ON THE white plasterboard walls of Hazara artist Khadim Ali’s box-like western-Sydney studio he has just painted larger-than-life – if grotesque, bestial heads. Part-horned creatures with long goat-like tubular ears and exaggerated cranial bones, they do, however, retain some human… Continue reading
The important thrust of this exhibition, which explores Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Empires, is the foundations of much of what constitutes Chinese civilisation, the societal earthquake which began during the Qin and continued during the Han. It… Continue reading
Nowadays (circa 239 BC), the house of Zhou has been destroyed, [the succession of] the Sons of Heaven has been severed. There is no greater turmoil than the absence of the Son of Heaven; without the Son of Heaven, the… Continue reading
In northern Beijing’s Chaoyang District, set back from a busy road, is a delightful old disused cinema. Built circa mid 20th century, its white tiled façade has a distinctly Russian feel. The cinema has been closed for some time now… Continue reading
In northern Beijing’s Chaoyang District, set back from a busy road, is a delightful old disused cinema. Built circa mid 20th century, its white tiled façade has a distinctly Russian feel. The cinema has been closed for some time now… Continue reading
John Lockwood Kipling was passionately immersed in Indian culture. One of his many talents was as a writer, like his far more famous son, Rudyard. Describing Lahore, Kipling senior’s enchantment with the city in which he spent 20 years resonates… Continue reading
John Lockwood Kipling was passionately immersed in Indian culture. One of his many talents was as a writer, like his far more famous son, Rudyard. Describing Lahore, Kipling senior’s enchantment with the city in which he spent 20 years resonates… Continue reading
This shipwreck, commonly called the Belitung Cargo, found in 1998, was a 9th-century Arab ocean-going dhow on a commercial round trip voyage between their ports in the Abbasid Empire, which included almost the entire Middle East, and the port of… Continue reading
This shipwreck, found in 1998, was a 9th-century Arab ocean-going dhow on a commercial round trip voyage between their ports in the Abbasid Empire, which included almost the entire Middle East, and the port of Guangzhou in southern China. Found… Continue reading
In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu became the first of the Tokugawa family shogun, the military dictators of Japan. His ascension brought an end to almost 400 years of civil wars. To avoid the cauldron of plots, schemes and court intrigue in… Continue reading