Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art

If you're in town for the 4th of July holiday, explore the world of American artist James McNeill Whistler, including his masterpiece, the Peacock Room! See the full tour schedule here: https://s.si.edu/3QjCe2h

Meet these goddesses and more in the online exhibition “Wisdom of the Goddess," with 25 Hindu and Buddhist artworks and resources to explore: https://s.si.edu/3RLBALg #SmithsonianAsianArt Images: The Goddess Uma, 10th century, Cambodia, Sandstone, 124.2 x 37.5 x 24.3 cm (48 7/8 x 14 3/4 x 9 9/16 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler, S1987.909 Tara (one of the Famed Twenty-one Tara Emanations), Second half of 17th century, Central Tibet, Gilt copper alloy, turquoise, enamel, and coral, 48.3 x 31.8 cm (19 x 12 1/2 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, The Alice S. Kandell Collection, S2011.12a-c Saraswati, folio from a Goddess series, Attributed to Wajid (active late 17th century), ca. 1680-1700, Sawar, Rajasthan state, India, Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 15.9 × 24.4 cm (6 1/4 × 9 5/8 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art, S2018.1.40

If you're in town for the #4thofJuly, we will be open daily from 10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Join us to tour the world of American artist James McNeill Whistler, see his paintings and the objects that inspired him. See the full schedule here: https://s.si.edu/3QjCe2h

Join us on a #CosmicJourney to celebrate #Chandra25 on #SolsticeSaturday June 22! https://s.si.edu/3Vud0Ru Until then, enjoy this oil lamp from East Java, Indonesia—also a technological innovation at the time of its creation in the fourteenth century. Cast in bronze and hung from a chain of interlocking loops, the scaly body of the divine serpent (naga) arches dramatically, its head held upright, supporting a petal-shaped dish that would have carried oil. When the dish was filled with oil, and the wick ignited, the flame would have created hours of light inside a temple or shrine. Just like the Chandra X-ray telescope allows us to see invisible light from other regions of the universe, this innovative oil lamp in the shape of a naga connected people with a world beyond. Image: Naga oil lamp 14th century, Java, Indonesia, Copper alloy, 33 × 17.2 × 6.5 cm (13 × 6 3/4 × 2 9/16 in) without chain, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Ann and Gilbert Kinney, S2023.9.1

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If you like "Peony Garden," join curator Frank Feltens June 26 for a tour of "Imagined Neighbors" to see this and other stunning paintings and calligraphies. Meet our curators to get a personal look at our exhibitions here: https://s.si.edu/3Q7SItQ Image: Peony Garden 牡丹園, Murakami Kagaku 村上華岳 (1888-1939), Taishō era, 1918, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, F2020.5.31a-f

Did you know ink is often made with soot? Join us on June 20 to examine materials used to make ink and hear about our latest scientific research: https://s.si.edu/3QLCUgU Image: Dragons and Clouds 雲龍図屏風(左隻), Tawaraya Sotatsu 俵屋宗達 (fl. ca. 1600-1643), 1590-1640, Japan, Ink and pink tint on paper, 171.5 x 374.3 cm (67 1/2 x 147 3/8 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1905.229

Celebrate #SolsticeSaturday June 22 with us at #AsiaAfterDark! Enjoy freshly cut fruit, conversations about labors of love, and a visit to the museum after dark. We'll be open till midnight! https://s.si.edu/3V04x75 Image: Fruit, Yamamura Koka 山村耕花 (1886-1942), 1926, Japan, Ink and color on paper, 25.1 x 36 cm (9 7/8 x 14 3/16 in), National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Robert O. Muller Collection, S2003.8.3416

Ghosts of Sugoroku Past? A simplified, pictorial version of the Japanese board game “sugoroku” has existed since the thirteenth century, but became more popular during the Edo period, when printed editions were widely and cheaply available. “Picture sugoroku” resembles the game “Snakes and Ladders,” where players roll dice and progress around the board. Pictured here, the squares are illustrated with various supernatural characters familiar to players from kabuki theater, such as the magician Akatsuki Hoshigorō, riding on the back of a giant bat, seen here in the center. “Staging the Supernatural: Ghosts and the Theater in Japanese Prints” is now on view in Gallery 25. Part of our #JapaneseArt collection. #SmithsonianAsianArt Images: Picture sugoroku board game of actors in supernatural roles, Toyohara Kunichika (1835–1900), Block carver: Ōta Tashichi (Komakichi) (act. ca. 1834–1882), Publisher: Hiranoya Shinzō (dates unknown), Japan, Edo period, 1863, 9th month, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, The Pearl and Seymour Moskowitz Collection, S2021.5.347

In May, our Department of Conservation & Scientific Research was honored with several awards by the prestigious American Institute for Conservation & Foundation for Advancement in Conservation. Our Head of Conservation and Scientific Research Donna Strahan received the Robert L. Feller Lifetime Achievement Award for exceptional contributions to the conservation profession over the course of her illustrious career. Andrew W. Mellon Senior Scientist Dr. Blythe McCarthy, and Conservation Scientist Jennifer Giaccai won the Publication Award for excellence for their ground-breaking work in "Scientific Studies of Pigments in Chinese Paintings." Please join us in congratulating them on their remarkable achievements! To learn more, browse, download or purchase "Scientific Studies of Pigments in Chinese Paintings" here: https://s.si.edu/4ciLtYX