ASIAN ART MUSEUM OF SAN FRANCISCO Golden Gate Park San Francisco, California 94118 tel: (415) 379-8801 (exhibitions), 379-8880 (membership), 379-8879 (public programs) e-mail: asianart@well.com internet: www.asianart.org
		• Jade: Stone of Immortality Opened January 13, 1999
			Jade has been in continuous use in China for nearly 7000 years. It is difficult to find a material in the West that has a similar cultural significance. Like gold, jade was admired and coveted for its pure physical beauty. However, its importance to the Chinese went far beyond such mundane uses. It is above all the most treasured and admired material in Chinese culture, appears in every major Chinese philosophy, and is used to describe the qualities of the ideal person. This exhibition will explore the technical aspects of jade production and the Chinese love for the material from the Neolithic period to the 20th century through approximately 500 jades selected from the more than 1500 pieces in the Avery Brundage collection.
		• The Unending Path: Paintings by Harold Wong from 1957-1997 Part I: through mid-May 1999 Part II: May 16 - October 17, 1999
			Divided into two installations, this exhibition features 23 large-scale paintings from the classically-trained Hong Kong artist Harold Wong. The exhibit explores the artist's stylistic transformation from traditional landscapes to more abstract pursuits using the time-honored techniques of ink and color on paper. In an effort to generate a dialogue between the "traditional" and the "international" styles of contemporary Chinese art, this exhibition will be on view concurrently with the museum's presentation of Inside Out: New Chinese Art (February 26 - June 1, 1999).
		• Palace and Battlefield: A Selection of Indian Paintings July 13 - December 31, 1999
			Rajput and Mughal paintings, including Kotah drawings and a page from the "Shangri" Ramayana, appear in this exhibition of objects from a private collection. Curators are Kristina Youso and Robert Del Bonta.
		• The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms September 22, 1999 - January 9, 2000
			This is the most comprehensive exhibition ever presented of the artistic tradition of the Punjab under Sikh rule. Some of the finest pieces from the treasury of Ranjit Singh (r. 1801-1838), the first Sikh Maharaja of the Punjab, will be among the highlights. The turbulent and fascinating cultural history of the court of the Maharaja and his successors in the 19th century is shown through over 150 objects including paintings, jewels, vibrant textiles and gold-decorated weapons made for, and by, Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Europeans. The exhibit was organized by the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (March 25 - July 25, 1999) and will travel to the National Museum, New Delhi (February - March, 2000). See also: CONFERENCES & SYMPOSIA, BOOK DEALERS
		• A Discerning Eye: An American Collection of Korean Art February 9 - April 30, 2000
			Details forthcoming in the January issue.
		• Bamboo Masterworks: Japanese Baskets from the Lloyd Cotsen Collection February 18 - May 30, 2000
			Details forthcoming in the January issue.
		• The Southeast Asian Galleries Continuing indefinitely
			Paintings, sculpture, textiles, and dozens of other artworks are featured in the Asian's refurbished Southeast Asian galleries, made possible by generous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Paul L. and Phyllis Wattis Foundation. The reopened galleries feature new acquisitions--including Indonesian and Cambodian bronzes--as well as old favorites from both mainland and island Southeast Asia.
		• Chinese Bronze and Buddhist Arts from the Permanent Collection Continuing indefinitely
			This exhibition showcases over 100 of the museum's most exceptional bronzes and sculpture dating from the early Bronze Age to the 1700s. The exhibition will allow visitors their first opportunity to view the museum's newly acquired money tree, a rare, intricately designed bronze funerary object dated 25 - 220. Other notable examples in bronze include a rhinoceros-shaped vessel from the late Shang dynasty (approximately early 1000s B.C.E.) and a square vessel with a long inscription dating it to the first years of the Western Zhou dynasty (approximately mid-1000s B.C.E.). Not to be missed among the sculpture is the earliest known dated Chinese Buddhist sculpture, a gilt bronze Buddha dated 338.
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