Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea

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Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

September 13, 2009-January 3, 2010

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea,  On view Sunday, September 13, 2009 - Sunday, January 3, 2010 at the Audrey Jones Beck Building.

Highlights of the exhibition include ritual bronzes, terracotta burial wares, fine gold jewelry, Hindu and Buddhist sculptures, and ornaments made of jade, lapis lazuli, crystal, and carnelian. Many of the works have never been exhibited in the U.S. 

Works are on loan from ten leading museums in Viet Nam, including the National Museum of Vietnamese History and the Viet Nam National Fine Arts Museum. The exhibition guides the viewer through critical periods in the region´s history, beginning with ancient burial items from the fifth century B.C.E., continuing with intricate jewelry and religious statues of the first millennium A.D., and culminating with the fine ceramics of the 19th century. Arts of Ancient Viet Nam examines this work in light of complex patterns of trade and cultural exchange in southern, central, and northern Viet Nam. The varied influence of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Japan, China, Rome and even northern Europe are explored.

This exhibition is co-organized by Asia Society, New York and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. In Houston, this exhibition is made possible by: The National Endowment for the Arts, The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.

Pictured: Seated Bodhisattva, Viet Nam, 9th Century, Stone.  National Museum of Cham Sculpture.