'Tastes in Asian Art' at the San Diego Museum of Art

Written by Kate Castleman Wednesday, 01 February 2012 21:39

San Diego, CA - Some of the most significant works in SDMA’s extensive Asian collection form part of this rotating exhibition in the Museum’s Asian Court.  On view through February 11, 2007, the current rotation of Tastes in Asian Art also highlights key donors to the Museum’s Asian collection, including Rolando Schinasi, Mrs. Irving T. Snyder, Isamu Kawaguchi, Cora Timken Burnett, and Emile Schoppe.  Bringing back popular works, while introducing new and rarely exhibited works, Tastes in Asian Art explores the diverse tastes of different social groups—the imperial ruling class, scholars, warriors, and common people—and features a separate section devoted to religious art, as well as a new section dedicated to Persian art.

Over the last millennium, the prevalent social groups in various Asian cultures each developed their own unique predilections in art.  The warriors, for example, preferred the gaudy and flamboyant, while scholars took joy in the refined.  The wealthy imperial court more frequently used expensive and rare materials—such as jade and cloisonné—but folk art, typically based on natural materials, is characterized by its modest aesthetics.  In addition to these four tastes, religious art comprises a major and distinctive section of the installation, which includes examples demonstrating the cross-cultural influence of Buddhism over many centuries.

A new section devoted entirely to Persian art centers around the Museum’s newly restored Persian tile painting and includes manuscripts from Firdousi’s Shahnama, ranging from the 16^th to 19^th centuries, a variety of armor and weapons, and 12^th-century turquoise-glazed ceramics from Iran.

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