Israel, perched on the western rim of the Asian continent, sees great importance in its cultural links with other civilizations in Asia, and the establishment of a department for Asian art was a natural consequence of the Museum’s master plan for an encyclopedic museum containing representative examples of the world’s great cultures. The basis of the collection was formed in the 1960s, beginning with the gift of a group of Southeast Asian sculptures and early Chinese ceramics. In 1975 a bequest of more than seven hundred artworks came to the Museum, forming the foundation of the Department of Asian Art, and including an outstanding collection of Thai ceramics from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; a fine group of Korean celadons; and Chinese ceramics from the Tang and Song dynasties, as well as Chinese sculptures and bronzes. The Indian subcontinent was represented by terra-cotta sculptures from the Sunga and Gupta periods, stone sculptures from the Kushan through Pala periods, and a representative collection of paintings.

Awareness of the department spread rapidly, both in Israel and abroad, and its holdings grew apace, with donations of an outstanding collection of netsuke, a superb group of rhinoceros-horn cups, more than ninety bronze sculptures and artifacts from Indonesia, fine examples of seventeenth-century Chinese furniture, and a rare and historically important set of thirteen Chinese bronze bells from the seventh–sixth centuries BCE. A unique collection containing some five hundred Japanese prints, paintings, and sculptures was given to the Museum in 2001. Continuing to expand year by year, the department’s holdings constitute the only major comprehensive collection of Asian art in Israel.

In addition to maintaining and renewing its permanent display, the department has mounted a number of the Museum’s most important loan exhibitions, which were the centerpiece of highly popular Chinese and Japanese seasons. Ongoing ties with the countries of East Asia have not only led not only to an exchange of culture between national institutions far away and our Museum, they have also constituted an important link in the international cultural network of the State of Israel.

Rebecca Bitterman
Senior Curator, Marcel Lorber Department of Asian Art

Page from a Ragamala series Todi Ragini Rajasthan, Bundi, 17th century Gouache on paper, decorated with gold leaf Height: 21 cm (8.25 in)