Asia

New Caledonia Returns Solomon Islands Red Feather Money

“New Caledonia Returns Solomon Islands Red Feather Money”

via “Island Business“

“The Museum of New Caledonia (MNC) and Solomon Islands National Museum (SINM) are participating in a cultural exchange – the return of the traditional red feather money (te vau). Red feather money is considered a national treasure by the people of the Solomon Islands. . . . “

 

“S. Korea says 16th Century Royal Seal at LACMA May have been Stolen”

“S. Korea says 16th Century Royal Seal at LACMA May have been Stolen”

by Matt Stevens via “LA Times”

“South Korean government officials want the United States to investigate the circumstances surrounding a 16th century Korean royal seal that they believe was stolen out of a shrine in Seoul before being acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

“Landscape” by Cho Bang-Won

“Landscape” by Cho Bang-Won

From the Collection of the National Museum of Korea

“Chinese Painting”

“Chinese Painting”

via the Metropolitan Museum of Art

“The Chinese way of appreciating a painting is often expressed by the words du hua, “to read a painting.” How does one do that? 

Consider Night-Shining White by Han Gan (1977.78), an image of a horse. Originally little more than a foot square, it is now mounted as a handscroll that is twenty feet long as a result of the myriad inscriptions and seals (marks of ownership) that have been added over the centuries, some directly on the painted surface, so that the horse is all but overwhelmed by this enthusiastic display of appreciation. Miraculously, the animal’s energy shines . . . .”