Chinese Buddhist Sculpture
1st floor Room 1
June 24, 2020 (Wed) -
April 18, 2021 (Sun)
June 30, 2020 (Tue), Asian Gallery (Toyokan)
The galleries feature art and artifacts from regions including China, Korea, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, India, and Egypt.
1st floor
Standing Buddha Triad, Eastern Wei dynasty, 6th century (Important Cultural Property)
Chinese Buddhist Sculpture
1st floor Room 1
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - April 18, 2021 (Sun)
This section mainly features stone or gilt bronze Buddhist statues from about the 6th to the 8th century. The statues on display present the exquisite form of sculptures from the golden era of Buddhist statues in China.
2nd floor
Mummy of Pasherienptah(detail), Excavated at Thebes, Egypt 22nd dynasty, ca. 945-730 BC, Gift of Egyptian Department of Antiquities
Artifacts from West Asia and Egypt
2nd floor Room 3
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - October 4, 2020 (Sun)
This part introduces artifacts from West Asia and Egypt, known as the cradle of the earliest civilizations.
Preaching Buddha, Kushan dynasty, 3rd century
Sculptures from India and Gandhara
2nd floor Room 3
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - June 27, 2021 (Sun)
This part mainly features Buddhist statues from Gandhara (northwestern Pakistan) and Mathura (northern, central India) from the 2nd to the 5th century. The wide variety of sculptures on display is a notable feature.
Two Bodhisattvas (detail), Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, ChinaPelliot collection, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdons period–Northern Song dynasty, 10th century (Acquired through exchange with the Guimet Museum)
Art of the Western Regions
2nd floor Room 3
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - July 5, 2020 (Sun)
This part introduces art of the Western Regions (Central Asia) from about the 1st to the 10th century, with a focus on Buddhist art. The highlight of this part is the rich variety of works with high artistic and historical significance.
3rd floor
Painted Pottery Jar with a Handle, Excavated in Gansu or Qinghai province, China, Majiayao culture, ca. 2,600–2,300 BC (Gift of Dr. Yokogawa Tamisuke)
The Advent of Chinese Civilization
3rd floor Room 4
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - October 4, 2020 (Sun)
This section focuses on pottery and jade objects from about 3000 BC to AD 200. The items on display present the beauty that ancient Chinese people pursued in the form and color of pottery, as well as the characteristic luster of jade.
Sword (detail), Spring and Autumn-Warring States period, 6th-5th century BC
Chinese Bronzes
3rd floor Room 5
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - July 19, 2020 (Sun)
This part focuses on Chinese bronzes from about 1800 BC to AD 1000. The changing shapes and designs of the bronzes on display provide clues to the thoughts and shifting religious beliefs of ancient Chinese.
Jar, Three-color glaze with plum blossoms design, High-Tang dynasty, 8th century (Gift of Mr. Hirota Matsushige)
Burials in China
3rd floor Room 5
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - July 5, 2020 (Sun)
This part introduces burial items of tombs from about the 2nd century BC to the 8th century AD. Mingqi are models of various implements and equipment, such as cooking stoves, vehicles including carriages and oxcarts, and even toilets. Tomb figures are models of humans who served a master, such as servants and entertainers. The objects on display present the idealized lifestyle that people of this time entrusted to mingqi and tomb figures.
Ewer, Design in overglaze enamel and gold, Jingdezhen ware, China, Ming dynasty, 16th century (Important Art Object, Gift of Mr. Sakamoto Goro)
Chinese Ceramics
3rd floor Room 5
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - July 5, 2020 (Sun)
This gallery presents the changing expressions of Chinese ceramics from the 7th to the 19th century.
Damask, Known as Enshu donsu; flagstone design on light blue ground, Formerly preserved by the Maeda family, Ming dynasty, 16th-17th century
Chinese Textiles
3rd floor Room 5
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - August 10, 2020 (Mon)
This gallery introduces Chinese textiles and embroidery from the 13th to the 19th century.
4th floor
Stone Bas-relief, Procession of chariots / Building for ancestral rituals (detail), From Xiaotangshan, Shandong province, China, Eastern Han dynasty, 1st–2nd century
Stone Relief Carvings of China
4th floor Room 7
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - April 4, 2021 (Sun)
In the 2nd century BC, Chinese tombs were not simply holes in the ground. They developed to have walls and ceilings, with a structure almost like underground mansions. Tombs also appeared that had shrines built above ground for the bereaved families to perform rituals. Particularly in Shandong province and southern Henan province, sturdy stone was favored for making the tombs and shrines, with the stone surfaces used for carving images. Many of these stone bas-reliefs were created until the second half of the 2nd century in the Eastern Han dynasty.
5th floor
Box with a Dragon and Phoenix, Ming dynasty, dated 1592
Chinese Lacquerware
5th floor Room 9
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - September 27, 2020 (Sun)
Lacquer is the sap of the lacquer tree, which grows in East and Southeast Asia. Naturally sticky, it can be brushed onto different materials, and hardens into a durable coating that is waterproof and resistant to acids, alkalis, and heat.
The history of lacquerware in China dates back to the Neolithic period. Over the past 7,000 years, a number of ornate decorative techniques have grown out of Chinese innovations, including: built-up layers of lacquer that are then carved, mother-of-pearl inlay, incised lines of gold, and a special type of decorative inlay made up of different colors of lacquer and outlined in incised lines.
Pomegranate, Qing dynasty, 19th century
Decorative Art of the Qing Dynasty
5th floor Room 9
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - September 27, 2020 (Sun)
This part highlights Korean polished stone tools and metal objects that had a great influence on Japan's Yayoi culture.
Crown, Attributed provenance: Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea, Three Kingdoms period, 5th century (Important Art Object)
Polished Stone Tools and Metal Tools of Korea
5th floor Room 10
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - October 18, 2020 (Sun)
This part highlights Korean polished stone tools and metal objects that had a great influence on Japan's Yayoi culture.
Headgear, With design in openwork, Attributed provenance: Changnyeong, Korea, Three Kingdoms period, 6th century (Important Cultural Property)
The Rises and Falls of Kings in Korea
5th floor Room 10
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - October 18, 2020 (Sun)
This part features the prosperity of kings in the Three Kingdoms period (4th century–676) in Korea, through works including items of metalwork. The diverse designs of the objects are evidence of the prosperity of the kings.
Equestrian Figurine, Three Kingdoms period, 5th-6th century (Important Art Object)
Korean Ceramics
5th floor Room 10
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - October 18, 2020 (Sun)
This gallery introduces Korean ceramics from the Proto–Three Kingdoms period (1st century BC–3rd century AD) to the Joseon dynasty(1392–1910).
Container for Sarira (Buddhist relics), Three-storied pagoda design in hairline engraving, Attributed provenance: Namsan
Buddhist Art of Korea
5th floor Room 10
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - October 11, 2020 (Sun)
his part features the essence of Korean Buddhist art.
Brush Stand, Joseon dynasty, 19th–20th century
Art of the Joseon Dynasty
5th floor Room 10
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - July 19, 2020 (Sun)
This gallery features furnishings, costumes, and accessories from Korea in the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). While the costumes, furniture, tableware, and stationery each possessed individual beauty, their appeal was enhanced by their placement in living spaces.
Basement
Khmer Sculpture
Basement Room 11
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - May 9, 2021 (Sun)
This section introduces sculptures from Khmer, with a focus on stone statues from the Angkor period (9th-13th century). The Tokyo National Museum collection of Khmer sculptures, which are distinguished in both quality and quantity, was acquired in 1944 through an exchange project with the research institute l'École francaise d'Extrême-Orient.
Standing Buddha, varavati period, 7th-8th century
Gilt Bronze Statues from Southeast Asia
Basement Room 12
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - May 9, 2021 (Sun)
This part focuses on Southeast Asian gilt bronze statues of gods and Buddhist deities from the 7th to 13th century. The statues are made using the lost–wax casting process, and therefore they have common qualities in their plasticity and smoothness of form.
Human-shaped Object, Attributed provenance: Uttar Pradesh, India, Copper Hoard culture, ca. 1500 BC
Archaeology of India and Southeast Asia
Basement Room 12
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - April 25, 2021 (Sun)
The excavated pottery and metal wares exhibited in this part clearly show the prosperity of cultures with rich regional characteristics in ancient India and Southeast Asia.
Large Dish, Deer and landscape design in underglaze blue, 15th-16th century (Important Art Object)
Southeast Asian Ceramics
Basement Room 12
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - September 6, 2020 (Sun)
This part introduces the individual styles of ceramics made in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam from the 9th to the 16th century.
Gold Chintz, Floral arabesque design on white ground, Formerly passed down by the Maeda clan, Second half of 17th century
Asian Textiles: Indian Textiles
Basement Room 13
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - August 10, 2020 (Mon)
Various textiles and techniques were spread across Asia from India, such as cotton cloth, splashed-pattern dyeing, tie-dyeing and brocades with metal threads. In particular, chintz, which was cotton cloth dyed with floral patterns or legendary images using woodblock printing or hand-drawing, fascinated people around the world and was a major export from the 16th to the 19th century.
Maharaja Abhai Singh(detail), By the Bikaner school, Second half of 18th century
Indian Miniature Paintings
Basement Room 13
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - July 19, 2020 (Sun)
Indian miniature paintings established a uniquely meticulous, colorful, and passionate style, with various painting schools. An appeal of the paintings to viewers is the abundance of elements vividly contained each picture, such as myths, music, and nature.
Model of Ship, Second half of 19th–early 20th century
Ethnic Cultures of Asia: Drawing Life from the Sea—The Tao People of Taiwan
Basement Room 13
June 24, 2020 (Wed) - July 19, 2020 (Sun)
The Tao (Yami) people are an ethnic group living on an island situated off the southeastern coast of Taiwan, called Orchid Island.For the Tao people, the ocean is more than a mere fishing site—it is a sacred place for receiving blessings from the gods. This exhibition celebrates the prayers and wisdom that have grown out of the Tao people’s powerful connection with the sea.