Treasures of Asian art : the Asia Society Museum collection /

As the publisher's website indicates, this is a "revised and expanded" edition of the Asia Society Museum's 1994 catalogue (subtitled "The Asia Society's Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection") of its collection. The revisions constitute a relatively few additions of traditional works of art; the major expansions are the addition of contemporary art that the museum began collecting in 2007 and the inclusion of more countries (from the Middle East to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). Arranged primarily geographically, the catalogue is divided into two sections--traditional art and contemporary art. Proser (curator of traditional Asian Art, Asia Society Museum) and Leidy (curator of Asian art, Yale University Art Gallery, and author of the first edition) write sensitively about the traditional collection and provide much historical data; Yun (curator of contemporary art, Asia Society Museum) does likewise for her area, which emphasizes video, animation, and photography. An appendix on "issues in attribution" analyzes seven works of art. This is a handsome publication with fine illustrations and thorough scholarly treatments of the objects, but those who own the original edition need not acquire this one solely because of the addition of contemporary work; there are many other recent publications for that. Summing Up: Recommended. With the above qualification. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. --Dale K. Haworth, Carleton College

Art-loving readers should take note of this large-format, abundantly illustrated book, which commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Asia Society's founding. The text (revised and expanded from the 1994 edition) begins with an overview of the Rockefeller Collection, the nucleus of the Asia Society's holdings, by Sherman Lee (former director & curator, Cleveland Museum of Art). Asia Society curators Adriana Proser and Michelle Yun introduce the current Asia Society collection by presenting several common themes in both traditional and contemporary Asian art. Proser and -Patry Leidy (curator, Yale Univ. Art Gallery) use a cultural and chronological approach for the "Traditional Collection," with objects from the Asia Society's collection as examples. The book continues with a section on the "Contemporary Collection" (Yun), begun in 2007 and comprising work in new media by Asian and Asian American artists. The volume concludes with a chapter on attribution-important because Asian art is known for modern replicas of art from earlier periods, and even outright forgeries. Additional material includes a map of Asia and a glossary. VERDICT This book would be a worthwhile investment for anyone interested in Asian art and culture.-Martha Smith, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.