In Next Issue – May 2021

Japan a History of Style at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Highlights include the first showing of a spectacular group of contemporary metalwork, given to the museum, created by Living National Treasures and emerging artists.

Iranzamin (Land of the Persians) is the first survey exhibition of Persian arts and crafts acquired by the Powerhouse Museum, in Sydney, since its founding in 1880. It explores the stories behind rarely seen artefacts from the middle of the 19th century to now, shedding light on the diverse social and cultural history of Persia – today’s Iran – and its people.

Art from The Deccan. The Deccan Plateau, a region south of the Ganges Plain, was not only home to a number of significant power centres such as Bijapur, Golkonda, Aurangabad, and Hyderabad, but also one of the most varied and richest regions in Indian painting. The area’s great cultural diversity and an intricate network of national and international political links gave rise to a highly creative art tradition, merging elements and motifs from northern Indian painting, Mughal art, and influences from Persia, creating new stylistic forms.

Opium, Silk, and the Missionaries in China, an exhibition in London that explores the dark story of opium and the Hong Kong trade in the 19^th century.

Blue and White, porcelain from China, Japan, and Europe, an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Great Victoria.

Elsewhere in the issue…

From the Archive: Life, Death & Magic: 2,000 Years of Southeast Asian Ancestral Art, from the National Gallery of Australia in 2010

An exploration of Babur’s Garden in Kabul and the city’s largest historic public garden, Chihilsitoon Garden and Palace

The short-list of the finalists for the Jameel Prize at the V&A and the Tasweer Photo Festival in Qatar.

Reviews of the Hong Kong and New York spring Asian art auctions. And Islamic Arts Diary