned to Cambodia in late 2013 (Velioglu, Bandle and Reynold 2014).

Since then other objects originally from the same remote tenth-century site of Koh Ker have been repatriated. The return of a Balarama sold by Christie’s in 2009 and subsequently identified as taken from Koh (an amalgam of the Hindu gods Shiva and separated for a long time before the head was Ker was negotiated by the auction house and Vishnu) in Paris since the 1880s, was brought taken to France by [explorer and archaeologist Cambodian government, arriving back in June to Phnom Penh on long-term loan, and Étienne] Aymonier in the late 19th century. 2014. Other recent returns include kneeling reunited with its body (Vachon 2016, Baptiste When Aymonier went to Angkor Borei, Phnom figures of the Mahabharata’s Pandava twins & Zephir 2009: 59). Da, most of the temples were collapsed or Sahadeva and Nakula from the Metropolitan invaded by forest. Fragments of the body were Museum of Art in New York in 2013, a statue I spoke to Kong Vireak, Director of the also located later when forest was cleared of Bhima from the Norton Simon Museum National Museum of Cambodia about some in the area. They came to the museum in the in 2014, a monumental Hanuman from of the most significant returns, exchanges and early 20th century and the body began to be Cleveland Museum of Art in 2015, and a loans. reconstructed as pieces appeared. During headless torso of Rama from the Denver Art later archaeological surveys and excavation Museum in March 2016 (Met Museum 2013; The return of the head of Harihara from at Phnom Da even more parts of the sculpture Norton Simon 2014; CMA 2015; Wilson 2016). the Musée Guimet, and the ceremonial were found. Henri Parmentier thought very Sculptures associated with Koh Ker were first reattachment of the head to its body in early on [he oversaw excavation at Phnom Da exported to Europe in the 1870s but it was in the National Museum’s collection were in 1913] that the body he found could match the first half of the 1970s, during the period of remarkable events. How was the return the head already in the Musée Guimet. the Cambodian civil war, that large-scale illicit negotiated? And how did it feel to see the two removal appears to have taken place. parts reunited? Even without scientific study it was clear the Not only for me and the Ministry of Culture pieces belonged together. Later we conducted Excavation in 2014 revealed the feet and and Fine Arts, but for the general Cambodian more research and made a plaster mould of pedestals of a number of sculptures including public it was exciting to see the return of the neck and the base of the head, and they the Koh Ker Dancing female (Uma) in the the Harihara from the Guimet. It was very fitted exactly. Discussions to return the head Musée Guimet, acquired as part of the 1873-4 emotional and beautiful to watch the head of the Phnom Da Harihara to Cambodia were mission of Louis Delaporte (Baptiste & Zephir be placed on the body. The body we had held begun by former director Khun Samen and 2009: 136). In a co-operative arrangement for a long time without a head, and now they followed on by his successor Hab Touch, between Cambodia and France, the two are together. They fit exactly. Now we can but the negotiations became more serious components of the Uma sculpture will be appreciate the full beauty of the statue. Of when Pierre Baptiste from the Guimet visited reattached in Paris in the near future. course, Phnom Da style is one of the most Cambodia in 2013. beautiful styles in Khmer art. The head has Also indicative of Cambodia’s collaborative not returned permanently. It is part of a long- With the head of Harihara in Cambodia as spirit and generosity, in late 2015 fragments term exchange and still belongs to the French part of an exchange, can you please tell me matching a 7th century Krishna from Phnom national collection. about the pedestal that will go to France? Da in the Cleveland Museum of Art were sent It took at least two years to decide on an from Phnom Penh to Cleveland in order to Is it known when the head and body of the appropriate exchange for the head. We complete the sculpture (Elliott 2015). On 21 Harihara were separated? proposed that the Musée Guimet find a statue January 2015 a Phnom Da head of Harihara The Harihara head and the body were that was missing parts and could be completed

12 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 Reunion of the head and body of the Phnom Da

Harihara at the National Museum of Cambodia, National Museum of Cambodia Director Kong Vireak at the return ceremony for the

21 January 2016. Photo: Courtesy Kong Vireak Koh Ker Brahma heads in Phnom Penh, 31 March 2016. Photo: Courtesy Kong Vireak

by reuniting the pieces. The Dancing Uma was brought to France by Louis Delaporte about the same period as the head of Harihara, so we came to the conclusion that Cambodia would send the pedestal of the Dancing Uma to the Musée Guimet. The Guimet can now reattach the pedestal and legs to the Uma to complete the sculpture, but the pedestal will still belong to Cambodia. Although the Uma went to France in the late 19th century, the pedestal was found by the Apsara Authority and the EFEO [Ecole française d’Extrême- Orient] in July 2014. example. The Denver Museum then returned Unless they are already broken, to take the the figure of Rama. sculptures they must be cut from their bases: Can you share some of the details of the recent so the places where they have broken or been excavations of Koh Ker? Why do you think there is such a focus on cut fit together. Koh Ker sculptures are also When the Sotheby’s case with the Koh Ker? bigger than other Khmer sculptures and they Duryodhana happened, the Apsara Authority Koh Ker is just one of many big sites but so have very particular characteristics. and the EFEO with Eric Bourdonneau started many beautiful statues from Koh Ker were to excavate at Koh Ker, especially the temple taken during the civil war especially in the In March I saw that a large head was returned of Prasat Chen. First they excavated the West early 1970s. A 1968/69 report from the EFEO to the museum but I didn’t see anything about Gate and found nine statue pedestals. Then in states that the Koh Ker site had already started it in the English language media. Can you tell 2014 they started to excavate the East Gate. to be looted. What is lucky for us is that Koh me more about that? Ker statues are each built from one block of Just recently His Excellency Deputy Prime There are huge sculptures in the museum stone, from the pedestal to the top of the head. Minister Hor Namhong, Minister of Foreign from the East Gate showing the monkeys Vali and Sugriva from the Ramayana fighting for superiority, brought to the museum in 1956 by Henri Parmentier. Their presence at Koh Ker suggested that they were part of a narrative scene from the Ramayana.

As there was a Hanuman sculpture in Cleveland we wondered if there might be truth to the Ramayana hypothesis. When the East Gate was excavated, three pedestals and a fragment of an axe were discovered so now it is suggested that the central pedestal was for the statue of Rama then in the Denver Museum, the left one was for the Hanuman in Cleveland and the right is for Lakshmana, Rama’s brother. We don’t currently know where the Lakshmana is but we hope to locate it.

That excavation led to the return of the Hanuman from Cleveland. Although it had iconic status in the museum, and there was no proof of looting, eventually the board of trustees of the museum decided to return it to Cambodia in good will and to set an ethical Installation of the returned Koh Ker Brahma heads at the

National Museum of Cambodia, May 2016. Photo: Courtesy Kong Vireak

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 13 Welcome blessing by the Abbott Vin Savoen of Khemararangsi Buddhist Temple for the sculptures on loan to the National

Gallery of Australia from the National Museum of Cambodia, August 2015. Photo: National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

When the museum bought the sculpture in the 1970s, Cleveland’s curator negotiated to excavate the garden and found some extra parts of the sculpture, but some didn’t seem to fit and were later sent to Cambodia. Moulds and 3D scanning were used and it was discovered that the pieces would fit the Cleveland Krishna after all. Last year we sent them back to Cleveland for reconstruction.

At the National Gallery of Australia we are extremely grateful to have three sculptures on loan from Cambodia. Do you think this sort of arrangement might take place more into the future? I think on a small scale these sorts of loans will continue to take place, perhaps for periods of one, two or three years. We like to work in collaboration with other museums, to share knowledge and resources and build relationships. We think of the statues we loan as cultural ambassadors, giving people the chance to experience Khmer art, to inspire them to learn more about it, and to visit Affairs and International Co-operation, may turn up with more archival research, or Cambodia. presented the museum with two big pieces through interviewing old people who may of a head. As soon as I saw pictures I knew have been in the area and be familiar with Melanie Eastburn is Senior Curator, Asian art, at the it was from Koh Ker and guessed it was from what was there. It has to be a very large body Art Gallery of New South Wales a Brahma, but I couldn’t be 100% certain. In to have four heads more than a metre high, 1994 when His Excellency Hor Namhong was and to have hair on top of that. REFERENCES working as ambassador in Paris, the French Baptiste, Pierre and Thierry Zephir (eds) 2009, L’Art khmer dans les collections du Musée Guimet, Réunion des Musées Nationaux and police reported two Cambodian antiquity There was a giant multi-armed dancing Shiva Musée des Arts Asiatiques-Guimet, Paris heads on sale in Paris. So with a request from at Prasat Thom with a face about the same Cleveland Museum of Art, ‘Cleveland Museum of Art returns the Cambodian Embassy the sale was stopped size as the Brahma faces. We are working on a Khmer sculpture’, 11 May 2015 http://www.clevelandart.org/ and in 1994 the French court awarded the survey of the outline of the Koh Ker city. Prasat about/press/media-kit/cleveland-museum-art-returns-khmer- sculptures to Cambodia. They were displayed Thom had the dancing Shiva and Prasat Chen sculpture-and-entering-agreement-cultural-cooperation-cambodia in the residence of the Embassy. Although has a big body with four hands in front of (accessed 14/04/16) many visitors saw them in France, there was the central tower, probably a body of Vishnu, Elliott, Jamie, ‘Statue fragments returned to Cleveland Museum’, Phnom Penh Post, 3 November 2015 http://www.phnompenhpost. little information about the objects. so there may be a third temple for Brahma. com/national/statue-fragments-returned-cleveland-museum To work out what is likely, we need now to (accessed 14/04/16)

In March Hor Namhong spoke to the Minister understand more about Jayavaraman IV who Norton Simon Museum, ‘Statement from the Norton Simon of Culture and Fine Arts about returning ruled Koh Ker, the concept of the layout of Museum and the Norton Simon Art Foundation Concerning them and placing them in the museum. We the temple complex, the sacred capital and its the “Temple Wrestler”’, 6 May 2014 http://www.nortonsimon. said, ‘why not?’ We have conservation experts gods. Over time we hope to work out where org/assets/Uploads/Norton-Simon-MuseumBhima-Press- Release-05-06-14.pdf (accessed 14/04/16) and can study them well here. The pieces the head of Brahma comes from. Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘Metropolitan Museum of Art to arrived in Cambodia on 16 March and we Return Two Khmer Sculptures to Cambodia’, 3 May 2013 http:// celebrated at the museum on 30 March with Another story of well-travelled fragments is www.metmuseum.org/press/news/2013/cambodian-returns blessings, dance and music. The two pieces that of the 7th century Krishna in Cleveland, (accessed 14/04/16) assemble together perfectly and are part of a some of which have now been returned to Vachon, Michelle, ‘Statue’s head, body reunited after generations’, huge head of Brahma. But what is sad is that Cleveland from Cambodia. How did that Cambodia Daily, 22 January 2016 https://www.cambodiadaily. we have only two faces of the four. The others come about? com/news/106089-106089/ (accessed 14/04/16) may be found somewhere or may have been When Cleveland returned the Koh Ker Velioglu, Ece, Anne Laure Bandle, Marc-André Renold, ‘Case destroyed in order to remove the remaining Hanuman, we in Cambodia wanted to extend Khmer Statue – Cambodia and Sotheby’s and the United States’, Platform ArThemis, Art-Law Centre, University of Geneva https:// two. They are very big heads, more than one our goodwill to them and build on the good plone.unige.ch/art-adr/cases-affaires/khmer-statue-2013- metre high. relations between the two museums that go cambodia-and-sotheby2019s-and-the-united-states (accessed back many years. In 2005 Cleveland sent us 14/04/16) According to the stone deterioration and nine fragments from Cambodian sculptures. Wilson, Audrey, ‘Last Koh Ker piece coming home’, Phnom Penh patina we also know that the stone may have They mentioned that they were from a Krishna Post, 30 January 2016 http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post- broken into pieces naturally with a vertical and that they did not fit the sculpture in their weekend/last-koh-ker-piece-coming-home (accessed 14/04/16) breakage, but we can also see traces of chisel collection that had come from the wife of Belgian use. We have no idea where the body may be. collector Adolphe Stoclet, who acquired it in It has not appeared in any of the old drawings 1920. Stoclet put together the parts he wanted or photographs of the site but something and buried the others in a garden.

14 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 ADAPTATION IN BAGUIA’S TEXTILES FROM 1935-2014: TRACING CHANGE THROUGH A MUSEUM COLLECTION Textile weavers view photographs of Baguia textiles

from the Baguia Collection, Museum der Kulturen Basel, Joanna Barrkman at Afaloicai, Baguia Sub-district, August 2014.

Photo: Joanna Barrkman, 2014

he ‘Baguia Collection’ at Museum der From the late 1600s until 1975 the Portuguese T Kulturen, Basel, is an exceptional well- controlled eastern Timor, referred to as provenanced collection of Makasae and ‘Portuguese Timor’. With its sandalwood Naueti cultural material, from one of the exhausted, Timor did not deliver commercial most extensive collections of East Timorese benefits and hence remained a colonial material in existence dating to 1935. It ‘backwater’, with little infrastructure and consists of 688 sculptures, ceramics, domestic virtually no education. After 400 years of utensils, body adornment, weapons, and colonial rule Timor gained independence textiles, accompanied by approximately 300 in November 1975, followed in December photographs documenting the landscape, by the invasion of Indonesia. The Timorese architecture, and day-to-day activities of mounted a resistance war that lasted 25 years, the Makasae and Naueti people. Together with extreme loss of human life, trauma and they form a valuable document of life and damage. Upon relinquishing East Timor, culture in Baguia 80 years ago. During 2014, pro-Indonesian militias destroyed property, I invited weavers from Baguia to identify and livestock and cultural sites, including the from Timor over the past century or more discuss photographs of the Baguia Collection museum and collection, leaving East Timor have little to no specific regional provenance, textiles. This article draws on their responses, to commence its hard won independence in identified simply as ‘Timor’ or ‘Portuguese reflecting upon changes in textile forms, 2002 in ruins, as one of the poorest and least Timor’. This diminishes understanding of functions, and production. developed nations in the world. historical trajectories and relationships to specific places or cultural groups. Baguia and Timor-Leste The Baguia Collection Baguia Sub-District consists of ten villages Amidst this landscape of immense cultural The holdings from ‘Portuguese Timor’ at the within the Baucau District of Timor-Leste. It is loss, museum collections take on magnified Museum der Kulturen Basel are an exception. an extremely remote mountainous area with significance. Through extensive research The Baguia Collection was acquired by Alfred little infrastructure and poor roads. Most of supported in 2009 by the Myer Trust in the Bühler between 31 July and 19 August 1935, the population are Makasae, while the Naueti USA, Canada, Europe and Australia, I have during his Timor, Rote und Flores Expedition, people form a minority. found that most museum artefacts acquired 1935 undertaken at the request of the

Women at the Baguia market wear handspun cotton rabi, 1935. Women wearing lipa, kebaya and selendang, Baguia market, 2014. Photo: Joanna Barrkman, 2014

Photo: Alfred Bühler, Museum der Kulturen Basel. All rights reserved

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 15 A Makasae weaver works on a back-strap loom with exceptionally long warp threads wrapped Merlinda da Silva Fernandes weaves a man’s kola using a double

around her backstrap loom, 1935. Photo: Alfred Bühler, Museum der Kulturen Basel. All rights reserved warp threaded loom, Baguia, 2014. Photo: Joanna Barrkman, 2014

Museum der Kulturen Basel Commission. In 2014, viewings of photographs of the Handwoven cloth for daily attire has rapidly The expedition’s main focus was: Baguia Collection enabled people to respond declined since Bühler’s visit, and is now to and identify images of their ancestors’ reserved for occasions requiring gravitas. ‘…to collect all manifestations of material textiles and equipment. Informal interviews ‘Dressing-up’ authenticates formal occasions, culture displayed by the local tribes. with small groups of weavers followed. ceremonies and religious celebrations. Research on the intellectual culture…is Although 1935 is beyond living memory, However, the primary motivation for only of secondary significance as against much of the collection was recognisable continued production of handwoven textiles increasing the museum’s collections … and able to be documented from a Makasae is that rabi and kola remain critical in gift Equally, the museum places greater value cultural perspective. The weavers reacted to exchange at marriage and death. These on the possession of the full array of the Collection with enthusiasm; they saw it exchanges contribute to clan wealth that material culture from one or a few single as a resource to compare and contrast with circulates among wife-takers (omarahe, M) islands than on acquiring a few single current practices and preferences. and wife-givers (tufumata, M) (Forman pieces from many provinces … emphasis 1980; Guterres 1997). According to people should be not exclusively on large and One photograph taken by Bühler at the currently planning to marry in Baguia, striking pieces, such as masks and statues, Baguia market shows women swathed in bridewealth obligations remain high and but also on the inconspicuous items of tubeskirts (rabi, Makasae). The cloths were of locally handwoven textiles are essential (pers. everyday use (Kunz 2012:16). handspun cotton and natural dyes. In some comm. Salustiano Fraga, at Kaicasa, Baguia instances women wore one tubeskirt folded Sub-district, 26 August 2014). Over 3,500 objects were collected, employing over a longer under skirt. Bühler noted that the ‘salvage collecting’ approach popular in women often pulled rabi over their shoulders One handwoven Baguia Collection rabi Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century. and used them to carry children on their triggered memories of the significance of The aim was to document the material culture backs. A second cloth was worn on the head textiles for gift exchange. With considerable of ‘the other’ to obtain a lasting record in for sun protection (Bühler 1935:84). excitement, the rabi was identified by its advance of contact with European culture and name krabi wa’emae (Naueti) or rabi wali meta their assumed inevitable demise. The Baguia market in 2014 presents a markedly (Makasae). After seeing the photograph, different scene. Western attire is common, Cementina Ximenes and Isabel Aparisio The Baguia Collection as a yardstick purchased locally from vendors of second- retrieved their own versions, woven in 1990 of change and continuity hand imported clothing. Commercially and 2004 respectively, from commercially Ethnographic collections today are being printed mass-produced imitation Javanese spun pre-dyed cotton. reassessed and increasingly revisited by the batik cotton sarongs (lipa, Indonesian) are communities from which they originated to widely worn by women, with a blouse (kebaya, The women explained that krabi wa’emae ‘… support the regeneration and maintenance Indonesian). This style of blouse was known was central to marriage celebrations for of knowledge and the construction of group in Baguia before 1935, but Bühler noted: ‘… Naueti women from nearby Uato Lari Sub- identity’ (Allen and Hamby 2011:209). As blouses are missing almost without exception’ district (Hamilton and Barrkman 2014:80- places of collective memory, a potential use (Bühler 1935:86). Loincloths (ba, Makasae) and 81). Women from that area were required to for ethnographic museum collections is ‘… thin, woven, highly decorative headbands wear this style of tubeskirt when first entering to measure the distance, be it short or long, (uli, Makasae) have long disappeared. Men’s their husband’s ceremonial house, giving it between the past and the present and to cloth wraps (kola, Makasae) and shoulder to their mother-in-law upon leaving, thus contemplate the meanings of continuity and cloths (kola mata, Makasae) are rarely worn, symbolically establishing the new relationship change’ (Conn 2010:18). except for ceremonial occasions. (Hamilton and Barrkman, 2014:80-81).

16 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 Isabel Maria Aparisio wears a rabi sika, Afaloicai, Baguia

The running-flower design in crochet and resist dye adapted from Portuguese crochet patterns. sub-district, 2014. Pre-dyed commercially spun cotton with

Private collection, Baguia Sub-district, 2014. Photo: Joanna Barrkman, 2014 running flower design. Photo: Joanna Barrkman, 2014

Naueti women who still owned krabi wa’emae fringes or cut off. However, prior to cutting colonisation, occupation, war, civil disorder explained that today they wear them only the threads, the decorative weft twined and immense social change. to ritual events inside their ceremonial border (liana, Makasae) is woven to secure houses. Although occasionally made with the kola ends. Liana remain a feature, but Joanna Barrkman is Curator, Charles Darwin University commercially spun cotton or synthetic fibres, with considerable innovation in colour and Art Collection and Art Gallery, and a doctoral informants reported that krabi wa’emae are patterning. candidate at the Australian National University. This strongly associated with the ‘Portuguese era’ article is based on fieldwork in Baguia, Timor-Leste – a time synonymous with handspun cotton The resist dye process sabara (Makasae) is during 2014, supported by an Australian Endeavour when cloth was used to pay taxes to the the technique most altered by the transition Fellowship Award, and is abridged from her chapter in Portuguese administration (Roque 2010: 318; from handspun cotton to commercial yarns. the forthcoming Museum der Kulturen, Basel catalogue, Gunter 2008: 42-46). Previously, natural handspun cotton required Striking Patterns: Global Traces in Local Ikat. several dye baths to build colour to its desired Baguia weavers say that when the Portuguese strength. In 2014, Baguia weavers tie-off the REFERENCES left East Timor, demand to grow and spin coloured threads and over-dye coloured Allen, Lindy, and Louise Hamby, 2011. ‘Pathways to Knowledge: Research, Agency and Power Relations in the Context of cotton ceased. Simultaneously, the Indonesian yarns with black synthetic dye. This requires Collaborations between Museums and Source Communities’, in occupation resulted in the availability of one dye bath, dramatically reducing time Unpacking the Collection, Networks of Material and Social Agency affordable pre-dyed commercially spun cotton and labour. While some see this as a decline in the Museum, Bryne, S. Clarke, A., Harrison, R. and Torrence, R. and synthetic fibres. These yarns were used in quality, the weavers see it as a positive (eds), Springer Science+Business Media: New York, pp: 209-229 because of aesthetic preference and efficiency. advancement allowing design and pattern Bühler, Alfred, 1935. Reise zu den kleinen Sundainseln Timor, Rote Today, Naueti and Makasae weavers explain experimentation. Kola and rabi now feature und Flores. Tagebuchnotizen. Unveröffentlichtes Manuskript that they prefer colourful, bright, ‘modern’ wide, bold bands of vegetal and floral vines Conn Steven, 2010. Do Museums still need objects? University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia tubeskirts to ‘dull’ naturally dyed cloths, a known as ‘running flower’ patterns – unlike shift they trace to the commencement of the anything seen in 1935. Forman, Shepard, 1980. ‘Descent, Alliance, and Exchange among the Makassae of East Timor’ in The Flow of Life Essays on Indonesian era in the mid-1970s. Eastern Indonesia James Fox (ed.), J. Harvard Studies in Cultural The well-provenanced Baguia Collection Anthropology, 2, 152−77. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

The use in Baguia of warp yarns longer than enables the distance traversed over a period Hamilton, Roy W. and Barrkman, Joanna, 2014. ‘Textile style in any other region of Timor is evident both of 80 years in Baguia textile production to areas in Timor’ in Textiles of Timor: island in the woven sea, Roy W. in the photographs taken by Bühler in 1935 be ‘measured’. It shows continuity but also Hamilton and Joanna Barrkman (eds), UCLA Press, Los Angeles and in the length of warp threads evident notable shifts in uses, materials, techniques Kunz, Richard, 2012. ‘Cultural Relations and Style Provinces: Timor, in Baguia in 2014. Baguia warps are double and designs. The weavers view the Baguia Rote, and Flores (Indonesia and East Timor) Expedition, 1935, Alfred Bühler’ in Expeditions − the World in a Suitcase, Gaby Fierz the length of a finished cloth, so that the Collection with interest, but without et al. (eds), Museum der Kulturen, Basel, pp. 16-21 two panels needed for men’s cloth wraps qualitative comparisons to the textiles they Roque, Ricardo, 2010. ‘The Unruly Island: Colonialism’s are woven as a single piece and cut when produce today, proudly asserting their Predicament in Late Nineteenth-Century East Timor’ in Parts of weaving is complete. The final warp section textile practices as demonstrating skills and Asia, (ed) Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture, University of remains unwoven and is transformed into knowledge retained through periods of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, pp.303−30

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 17 PRESERVING JAPAN’S CULTURAL HERITAGE: A MODEL APPROACH

Russell Kelty

ecently a late Heian period (794-1185) a short time each year. Thirteenth-century theocratic leader of the nation, and the R painting depicting the Buddha on his documents reveal that sacred icons were separation edict was interpreted as a right to deathbed surrounded by grieving disciples featured in premodern religious practices such abolish Buddhism. and animals (butsu nehanzu) was identified at as ‘the opening of the curtains’ (kaichō), when Sainen-ji temple, Kyoto, by the Kyoto National temple treasures were publicly unveiled for Under the motto ‘expel the Buddhas, Museum’s conservation and restoration a nominal fee. Between 1654 and 1868 there destroy Shakyamuni’ (haibutsu kishaku) department. Its significance was previously were 1,566 ‘openings’ in Edo (Tokyo). Each fundamentalists attacked Buddhist unrecognised, although used for countless required a special 60-day permit issued by institutions, seeking to cleanse the country memorial services. Since 2013 Sainen-ji has the Tokugawa government, stimulating the of ‘foreign’ influence. Around 18,000 temples raised funds for the painting’s conservation economy and subsidising repairs for which disappeared between 1872 and 1874 and ‘… but in addition, its rarity makes it eligible the government was ultimately responsible innumerable paintings, scriptures, ritual for designation as an important cultural (Suzuki 2007: pp. 130-131). Similarly, the implements and buildings were destroyed, property, allowing a substantial portion of its Hōryū-ji, Nara, organised a touring exhibition sold, stolen, burnt or covered with excrement’ five-year restoration to be subsidised by the (degaichō) to raise money for temple repairs in (Teeuwen and Breen 2010: 8). government (Kubo 2016). 1694 (Suzuki 2007). The true impetus for the establishment of a cultural property system, In 1997 the Art Gallery of South Australia The current Japanese system for safeguarding however, was the momentous change of the (AGSA) acquired a sculpture of Amida cultural heritage is admired worldwide. Meiji era (1868-1912). Nyorai, the Buddha of Infinite Light, central Under The Agency for Cultural Affairs deity in Pure Land Buddhist beliefs. Created (bunkachō), national treasures (kokuhō) and The Meiji restoration reinstated the Emperor as around 1650, it was accompanied by a shrine important cultural properties (jūyō bunkazai) Japan’s political and spiritual leader. It saw a (zushi) typical of the Kamakura period are conserved and protected in collaboration shift from a feudal military government, with a (1185–1333) and considered old and valuable with private and institutional owners. crumbling class system, to a modern democratic at the time the statue was carved. On the Identified cultural properties are classified in nation under the banner of Enlightenment and interiors of the four door panels, apparently categories such as: tangible, intangible, folk, Civilization (bunmeikaika). During the Edo intentionally vandalized, are painted images monuments and cultural landscapes, buried, period (1615–1868) the Tokugawa Shogunate of the bodhisattvas Kannon and Seishi, who and traditional conservation techniques are privileged regional lords (daimyō), samurai and accompany the Amida Buddha on his descent also recognised. The government designates Buddhist temples, who accumulated a wealth to welcome dying devotees to the Pure Land of and promotes cultural objects, thereby of cultural material. Boundless Bliss. It is conceivable that the shrine encouraging visits, and in return owners was defaced during the widespread destruction document their items and ensure ongoing The economic policies of the Meiji government of Buddhist material during the early 1870s. safety and stability. As of August 2014, there and dissolution of samurai stipends caused a were 12,936 important cultural properties, mass exodus from Edo during the 1870s, with As destruction of cultural material accelerated, including 1,089 national treasures, along with the loss, sale and export of cultural heritage. Japanese and Western scholars at newly innumerable listings by municipalities and Positioning Shintoism as the ‘unifying state established universities emphasised the value prefectures, challenging future capacity to religion of the new empire’ and separating of cultural heritage and ‘ancient works’ to care for Japan’s heritage in this manner. Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, national development and education. On intimately linked since the late Heian period 24 April 1871 the universities declared the Japan has a long history of assessing and (794–1185), also had repercussions. Anti- need to protect ancient art for political and storing ‘treasures’. Shinto shrines and Buddhist and nativist sentiments fomenting social reasons (Galli 2013). The government Buddhist temples often included ‘treasure since the mid-Edo period gave rise to Shinto responded with the Plan for the Preservation repositories’ (hozō), such as the 8th century fundamentalism. Buddhism was believed of Ancient Artifacts, listing objects eligible for Shōsō-in at Tōdai-ji, open to the public for to contravene the Emperor’s primacy as protection, and a project to safeguard ancient

Scenes of the Ezo fishing grounds, c. 1751-64 Kodama Teiryō, active c. 1751-64, Matsumae, Hokkaido, Handscroll,

ink and colour on paper, 27.7 x 872.0 cm, South Australian Government Grant 1940, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

18 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 customs and properties. On 10 July 1871 the Eligibility for preservation was extended to late 1990s, when it received considerable Great Meiji Council enacted the Order of all objects relevant to Japanese history, the mainstream media coverage, particularly in Protection of Ancient Habits, Customs and emperor and his family, and those of aesthetic Hokkaido, because of its rarity and similarity Shrines and reduced the list of protected standing, considered ‘symbols of excellent to an existing scroll in the Hokkaido Museum. objects to those related to Buddhism. national production’. It also identified two In 2000 the scroll came to the attention of the main categories: national treasures and Japanese government. In the lead up to Golden The impact of modernisation and unbridled special buildings. Journey: Japanese Art in Australian Collections adoption of all things Western in the early (2006) AGSA signed a memorandum of Meiji era was tempered in the late 19th The 1897 law was expanded in 1919 to include understanding with The National Museum century as scholars and intellectuals became designated historic sites and places of scenic of Japanese History allowing them to create increasingly critical of applying Western beauty as well as natural monuments. The high-resolution digital images of the scroll. concepts to Japan. Groups were established by mishandling of cultural heritage during the Photographers were sent to Adelaide to make scholars and government officials to preserve occupation by the Supreme Commander the reproduction, which was installed in 2008 painting traditions and categorise the nation’s of Allied Forces (SCAP) from 1945 to 1952, at that museum. cultural heritage. including the post-war constitution which intentionally overturned Imperial preservation In Japan, the predilection for preserving Ernest Fenollosa (1853–1908), who taught legislation to weaken the position of Emperor cultural heritage in a collaborative manner philosophy at Tokyo University from 1878 until and its association with national identity, had has a long history. The formation of a 1886 and worked for the Ministry of Education profound implications (Galli 2013). After a comprehensive cultural heritage program and Imperial Household, was a key figure in fire in the main building of Hōryū-ji caused has been fostered by successive governments, preserving national treasures and promoting damage to murals, SCAP issued the Law for educational institutions and individuals pre-Meiji Japanese art and culture. The the Protection of Cultural Properties (Bunkazai from within and outside Japan. Privileging collection he established is now at the Boston Hogo-hō) in 1950, adding intangible cultural knowledge and heritage protection over State Museum of Fine Arts but regularly exhibited at properties. This led to the designation of ownership, insular patrimony and excessive Japanese art museums including the Nagoya/ five cultural heritage categories: tangible export regulation, the system provides a model Boston Museum of Fine Arts, opened in 1999. cultural heritage, cultural space heritage and of effective management. It also highlights the Along with Okakura Kakuzō (1862–1913), folklore, historic sites, landscapes and natural importance of long-term commitment and he was instrumental in establishing the monuments and historic groups: ‘…the first resourcing, and the ensuing benefits for all. Tokyo School of Fine Arts (1889–1906) and comprehensive legal framework for the The Painting Appreciation Society (Kangakai) protection of cultural properties’ (Agency for Russell Kelty is Assistant Curator, Asian Art at the Art (1884), which sought to appraise and preserve Cultural Affairs 2015: 3). Gallery of South Australia. painting traditions such as the Kanō and Tosa schools and organised exhibitions. The Dragon AGSA has benefited from these Japanese REFERENCES Pond Society (Ryuūchikai), renamed the Japan cultural heritage developments as Breen, John and Teeuwen, Mark, 2010. A new history of Shinto. Wiley-Blackwell Publications, UK Art Association in 1887, was established by demonstrated by AGSA’s Ainu scroll Scenes Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cultural properties for future a private group of government officials in of the Ezo Fishing Grounds, acquired in 1940. generations, Agency for Cultural Affairs, March 2015, Tokyo, pp. 1879 and introduced a system for designating The scroll is believed to have been presented 1-11. national treasures that underpins the scheme to Daniel Custance (1824–1923) by the Galli, Barbara, 2013. ‘In the service of national culture: Japanese in operation today. Meiji Government in 1879 for service as a preservation and its political context, 1871-1994’ in Future professor at Komaba Agricultural School Anterior, Volume 10, Number 1, summer, pp 22-38 In 1880 the Great Council issued the Ancient (Tokyo University) (Igarashi 2009). A full Igarashi, Satomi, 2009. ‘The handscroll Scenes of the Ezo fishing Shrines and Temples law to protect Shinto appreciation of art associated with the Ainu grounds – Yorozuya – Brand salmon crossing the sea’ in Golden shrines and detailed types of permitted had not developed in Japan: the Law for the Journey: Japanese art from Australian Collections, Bennett, J. and Reigle-Newland, A. (eds.), Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide restoration, reinforcing the association Promotion of the Ainu Culture was enacted Kubo, Tomoyoshi, 2016. ‘Rebirth for ‘lost’ Heian Period dying between holy sites and national cultural only in 1997 and the Ainu were recognised as Buddha temple painting’, in The Asahi Shimbun, 31 March, Tokyo identity. The law was replaced in 1897 by the indigenous people in 2008. Suzuki, Yui, 2007. ‘Temple as museum, Buddha as art: Hōryū- Ancient Temples and Shrines Preservation ji’s Kudara Kannon and its Great Treasure Repository’ in RES: Law, now considered the foundation of The significance of the scroll was Anthropology and Aesthetics, No. 52, autumn, pp. 128-140 Japanese cultural heritage legislation. acknowledged by scholars in Japan in the

Scenes of the Ezo fishing grounds, c. 1751-64 Kodama Teiryō, active c. 1751-64, Matsumae, Hokkaido, Handscroll,

ink and colour on paper, 27.7 x 872.0 cm, South Australian Government Grant 1940, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 19 CHINESE ANTIQUITIES, AUTHENTICATION AND LAW: THE ROLE OF THE ASIAN ART HISTORIAN

Charlotte Galloway Charlotte Galloway with the returned bust of Guanyin, 2015. Photo courtesy Australian Department of Communications and the Arts

n 2011 I was asked to advise the Australian I Government Solicitor in a case regarding potentially illegally imported antiquities from China. This occurred in an environment of heightened international awareness of the unchecked trade in Asian artefacts, which had been lax in addressing issues of provenance and looting. In Australia, the laws in this area had never been tested. This case, which involved objects that are not allowed to leave China without valid export permits, was prosecuted with the support of the Chinese and Australian Governments. The ultimately unsuccessful prosecution highlighted flaws in the current legislation, and has formed a foundation for legal change.

As an Asian art historian, I have on occasion been called upon to provide advice regarding authenticity of Asian artefacts where there is a possible breach of Australia’s laws on the importation of cultural material. The process is an interesting one. At the forefront are officials with the Australian Customs One question that arose during my The outcome of the case is on public record and Border Protection Service who must be authentication of the Chinese material, was (Federal Magistrates Court of Australia aware enough to suspect an object is either at what point does an object become genuine, 2012). It highlighted several weaknesses not as claimed on the import documentation, and at what point a fake? How much of the in the Protection of Movable Cultural or know that exportation of some material material should date from, for example, the Heritage Act 1986 which could not readily from the country of origin is unlawful. The Tang dynasty, to make it legitimately Tang? If be anticipated until tested. One interesting latter is relevant as Australia recognises the a horse statue has a head and front legs that point was the interpretation of the Law of laws of other countries with regard to the are authentic, and the rest is ‘new’, can it be the People’s Republic of China on Protection movement of protected cultural heritage. called ‘Tang’? In a strict interpretation of the of Cultural Relics. This law does not fully Once an object is identified as a potential law, Tang objects could be considered valuable describe what a significant cultural relic is. It illegal import, experts are contacted for cultural relics and therefore require an export divides material into valuable and ordinary their opinion. Often it may be a simple case permit, but the market may say the object cultural relics. In this case, valuable was of confirming it is a ‘new’ object and not an is inauthentic – complicated! This problem interpreted as monetary value, and cultural issue, and the object is then cleared. At other applied to many of the objects I assessed significance was not considered. The case was times, however, the object may be flagged and offers another conversation. If a work is complicated by the objects being imported and this sets in train another set of processes. deemed a fake, then it is no longer of interest from Hong Kong, a free port. No export law This usually requires additional expert to Customs, as no laws are being contravened was broken. From an art historical viewpoint, opinions and, as in the case mentioned at the in terms of looting or illegal export. The one interesting consideration was whether beginning, extensive research input from the question raised is one of misrepresentation or the objects in question, which were clearly designated expert. fraud, as these objects are destined to be sold of Chinese cultural origin, were originally as genuine artefacts when in fact they are not. located within the boundaries of modern-day Authentication is a difficult process. As China. They may have come from outside we all know, there are many expert fakes My involvement in the case included modern boundaries, making Chinese export in the marketplace, particularly in the preparation of a detailed report and attendance law inapplicable. Given the difficulties in area of Chinese antiquities. This is also at Court. Fortunately in Australia the expert determining the exact origin of this type of complicated by an art market that in the case opinion can be queried but the expertise of material, I am unsure how any case could be of Han and Tang Dynasty funerary ceramics the expert is accepted. This differs markedly successfully prosecuted. for example, accepts repairs and some from the American system where the expert is remodelling of objects. It is not unknown for subject to professional scrutiny. In 2010 I was That said, items that are intercepted by thermoluminescence testing (TL testing) to contracted by the US Government to assess Customs do get returned. In 2014 I was return a date of manufacture consistent with some Burmese antiquities, and after being contacted to provide initial advice on the the purported period, yet another test site on briefed and shown the Grand Jury rooms in authenticity of a stone bust of Guanyin. I the same object might return a 20th century Los Angeles where I might have to testify, was believed the object was authentic, dating to date. rather relieved this case did not get to court. the early Qing dynasty, and recommended

20 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 Stone bust of Guanyin, China, early Qing dynasty. Photo: Mark Godfrey,

Australian Government Attorney-General's Department

INSIDE BURMA: THE ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE

20 October- 08 November 2016 Archaeologist and TAASA contributor Dr Bob Hudson is the doyen of Burma guides and his longstanding annual tour is now available. Offering exceptional value, extended stays are featured in medieval Mrauk U (capital of the lost ancient kingdom of Arakan) and in Bagan, rivalling Angkor Wat as Southeast Asia’s richest archaeological precinct (and seeking Burma's second World Heritage Listing). Interesting segments in Yangon, Inle Lake, Mandalay and private riverboat cruises down the mighty Ayeyarwady and the Kaladan are included. Burma is changing rapidly ... see it now with an expert before development and 'progress' changes it forever. Land Only cost per person twinshare $6900

VIETNAM: HANOI TO THE DELTA VIA SAIGON

20 October- 09 November 2016 expert advice be sought from Chinese scholars Movable Cultural Heritage and this will Writer, blogger and creative writing teacher in the field. The Chinese Embassy in Australia hopefully assist in the effective prosecution Walter Mason brings personal insights to a was keen to assist and a report was received of those importing objects illegally, and help journey based on his WEA Sydney lecture series from museum experts in China indicating the genuine collectors ensure they are acquiring in May. Fluent in Vietnamese, Walter studied at object was authentic. In this case the person material in a legal manner. The role of Asian the Ho Chi Minh Social Sciences University and importing the sculpture had the opportunity art experts is a crucial part of the process has spent part of every year in Vietnam for over two decades. Hanoi, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City and to forfeit it once presented with the evidence and all play a valuable role in protecting the Can Tho are the four influential cities providing the of authenticity, which they did. On 5 March world’s cultural heritage. focus of the tour punctuated with interesting stays 2015 Senator Brandis, then Minister for the at Halong Bay, Ninh Binh (rarely visited), Hoi An Arts, formally returned the object to His Charlotte Galloway is a Lecturer in Asian Art History and Da Lat. Vietnam today is a vibrant, complex and welcoming country with a diverse range of Excellency Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu at the and Curatorial Studies in the Centre for Art History landscapes, cultures and ethnic groups. Walter's and Art Theory at the Australian National University, Chinese Embassy in Canberra. The event was tour transcends mass tourism clichés, guiding well reported in both Australian and Chinese Canberra. you through Vietnam's rich natural and human news (Department of Communications and environments with panache and expertise. the Arts, Australian Government 2015). REFERENCES Land Only cost per person BC Galleries (VIC) Pty Ltd v Commonwealth of Australia (23 twinshare $5600 August 2012) Federal Magistrates Court of Australia. Available There is no easy solution to the trade in from http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/ ERITAGE ESTINATIONS illegal antiquities. Laws need to be effective, FMCA/2012/742.html?stem=0&synonyms=0&query=FMCA%20 H NATURE • BUILDINGS D • PEOPLE • TRAVELLERS and Governments must be willing to invest 742%202012 Contact Ray Boniface in prosecuting cases. All too often countries Department of Communications and the Arts, Australian p: +61 2 4228 3887 Government 2015, Significant Chinese statue returns home. whose antiquities are being looted are not in e: [email protected] a position to take cases to international courts. Available from http://arts.gov.au/news/2015/03/significant- chinese-statue-returns-home [11 April 2016] ABN 21 071 079 859 Australia has revised its guidelines regarding

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 21 RESTORING AFGHANISTAN’S CULTURAL HERITAGE

St John Simpson One of the ‘Begram ivories’ returned to Kabul in 2012.

Photo: Trustees of the British Museum/National Museum of Afghanistan

he massive destruction of Afghan cultural T heritage over the past decades, whether through iconoclasm or looting of museums and archaeological sites, is well known (Van Kriekens-Pieters 2006). It is right to condemn, yet more difficult to apply the lessons learnt and build constructive solutions. This article sets out some of the successful initiatives taken in Afghanistan and shows how close collaboration is essential.

Afghanistan has a rich cultural heritage which many have sought to exploit. Looting of Bronze Age cemeteries in northern Afghanistan started as early as the 1960s, long before the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the civil war which followed Soviet withdrawal a decade later. At least 80% of the sites of this period in north-west Afghanistan were destroyed in this manner and large quantities of objects from these Bactrian cemeteries soon appeared in shops and pavement stalls of petty dealers in the local bazaars (Pottier 1984).

As the first discoveries coincided with similar finds reported from the Kerman region of south-east Iran, they began to be bought up by Tehran dealers and entered the Iranian as well as international art market where they were catalogued as ‘Elamite’ and commanded higher prices. The mixed date-range of pieces offered in Kabul doubtless meant that later period objects, including medieval, also entered these interwoven markets, and one observer remarked on how even Islamic gravestones found a ready market in Iran. Moreover, given the large-scale flow of drugs from Afghanistan into Russia, it is likely that cases of simple subsistence digging, whereby to the Kabul Museum. News of these actions other antiquities also passed in this direction. areas of known archaeological potential are and an amnesty on returned objects led to worked over to generate cash rather than others being donated by residents of Kabul, During the Afghan civil war in the 1990s, crops. Accusations have been levelled instead although none of these apparently originated looting reached its highest levels, and at local commanders keen to use antiquities, from the museum itself. In 1998, Paul and museums as well as sites were targeted. Large like opium poppy cultivation, as a source of Veronika Bucherer-Dietschi founded the sites were a particular focus of attention. The revenue to pay their soldiers. Moreover, the ‘Afghan-Museum-in-Exile’ in Bubendorf, scale of destruction has been well documented scale of operations at many sites implies a Switzerland, as a last resort safe-house at Ai Khanum and Tepe Zargaran, where chain of collaboration and mutual incentive and this encouraged a number of private looters’ pits and tunnels penetrated up to connecting local and foreign dealers, donations, particularly of ethnographic items. five metres below the surface and the fine commanders and local inhabitants. stonework which characterised the earliest In 2001 the world was shocked into political levels was especially sought after. International authorities were late in reaction after the destruction of the Buddhas recognising the problem or attempting to deal of Bamiyan and the events of 9/11. The The causes of looting of museums and with it effectively. Valiant efforts were made Taliban government was overthrown in archaeological stores are multiple and include by a few individuals working with the Society November that year and the international opportunism, greed, revenge and vandalism for the Preservation of Afghanistan’s Heritage community began implementing tougher whereas illegal digging at sites is often rooted (SPACH) who, despite ethical concerns raised measures for counter-terrorism, counter- in a desire for short-term returns in times of by UNESCO and ICOM, purchased items on proliferation, counter-narcotics and sanctions economic hardship. These are not necessarily the Peshawar market identified as belonging enforcement.

22 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 The British Armed Forces assist with the return of

antiquities to Kabul. Photo: Crown/Ministry of Defence

In 2003, America led the invasion of Iraq. by SPACH: they were held temporarily In the chaos which followed the overthrow in Bubendorf and later returned to Kabul. of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Iraq Thanks to the generous intervention of a Museum and many archaeological sites private individual, a group of as many as 20 were looted. The perilous plight of cultural – including some of the most famous pieces heritage in conflict zones was now widely – was deposited at the British Museum in acknowledged and the scale of antiquities 2010 where they were exhibited the following trafficking highlighted among international year. They also underwent conservation law enforcement agencies through training and scientific analysis: the results give a and the circulation of ICOM Red Lists. completely new understanding of the extent of polychromy on ancient Indian ivories Most of the focus was on Iraq, rather than and force a re-evaluation of the original Afghanistan, but beginning in 2003 a large appearance of the ancient furniture of number of objects originating in Afghanistan which they formed part. A monograph was was seized in Britain and forfeited to the published (Ambers et al 2014), and we are Crown. These were brought to the British delighted to report that the first advance copy Museum for formal identification and used was presented personally to President Ashraf to illustrate the ICOM Red List of Afghan Ghani by Omara Khan Masoudi, then director Antiquities at Risk which was launched at the of the National Museum of Afghanistan. British Museum in 2008. During the exhibition installation in London, Over the next few years, more consignments the whereabouts of another important This approach also underlines the importance seized by the UK Border Force were delivered antiquity stolen from the museum in Kabul of harnessing the considerable public and to the British Museum. These ranged from became known to us: the so-called ‘Fire media interest in this topic. These stories Bronze Age cemetery finds to Hellenistic Buddha’ found north of Kabul at Sarai have a huge audience and build awareness compartmented stone bowls and medieval Khuja in 1965, but stolen in 1996, entering a of international efforts to combat illegal metalwork. After unpacking, they were private collection abroad. The anonymous trafficking. They show that museums have catalogued and photographed; some were owner could not be persuaded to donate it an important role in this process as they are conserved and others were scientifically and was resident in a country which has not centres of specialist knowledge in ancient examined. This work was carried out in close signed the UNESCO Convention. The piece cultures, have curators who understand consultation with our museum colleagues therefore lay beyond the legal reach of Kabul objects, and share the same fundamental in Kabul and the results are being published and museum authorities agreed on the last concerns over the preservation, interpretation in full (Simpson et al forthcoming). The resort option open to them to regain it within and display of past or living cultures. analyses will never compensate for the loss a reasonable timescale, and that was for the of archaeological context but they do provide piece to be bought on their behalf through a Dr Simpson is a senior curator at the British Museum important insights, serve as a permanent record private sale. This was again very generously where his responsibilities include ancient Iran of what was tracked down and returned, and undertaken by a private individual who and Arabia, and where he curated the exhibition offer a better understanding of the types of imported it into Britain on the understanding Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World (2011). antiquities which are being trafficked. that the sculpture would be returned to Kabul He is author of the popular book Afghanistan: by the British Museum. In the meantime, A Cultural History (2012). These are not the only pieces to have been this splendid piece was placed on temporary restituted successfully to Afghanistan. During exhibition at the British Museum in 2011 and REFERENCES Ambers, J. et al, 2014. Looted, recovered, returned: Antiquities the civil war, a large part of the museum it generated further attention to the issue of from Afghanistan. Archaeopress, Oxford collections was either destroyed or stolen. In returning stolen heritage. Pottier, M.-H., 1984. Matériel funéraire de la Bactriane méridional 2003, it was announced that some of the most de l’Age du Bronze. Recherche Sur Les Civilisations. ADPF, Paris valuable items in the Kabul museum had been All these objects have been returned to Kabul Simpson, St J., 2015. ‘Back to Kabul: Case studies of successful concealed by staff members shortly before the where some are already exhibited, and we look collaboration between the National Museum of Afghanistan, the Soviet withdrawal, and a selection featured in forward to extending this type of successful British Museum, the UK Border Force and others in the return of Afghanistan: hidden treasures from the National collaboration when the circumstances arise. stolen antiquities to Afghanistan’, Countering Illicit Traffic in Cultural Museum, Kabul which toured Australia in These examples highlight the effectiveness Goods. The Global Challenge of Protecting the World’s Heritage (Desmarais, F., ed.), 181–96. ICOM, Paris 2013–14. of close co-operation between different Simpson, St J. et al, forthcoming. Returned to Kabul: Antiquities organisations and individuals (Simpson from Afghanistan. Oxford The identification and recovery of other 2015). Relationships have been built over time Van Kriekens-Pieters, J., 2006. Art and Archaeology of museum pieces is a priority but likely to with regular dialogue and trust, underpinned Afghanistan. Its Fall and Survival. A Multi-disciplinary Approach. be lengthy as the whereabouts of most is by Memoranda of Understanding. Seizing the Brill, Leiden / Boston unknown. Nevertheless there is hope, as many opportunity to catalogue confiscated objects, of the famous and stunningly beautiful ivories using scientific techniques where possible, originally attached to first century CE Indian and publishing the results are important furniture and excavated at Begram are known outcomes. They help to compensate for the to be in private collections in Pakistan or abroad. loss of archaeological context, offer more information to the receiving museum, and In April 1997, two of these were identified on create a full and open record for the academic the market in Peshawar and were acquired and law enforcement communities.

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 23 CONSERVING YAO SCROLL PAINTINGS AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA

Claudia Motolese and Andrea Wise May Wang, University of Melbourne intern, working on a Mien Yao painting

in the National Gallery of Australia’s conservation laboratory. Courtesy NGA

he National Gallery of Australia (NGA) T holds a small group of vibrant 19th century scroll paintings that depict the traditional deities of the North Vietnamese Mien Yao people, a minority ethno-linguistic group originating in China, later migrating to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Burma. Yao myths describe their origins and migration, while their spiritual beliefs combine elements of animism, ancestor worship and Taoism. Sets of scroll paintings representing the Taoist pantheon, collectively known as Mien Fang, are created by newly ordained Yao priests to use in rituals and display at places of worship. Once a set is complete, the gods are invited to enter and awaken the paintings. When the scrolls reach the end of their useful life, they are discarded or sold, but only after the gods are pragmatically requested to transfer to new paintings (Pourret 2002). To choose the correct course for conservation used throughout Asia. The image was When the paintings were acquired in 2011 treatment, handling and storage, it is critical to regenerated through the careful application of they were in poor condition due to natural determine how a work of art was constructed moisture from the back, allowing the removal deterioration and long active ceremonial and accurate identify its components. Close of surface dirt and miraculously revitalising use. Extensive conservation treatment has examination may highlight features of the the dull dusty surfaces. Further consolidation since stabilised the scrolls for safe display. original creative process, changes made by was completed using Funori, a natural Asian The process allowed in-depth investigation the artist or a later restorer. In this case, very adhesive made from seaweed and gelatine. of the materials and techniques used. This small samples were removed for polarised The support was repaired and relined and painting tradition remains alive in Yao light microscopy. Supports were found to minimal retouching was undertaken. communities, but has declined along with be based on paper mulberry type fibres, religious activities. Since the 1980s Yao commonly found in Asian works. Pigments Conservation of the NGA’s Mien Fang paintings have been acquired for their artistic were limited but correct for the Asian paintings was achieved through the qualities by both private and institutional palette of this period, typically highly toxic, application of scientific and art historical collectors. Displacement and a scarcity of including mineral pigments such as orpiment research. Creative processes and evidence of written documentation has resulted in a loss (arsenic trisulphide), malachite (green copper use were found to accord with documented of vital information relating to materials and carbonate) and natural ochres supplemented Yao practices, while the materials reinforced manufacturing techniques. The literature with burnt charcoal blacks and lead white the probable date and place of production broadly describes traditional use of mineral (Winter 2008). More expensive pigments were as 19th century Vietnam. The case study pigments mixed from stones, herbs and absent, such as gold and mineral blue, or used illustrates the vital role of scientific research resins, and papers including bamboo, rice selectively. Depth of tone is achieved by the in solving questions of authenticity and and mulberry fibres (Phan Ngoc Khue 2006: layered, thick application of a single colour. provenance, particularly when there is little 35). One source describes the tracing of Red dominates, with analysis confirming this previous knowledge about an object or artist. preliminary sketches directly from other as the mineral cinnabar or manufactured dry- paintings as routine and red pigments as process vermilion (mercuric sulphide). The Claudia Motolese is textiles conservator at the NGA. having a coating of ox-hide glue to make them vermilion is extended with red lead, a much Andrea Wise is senior paper conservator at the NGA. glossy (Lemoine 1982:37). cheaper pigment, which is also used on the vivid opaque under layers. REFERENCES Lemoine, J, 1982. Yao ceremonial paintings, White Lotus Co., The NGA’s scroll paintings were creased, Bangkok torn, delaminated and covered in old The paintings were stabilised through Motolese, C, 2013. ‘Uncovering layers of meaning: a preliminary complete disassembly, making it possible to repairs; the pigments were dull and dirty, cultural and scientific investigation of two Yao ceremonial crowns cracking and flaking. The binding media was see the stages of production described in the from Vietnam’ MA thesis, University of Melbourne, VIC desiccated, with large image losses apparent. documented account (Lemoine 1982: 37). The Phan Ngoc Khue, 2008. Taoist paintings of North Vietnam, The surface of each work was crusted with various layers were carefully taken apart; Fine Arts Publishing House, Hanoi bird droppings, wax and splashes that looked the sides of the scrolls were reinforced with Pourret, J, 2002. The Yao: the Mien and Mun Yao in China, remarkably like blood stains: strong evidence threads and extra sections of paper. Rice grains Vietnam Laos and Thailand, Thames & Hudson, London of their ritualistic use, accumulated history were discovered between the paper layers – Winter, J, 2008. East Asian Paintings Materials, Structures and and potential authenticity. rice and wheat starch are common adhesives Deterioration Mechanisms, Archetype Publications Ltd., London

24 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN: SMALL TREASURES AND A GRAND LEGACY: DR GERTRUDE LANGER’S NETSUKE COLLECTION AT QAG

Tarun Nagesh Netsuke, ‘garden within an open clam’, Japan, 19th century. Carved ivory. Gift of John Riedel in memory of Gertrude Langer through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation 2015. Collection: Queensland Art Gallery

iniature Japanese carvings known as M netsuke continue to captivate people around the world. In their modest scale, netsuke - carved toggles used to help fasten containers (inro) hanging from men’s sashes (obi) - embody the great technical ingenuity and wondrous inventiveness of Japanese art. Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) holds a collection of 92 netsuke, formerly the prized possessions of Dr Gertrude Langer (1908- 1984), one of Australia’s leading 20th century art critics and intellectuals.

Netsuke and other Japanese crafts were highly sought after in pre-war Europe. When British ceramic artist Edmund de Waal released his novel The Hare with Amber Eyes in 2010 it Australia for 14 years, and chief art critic for sparked a renewed interest in netsuke. The the Courier Mail from 1956–84. For around 20 story details his family’s prized collection, years she gave free public lectures, including acquired in Paris then displaced as the family talks on Japanese art, and remained the fled Austria in the 1930s. Following a similar guiding force behind the Art Gallery Society’s trajectory, Dr Gertrude Langer’s passion for acquisitions. In 1980 she became the first East Asian art accompanied her from Vienna fellow of the QAG Foundation. to Australia following Hitler’s annexation of Austria in 1938. Following Karl’s death in 1969, Gertrude made several significant contributions to Gertrude studied at the University of Vienna, QAG, including prints by Vassily Kandinsky then one of the leading institutions in and Paul Gauguin. Her decision to bequeath Europe to teach Asian art. The controversial her netsuke collection was an unprecedented chair of the Department of Art History, gesture of support for the Asian art collection. Josef Strzygowski, insisted that students In 1985, 68 netsuke were selected from the pass exams in Asian art before embarking Langer estate by the Gallery in addition to on Doctoral studies under his supervision. works by artists including Charles Blackman, This had a profound influence on Gertrude, John Olsen and David Boyd. The remaining broadening her interests beyond European 24 netsuke were returned to Gertrude’s art (Orell 2015: 7). Strzygowski was chair at Netsuke, ‘fisherman with a large octopus emerging nephew and beneficiary. Soon after, the group the university until 1933, the year Gertrude from a basket and child at his knee’, Japan, 19th century. was given to a close friend of Gertrude’s and completed her PhD. Carved ivory. Bequest of Karl and Gertrude Langer 1985. remained in his possession until donated to the Gallery earlier this year, reuniting the Collection: Queensland Art Gallery The Langers arrived in Sydney in May 1939 collection after 30 years. and moved to Brisbane two months later. While they brought a number of works of art The Langer’s netsuke collection includes and antiques with them, Gertrude’s honed signed works by renowned makers and eye and Karl’s shared passion enabled them to remains one of the key Japanese holdings at procure Japanese art treasures slowly arriving QAG, a captivating and significant collection in Australia. They eventually amassed a from a figure who made a major contribution significant group of netsuke, primarily through to learning and public collections in Gertrude’s regular interstate and overseas Queensland and Australia. travel. The diversity of subjects included in the collection illustrates Gertrude’s eccentric and Tarun Nagesh is Associate Curator, Asian Art inquisitive artistic interests. at Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art.

Dr Gertrude Langer was the first qualified REFERENCES art historian to reside in Queensland, and 1. Julia Orell, ‘Early East Asian art history in Vienna and its was the president of the Queensland Art trajectories: Josef Strzygowski, Karl With, Alfred Salmony’, Netsuke, ‘rats on shell’, MASAMITSU, Japan, c.1850s. Gallery Society in 1965–66 and 1974–75, the Journal of Art Historiography, 2015, p.7 Carved ivory. Bequest of Karl and Gertrude Langer 1985. Queensland President of the Arts Council of https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/orell.pdf Collection: Queensland Art Gallery

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 25 EXHIBITION REVIEW: THE EMBROIDERERS’ GUILD OF VICTORIA’S THREADS OF ASIA

Susan Scollay

Embroidered Chinese robe (detail), late 19th century, purchased in Malacca in the 1920s.

Collection of the Embroiderers' Guild, Victoria

he Embroiderers’ Guild of Victoria, T founded in 1960, is one of the most active in Australia, with 1,800 members. It has a collection of more than 1,700 embroidered textiles and 1,100 pieces of lace, ranging from the historic to examples worked by current members. Since its formation in 1960, the Guild has been generous in its loans to specialist exhibitions held in other Melbourne institutions and most years it mounts a significant exhibition of its own.

Its recent presentation, Threads of Asia, drawn from the Guild’s Asian holdings, was on view for two weeks in April. It included a variety of works from India such as a section taken from the canopy for an elephant howdah and an embroidered Kashmir shawl; elegant hangings for a Japanese temple; embroidered motifs from 19th-century China, worked in silk on stiff paper ready to be applied to a chosen garment; a small Chinese panel in half-cross stitch worked on a fine gauze ground; pleated, wraparound silk skirts with embroidered panels front and back; a selection of robes, insignia, shoes, fans with their cases and contemporary Chinese pictorial panels stitched with astonishing care.

Chinese works dominated both visually and numerically, providing a master class in technique and colour. A vibrant red robe, purchased by its donor in the 1920s in Malacca, was redolent with auspicious symbols and tailored with long, wide sleeves finished with multiple bands at the cuff. Sleeve-bands such as these were usually embroidered separately and added after the garment was tailored. The texture of the seed stitches (sometimes known as the ‘forbidden’ stitch) juxtaposed with the subtle shading of the damask silk ground and occasional touches of laid- and-couched metal-covered thread add to the impression of opulence and gaiety.

A group of older Chinese sleeve-bands arranged in a dedicated display case was a reminder of the reputation of Chinese Pair of Chinese embroidered sleeve bands (detail), 19th century. Collection of the Embroiderers' Guild of Victoria embroidery as perhaps the most meticulous and highly regarded in the world. Mostly worked in seed stitch with laid-and-couched April (see p28 of this issue), already look dating from the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), outlining, were brought to life in raised satin forward to the Guild’s next showing. they included a pair in which chrysanthemum stitch, each of their pale faces wearing a and phoenix motifs were repeated in a different expression. Dr Susan Scollay is an art historian with a special restricted colour palette of shaded blues and interest in the Islamic world and in historic textiles. tans on ivory damask. Another pair of sleeve- Melbourne’s many textile enthusiasts, She is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, London bands was closely embroidered on a celadon- including a group from TAASA Victoria who and a contributing editor to the international journal, green silk satin ground. Lively figures, made a guided visit to the exhibition on 23 HALI: carpet, textile and Islamic art.

26 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 RECENT TAASA ACTIVITIES

The skin speaks a language not its own, Bharti Kher, fibre glass sculpture at APT8, QAGOMA. Photo: Margaret White

APT8 IN BRISBANE 20 February 2016 This TAASA weekend event was spearheaded by President, Gill Green, in collaboration with TAASA Queensland. Twenty one members travelled from Sydney and Melbourne to join our Queensland hosts and had the opportunity to mix socially while being given exclusive and insightful tours.

Our weekend began with a stimulating look at the APT led by Tarun Nagesh, one of its curators. One highlight was a mural by Vengat Raman Singh Shyam, whose site- specific Tree of Life depicts the holy cow in Hindu culture. Sadly, it will be painted over at the conclusion of the exhibition. Another special work was an enormous thought provoking sculpture by Bharti Kher The skin speaks a language not its own is a life- sized fibreglass dying elephant is covered with thousands of tiny white bindis.

Tarun Nagesh with TAASA members at APT8. Members enjoying Janet de Boer’s preview of her Gill Green (L) and Anna Barker at lunch.

Photo: Josefa Green exhibition of Indonesian textiles: The Compulsive Collector. Photo: Margaret White

Photo: Margaret White

On Saturday afternoon, Janet de Boer of We met at the University of Queensland’s Art Japanese ceramics in his tatami room. Gallery 159 gave us an overview of her Museum on Sunday morning to be guided Thank you to our TAASA Queensland upcoming exhibition of Indonesian textiles: by TAASA Qld Convenor James MacKean hosts, especially James, and to Tarun for his The Compulsive Collector. In a specially through the National Self Portrait Prize insightful guide through APT8. organised meeting room at QAG, she showed exhibition. His illuminating tour revealed Margaret White examples of tampan cloths from southern many interesting and touching stories Sumatra from the Chris Reid and Evi (Safrina behind the invited artists’ works. This was Thristiawati) Collection; interesting examples followed by Sushma Griffen’s chronological of Javanese batik cloths from Iem Brown’s overview of the Dr Nat Yuen’s bequest of Collection and lastly, Greg Pankhurst Chinese ceramics currently on display at brought a few of his 5000 strong collection UQ Art Museum. of Bandar Lampung Sumatra textiles which includes ceremonial Tapis. It was terrific to be A delightful afternoon was spent at the able handle some of the beautiful heirloom beautiful and serene home of James MacKean gold thread bridal skirt cloths and unusual who generously hosted us for lunch. As we felt appliqué pieces. listened to the koto and shakahachi players one could not help but be transported to another realm. An added bonus was an explanation and handling session by James of some of his Takako Nishibori, koto (R) and Carl Rathus,

shakuhachi entertain TAASA members.

Photo: Mandy Ridley TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 27 TAASA VICTORIA increasingly westernised at this time. Through a close examination of the Sultan's Tour of the Warhol | Ai Weiwei exhibition main pleasure palace in Istanbul, Susan made 6 March 2016 a strongly-argued case that the Ottomans TAASA members and friends attended a were still very much part of the Persianate tour of the Warhol | Ai Weiwei exhibition cultural sphere and, at least initially, with our erudite NGV guide, Susan Jones. continued to use architectural ideas already This major international exhibition showed used by the court in Edirne. the influence of Warhol and Ai Weiwei on contemporary art, and was the highest TAASA TEXTILE STUDY GROUP, NSW selling ticketed exhibition in the NGV’s At Inside a Collector's Head. L to R: Rhona Clements, history. We enjoyed this important exhibition The Ka Tu of Southern Laos Shirley Mueller, Bryce Carmine, Tom Mueller, Anne Carmine. and Susan’s depth of knowledge brought the 8 March 2016 Photo: Margaret White exhibition alive. Sandy Watson opened our TSG year with an introduction to the Ka Tu people and their their interactions. Loo used various tactics weavings. The Ka Tu are a part of the Mon- such as flattery and emotional blackmail to Khmer people. Traditionally inhabiting the snare Lilly into buying expensive Chinese Annamite ranges between Laos and Vietnam, paintings and ceramics. However, ultimately, they live along the Upper Xekong River Lilly sought artefacts from other dealers and on the watershed of the Songboung with whom he was no longer emotionally River, with some relocation more recently to reliant. Judging by the large number of settlements on the Boloven Plateau. questions from the audience, it was obvious that Shirley’s thought provoking insights Though eroding, this ethnic group retains its resonated with many of the collectors present. TAASA Vic members at Threads of Asia. animist beliefs and culture. Textiles still play Thank you to Anne & Bryce Carmine for Photo: Margot Yeomans an important role in life cycle ceremonies. generously supporting this event. Cotton loin cloths and large body wraps are Margaret White Tour of the textile exhibition Threads of Asia woven on back strap looms. Natural dyes of 23 April 2016 indigo and local sappan wood render hues TAASA QLD TAASA members had a fascinating tour of an from vibrant black and red to muted tones. exhibition of Asian textiles, Threads of Asia, Motifs are mainly geometric: stars, figures, TAASA QLD TEXTILE INTEREST GROUP drawn from the collection of the Victorian trees and the serpent’s spine. Embellishments Embroiderers’ Guild and led by embroidery of bone, glass and lead beads are woven Exhibition opening: The Compulsive expert Lesley Uren. While the exhibition into textiles of higher status although Collector: Batik, Tampan, Tapis was interesting in itself, it also reflected our plastic beads are often used today. We were 13 March 2016 early engagement with Asia, displaying intrigued by the use of tiny, lead beads and TAASA members attended this Sunday the kinds of textiles Australians acquired in none of us could offer an explanation for opening of Janet de Boer’s exhibition of their travels in the 19th and 20th century. their origin. TSG members also presented Indonesian textiles. About 40 people enjoyed Following the viewing, TAASA member some of their own special pieces. this event where Janet catered for a delicious Margot Yeomans hosted an impressive sit Margaret White afternoon tea with Satay sticks and cold down high tea at her home nearby. We are drinks. Many fine Lampung Tapis textiles very grateful to Margot for her generous TAASA CERAMICS STUDY GROUP, NSW displayed were from the collection of TAASA hospitality. For more information about the member Greg Pankhurst. Threads of Asia exhibition, see Susan Scollay’s Inside a Collector’s Head review on p26 of this issue of TAASA Review. 10 March 2016 TAASA QLD CERAMICS INTEREST Boris Kaspiev Forty-two members and guests packed the GROUP room to listen to our US visitor, Dr Shirley TAASA NSW Mueller, speak on a new area of research Japanese pottery traditions – old and new - the science behind big buying decisions. 15 March 2016 TAASA Lecture Series -Islamic Influences She outlined two main factors which drive The Japanese pottery event was attended in Asian Arts and Culture collectors: neuro economics where active by 12 members at a member’s home. Over Life was a picnic in the spring: Palace neurons in the brain seek happiness and sushi and wine, James MacKean talked Architecture and the Pursuit of Pleasure in pleasure, and behavioural economics in about Japanese pottery traditions, and the the Ottoman ‘Tulip Era’ 1718-1730. which anchoring, sunk costs and flattery group enjoyed a handling session where a 4 April 2016 play important roles in purchases. good variety of wares was passed around so Dr Susan Scollay was the first speaker for this everyone could handle the different shapes year’s lecture series. At this heavily attended Shirley applied these factors to her own and regional styles. Tarun Nagesh and Sam event, Susan talked about the cultural and quest to build one of the largest private US Aherne brought some pieces from their political developments in Ottoman society holdings of Chinese export tea wares. She collections, and Penny Bailey spoke about in the early 18th century, the so-called also used the long term relationship of US how the wares were potted, glazed and fired ‘Tulip Era’ when Sultan Ahmed III ruled the collector, Eli Lilly of Lilly Pharmaceuticals - providing much technical knowledge. Ottoman Empire. The general understanding and controversial Chinese art dealer, C.T. Loo James MacKean is that Ottoman art and architecture became to illustrate the way these factors influenced

28 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2

TAASA MEMBERS’ DIARY JUNE - AUGUST 2016

TAASA IN NSW maritime networks stretched halfway traditions of the vast Central Asian around the globe. In this lecture, James region through the more than 60 works ISLAMIC INFLUENCES IN ASIAN Bennett will explore the sophisticated on display. Cost $10 members, $12 non- ARTS AND CULTURE cultural milieu of the Islamic sultanates members. Cost does not include lunch TAASA Monday Night Lecture Series 2016 and the subsequent impact of European or transport. RSVP by 10 June 2016 to Venue: Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, colonisation on the archipelago’s artistic [email protected]. 280 Pitt St Sydney dynamism. All events 6-8pm. Drinks & refreshments Viewing of exhibition Bamboo: Tradition served. Monday 1 August 2016 in contemporary form Cost: Members $25, Non-Members $30. An Archaeologist in Shangri la: Exploring Monday 11 July 10.30am to 12.00pm Payment in advance essential. No refunds. the early history of Kashmir Curator of Asian Art, Wayne Crothers, will Booking confirmation to Jillian Kennedy. Prof Alison Betts: Professor of Silk Road lead us on a tour of the NGV’s exhibition Email: [email protected], Studies, University of Sydney Bamboo: Tradition in contemporary form. tel: 02 9958 7378. The exhibition explores the evocative, Payment by EFT: Viewing of TANG Exhibition at sensual and sculptural power of The Asian Arts Society of Australia the AGNSW contemporary Japanese bamboo art BSB: 012-003, Account No. 2185-28414. Wednesday 22 June, 6 – 7pm through 22 contemporary and five Please provide name. Join Cao Yin, curator of this exhibition, for traditional bamboo works, complemented Pay by credit card via TAASA website a members only walk through. Yin will by a selection of historical paintings, www.taasa.org.au. provide a general overview but will focus lacquer ware, musical instruments, Please visit TAASA’s website for in particular on the exhibition’s extensive woodblock prints and hand-printed books further details. www.taasa.org.au. ceramics and on the very special objects from the NGV’s collection and private sent from the Famen temple. RSVP to loans. This is a free event, but RSVP by Monday 6 June 2016 Jillian Kennedy; email: taasabookings@ 1 July 2016 to [email protected] is The artistic and cultural relationship gmail.com, tel: 029958 7378. Cost: $15 essential. between Venice and the Islamic world (includes exhibition entry). Meet at the Dr Stefano Carboni: Director and entry to this exhibition. Preview of Mossgreen’s decorative CEO, Art Gallery of Western Australia, arts auction previously Curator and Administrator TAASA TEXTILE STUDY GROUP, NSW Thursday 21 July 2016, 6.00-8.00pm in the Department of Islamic Art at The The TSG meets in the Annie Wyatt Room Enjoy an exclusive preview of Mossgreen’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. at the S.H Ervin Gallery, Observatory next auction of decorative arts, including Hill in Millers Point from 6 – 8pm. Light Asian art. Venue: Mossgreen, Stefano Carboni will demonstrate how, refreshments provided. $15 members, 926-930 High Street, Armadale, Victoria from the 9th century, the visual arts in $20 non-members. The venue is close to 3142. This is a free event, but RSVP Venice were influenced by Islamic art Wynyard station and parking is available to [email protected] by 14 July 2016 and by the city’s privileged cultural, on site. Enquiries to Marianne Hulsbosch: is essential. diplomatic and artistic relationship [email protected]. with the Islamic world. While at the Textile holdings of the Chinese Museum Metropolitan Museum of Art, Stefano Tuesday 12 July Saturday 13 August 2016, 10.30am Carboni was responsible for a large Christina Sumner: In Pursuit of Indian While this event is yet to be confirmed, number of exhibitions, including the Ikats: Gujarat, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh please put this date in your diaries. We acclaimed Venice and the Islamic World, - Christina will take us into the endangered are hoping to finalise a curator-led private 828-1797 (2006-2007). world of these superb weavers. viewing of textiles held by the Chinese Museum in Melbourne’s Chinatown, Monday 4 July 2016 TAASA IN VICTORIA followed by lunch at an Asian restaurant View from the Shore: the impact of nearby. globalisation on the art and culture of Viewing of exhibition Adorned: Textiles Indonesia during the Age of Spices and Jewellery from Central Asia Further information on TAASA Victoria James Bennett: Curator of Asian Art at Monday 20 June, 11am to 1.30pm events: Boris Kaspiev on 0421 038 491. the Art Gallery of the South Australia Ararat Regional Art Gallery and co-curator of the recent widely Join Carol Cains, Curator of Asian Art at TAASA IN QUEENSLAND acclaimed exhibition Treasure ships: the NGV and Anthony Camm, Director Art in the age of spices. of the Ararat Regional Art Gallery, for a TAASA Qld committee will be in contact viewing of Adorned: Textiles and Jewellery with members soon about future events The first Europeans arriving in the from Central Asia. The exhibition draws for the second half of the year, including Indonesian archipelago in the 16th century on the collection of the NGV to present Textile and Ceramic Interest Group events. encountered wealthy kingdoms whose a window onto the magnificent sartorial

TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 29 WHAT’S ON: JUNE – AUGUST 2016 A SELECTIVE ROUNDUP OF EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

Compiled by Tina Burge

NSW as an originator of manga and anime. Each by Hossein Valamensh places the viewer in image is a moment in time and poetically a four-sided Iranian bazaar to contemplate Tang: Treasures from the Silk Road draws from stories relating to the moon in movement, human interaction and the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney Japanese and Chinese history, famous legends, passing of time - a metaphor for Iran. 9 April – 10 July 2016 literature and theatre as well as folklore. For further information go to: www.carriageworks.com.au Showcasing 130 objects from Shanxi province Beyond words - calligraphic traditions of Asia which demonstrate the Tang Empire’s Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney SOUTH AUSTRALIA high artistic achievement. The exhibition 27 August 2016 - 2017 also features Pure Land: inside the Mogao More Ink than Ocean: The art of writing Grottoes at Dunhuang, an augmented-reality Drawn from the Gallery’s collection and in Islam installation developed at City University enriched with a significant loan from Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide Hong Kong in conjunction with the the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, this until 20 July 2016 Dunhuang Academy. exhibition showcases diverse calligraphic traditions in both religious and secular Presenting the rich heritage of Islamic contexts, across a range of mediums and calligraphy in the art of the Middle East, cultures from ancient to contemporary. South Asia and Southeast Asia, the exhibition For further information go to: reveals the diversity of ceramics, textiles, www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au metalware and illuminated manuscripts used by Islamic artists over the ages as media Sea Pearl White Cloud for calligraphy. Guanzghou’s Observation Society, Guanzghou For further information go to: 2 June – 24 July 2016 www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/ 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney home/Exhibitions/NowShowing/ 30 July – 24 September MoreInkThanOcean

A joint project between 4A Centre for VICTORIA Contemporary Asian Art and Guanzghou’s Camel rider and camel, 742, earthenware with pigment Observation Society, one of China’s most Subodh Gupta: Everyday Divine camel. Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology exciting contemporary art project spaces. National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Sydney-based artist Lucas Ihlein and 13 May – 16 October 2016 Eko Nugroho - Lot lost Guangdong-born, Hong Kong-based artist Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney Trevor Yeung present new works informed A solo exhibition from one of India’s pre- 25 June 2016 – 2017 by questions of temporality, exchange and eminent contemporary artists, Subodh poetics that reflect on the urban condition in Gupta, in collaboration with New York-based Working across drawing, painting, sculpture, the 21st century. art collector Larry Warsh. Celebrating the animation and embroidery, Indonesian For further information go to: vestiges of everyday life for many Indians artist Eko Nugroho draws inspiration from www.4a.com.au and elevating the objects found in domestic Javanese traditions such as wayang theatre and street life to a position of spiritual and batik, as well as street art, science fiction, Akiko Ikeuchi – Thread Sculpture worship is at the heart of Gupta’s practice. comic books and other forms of popular Installation Art For further information go to: culture. Accompanying the installation Japan Foundation Gallery, Sydney https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/ is a collection of zines that Nugroho has 6 June – 1 July 2016 subodh-gupta independently published since 2000 to provide an alternative, accessible platform For over two decades Tokyo artist Akiko Art of the Pacific for young artists and students. Ikeuchi has transformed silk thread into NGV International, Melbourne ethereal installations suspended midair. 26 March – 14 August 2016 Tsukioka Yoshitoshi - One hundred Her intricate drawings and etchings, aspects of the moon resembling microscopic patterns and infinite Showcases the arts and diverse cultures of Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney fractal nets, will be on display to complement the Pacific, New Zealand and Australia, 20 June – 20 November 2016 her installations. honouring the customary shields, figurative For more information go to: sculptures and masks that inspired the For the first time, AGNSW will present the www.jpf.org.au/jpfevents/16-akiko-ikeuchi European avant-garde to invent new forms complete series from its own collection. of Modernism. It also unveils a dynamic Published between 1885 and 1892, it is Char Soo range of body ornaments in customary and recognised as the artist’s masterwork. The Carriageworks, Sydney digital media. exhibition showcases the impressive technical 9 June – 17 July 2016 For further information go to: skill and imaginative designs that have www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/ngv- secured Yoshitoshi’s place in art history and This immersive four-screen video projection collection-focus-art-of-the-pacific

30 TAASA REVIEW VOLUME 25 NO.2 ACT For further information go to: from Iran to Japan. It features papercuts, www.acm.org.sg/exhibitions/christianity- woodblock prints and lithographs of Contemporary Art Displays in-asia monkeys in the wild, monkeys as gods, and National Gallery of Australia scenes from the 16th-century Chinese novel 21 May – 13 November Nyonya Needlework: Craft and Heritage Journey to the West. Peranakan Museum For further information go to: Partnering with Sherman Contemporary Art 24 June 2016 to March 2017 www.ashmolean.org Foundation and the White Rabbit Gallery, Sydney, NGA presents the first of a series of Celebrates the art of nyonya needlework, a UNITED STATES displays of recent art from Asia, with a focus vibrant part of Peranakan Chinese heritage. on contemporary China. The small survey Spectacular curtains and hangings, delicate Divine Pleasures: Painting from India’s comprises work from well-known artists such purses, handkerchiefs, and slippers were Rajput Courts—The Kronos Collection as Zhang Huan and Ai Weiwei, as well as Xu painstakingly stitched with tiny beads, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Zhen from the younger generation impacting silk, and gold and silver threads for special 14 June – 12 September 2016 on the global contemporary art scene. occasions and as gifts. Some of the finest examples of nyonya needlework, from the Nearly 100 works from the royal courts SINGAPORE Peranakan Museum and major international of northern India dating from the 16th to collections, will be displayed. early 19th century, representing almost all Christianity in Asia: Sacred Art and major artistic centres of Rajasthan and the Visual Splendour UNITED KINGDOM Punjab Hills. Asian Civilisations Museum For further information go to: 27 May - 11 September 2016 Monkey Tales - Apes and Monkeys www.metmuseum.org in Asian Art Examines the spread of Christianitythrough Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Asia, with a special focus on the 16th- 14 June - 30 October 2016 18th centuries, when significant trade and missionary activity occurred. Asian Christian art For the Year of the Monkey, this display reveals remarkable cross-cultural connections showcases images of adventurous and because it often combines Western ideas with mischievous monkeys in works on paper Asian materials and artistic techniques.

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