Transcultural Perspectives 4/2020 - 1 Name"side Carbone der Autorin and oder Helen des Wang Autors Titel"ntroduction 4ntertitel The papers collected in this thematic issue “Asia collection -' individual museums. The purpose o our Collections outside Asia: Questioning Arte acts, publication is to offer an alternative approach: it Cultures and "dentities in the #useum$ %ere &rst -rings together an eclectic group o contributions %ith presented at a %ell-attended and lively panel in (une the aim o laying the oundations or a critical analysis 2018.1 The event %as part o the international o the distinctive eatures, circumstances, o-jectives conference Art! #aterialit' and +epresentation and needs o Asia collections in museums outside organised in ,ondon -' the +oyal Anthropological Asia* "nstitute o .reat /ritain and "reland in cooperation 1ur proposition is timely and in line %ith the %ith the /ritish #useum and 01A0 20chool o gro%ing interest among academics and museum 1riental and A rican 0tudies)! Universit' o ,ondon. pro essionals engaged in under-studied and The initial intention o the panel %as to loo5 at the unresolved issues related in various %ays to this histories and processes o musealisation o Asian specific category o collections. "n recent years, arts, %ith a special ocus on the cultural practices o attention to this subject has ta5en shape in a %ide specialist museums displaying Asian arts outside range o initiatives, o %hich those listed -elo% are Asia* "t %as assumed that in mapping the collections only some e6amples. o these museums and tracing their histories, a clear The history o collecting Asian art o-jects in picture o the identit' o these collections and their nineteenth- and t%entieth-century Europe ; %ith hosting institutions %ould emerge* "t %as also hoped particular ocus on /ritain ; %as discussed %ithin a that this e6ercise %ould shed light on the geopolitical rame%ork at a symposium held at 01A0! development and construction o representations o Universit' o ,ondon, in April 2018.2 A e% months Asian identities as cultural “1thers”* 7o%ever, the later, another symposium on the history and issues highlighted -' the papers and the discussions development o collecting Asian art in the %estern the' stimulated challenged this some%hat simplistic %orld too5 place in Amsterdam*> Collections o Asian vie% and a much more comple6 situation %as art %ere also at the centre o a roundta-le discussion outlined* at the EAAA 2European Association o Asian Art and Conse8uently, a re-shifting o ocus %as re8uired Archaeolog'3 conference in 2017,4 and ; %ith a ocus in the overall theme as %ell as in the scope o the on Chinese art ; o some panels at the EACS de-ate* "n particular, the case studies underscored 2European Association o Chinese 0tudies3 the heterogeneit' o the o-jects in the collections; the con erence in 2018.@ An emphasis on international presence o these collections in a variet' o types o net%orking among museums %ith Asian art museums; and the inclusion or a-sorption o these collections %as laid during the plenary session ‘Asian collections ; sometimes previously housed in Art #useums and Collections in the BorldC at the autonomous specialist museums ; into -igger, more "CO# 2"nternational Council o #useums) conference comprehensive institutions. These aspects are in 2019.E "n addition, National #useums 0cotland approached rom varying perspectives in the follo%ing undertoo5 a thorough revie% o East Asian collections eleven articles. held -' museums across 0cotland*? Gurther There are numerous scholarly volumes e6ploring conversations are underwa' among scholars and museum history, practices and policies as %ell as institutions to develop projects aimed at mapping and -oo5s on Asian art and material culture! such as digitising Asia collections in Europe* An e6ample o catalogues and studies on specific parts o a these endeavours is the Net%ork o Chinese "side Car-one and 7elen Bang "ntroduction 5unstte6te*de 4/2020 - 2 Collections in Europe 2NCCE)! %hich is ta5ing shape Tomiza%a-Ka' and Toshio Batana-e! highlighting the inspired -' the China Art +esearch Net%ork in the porosit' o cultural -orders and putting aside the United Kingdom (CA+F4H3*) constraints o national and regional boundaries.11 "t is %ithin this vibrant and active scenario that %e Be then position these “Asia collections” %ithin offer our contribution or a deeper and more detailed the rame%ork o “museums outside Asia$! trying to understanding o a theme that lends itself to -e offer a -ird’s-eye vie% o perceptions and analysed rom a myriad o perspectives. As it can -e representations o Asian cultural identities in non- noticed rom the cases mentioned! the prevailing Asian settings. This multi-faceted and ar-from- ocus is on the typolog' o o-jects described as “art$* une8uivocal topic is dealt %ith an emphasis on "n particular, the artistic production o East Asia material engagements. Historically influenced -' attracts most o the attention. Bhile all these eatures social, cultural and political actors, these are important pieces o the puzIle and deserve to -e engagements are! in their turn, instrumental in scrutinised! our thematic issue intends to propose a shaping ideas o “1thers” and in determining %ider, more inclusive outloo5* The aim is to -rea5 ree processes o self-identification.12 0uch considerations rom the -oundaries o categorisations and stiff cannot disregard the proli&c literature! produced distinctions that have thus ar prevented e6change especially in the last thirt' years, on the intimate and cooperation -et%een e6perts %ith different entanglement -et%een museum displays and the specialisms and different theoretical and pro essional construction o public 5no%ledge a-out the cultures -ac5grounds. Considering this group o papers as a o “1thers”* Be can here only mention a e% o the %hole! %e attempt to encourage an overarching scholarly te6ts that have -ecome essential re erences reJection on Asia collections in museums outside in this discourse* "van Karp and 0teven Lavine’s Asia* =6hibiting Cultures! /arbara Kirshenblatt-.im-lett’s Gor instance! the term “collections” is here used to Kestination Culture: Tourism! #useums and Heritage indicate a group o gathered o-jects that include an and Eliza-eth Hallam and /rian 0treet’s Cultural e6tensive range o material manifestations o cultural Encounters: +epresenting A1therness’ have -ecome heritage! rom art%orks to ethnographic arte acts and ubiquitous in the reading lists o museum studies cra ts linked to ol5loric traditions. A seminal %ork programmes.1> 1ther o ten-cited %or5s are .eorge published in 2017, "nside the Borld’s #ajor East 0toc5ing’s 1-jects and 1thers: =ssays on #useums Asian Collections is a commenda-le endeavour to put and #aterial Culture! Eilean Hooper-.reenhill’s together some o the %orld’s major East Asia #useums and the "nterpretation o Visual Culture! collections.D Kividing the collections in three #ary /ouquet’s -oo5s, among %hich %e &nd geographical sections ; Europe! East Asia and Academic Anthropolog' and the #useum*14 A America ; the -oo5 e8ually considers libraries, pertinent case stud' is that researched -' Louise archives and all types o museums as institutions %ith Tythacott as she traces the travels and history o a converging missions to preserve and grant access to group o &ve #ing-dynast' /uddhist statues rom cultural heritage materials. their Chinese location in a temple on Putuo island! The term “Asia$ is also ta5en in its most Zhejiang province! to their most recent installation, in comprehensive meaning* As similarly intended -' 2005, in the /uddhism section o the Borld Cultures .rant Evans in his Asia’s Cultural #atrix!10 it re ers to gallery at Liverpool’s World Museum*1@ a land mass inha-ited -' an impressive variet' o The articles that ollo% ac8uire a urther level o peoples, each %ith distinctive cultural traits, yet significance if read in light o recent de-ate sho%ing more or less evident connections o varying surrounding the decolonisation o museums. 0ince intensit' and 5ind as a result o histories o contacts the 1990s, the colonial origins o certain collections and interactions, different in nature and purpose* Be and the lingering repercussions o this controversial there ore em-race and e6tend a notion o past on the use and e6hibition o such collections in “transnationalit'$ similar to that suggested -' Eri5o the present have increasingly -een 8uestioned and "side Car-one and 7elen Bang "ntroduction 5unstte6te*de 4/2020 - > challenged*1E A surging tide o critical research on this The &rst &ve papers are concerned %ith the subject has characterised the &rst t%o decades o the de&nition or re-de&nition o the Asia collections %ithin t%enty-&rst century.1? A recent publication edited -' the museum intended -oth as a physical space and a #ichael Marten and included in the 9ournal Anthropos! conceptual rame%ork* "n the &rst article! Annette issue 114.2019 see5s “to highlight aspects o ,oese5e discusses ho% the displa' in the Asian postcolonial anthropological concern in the conte6t o Pavilion at the +ijksmuseum in Amsterdam represents museological studies”*1) "n this thematic section, t%o historical and current narratives o Asia* Curatorial articles in particular are most relevant to the contents choices and visitors’ responses are analysed against o our publication: "nbal Livne’s stud' o Tibetan the -ac5drop o ac8uisition practices adopted at the collections in the National #useum o 0cotland and time o the Dutch colonial presence in Asia* (ennifer Bay’s analysis o a collection o Vietnamese Laura Vigo e6plains ne6t ho% private collections o handicra ts in the 0mithsonian National #useum o Asian art entered the #ontreal #useum o Gine Arts. Natural History.1D There is increased academic This museum %as -orn to assert Canada’s “civilised$ interest in the theorisation and implementation o the status as part o the /ritish Empire and to e6ercise an process o decolonising museum collections, as authoritative role in the promotion o %estern sho%n, or instance! -' the recently published dossier aesthetic values.