The Museum's Asian collection is among the largest concentration of Asian art in the Southwest and consists of approximately 3,000 objects drawn from several cultures across the continent, including China, Japan, Korea, India, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
The largest portion of the Asian collection is in Chinese ceramics, which surveys the entire 5,000-year history of ceramics produced in China. Outstanding works include precious blue and white vessels dating to the Yuan (1271-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties. The Chinese collection also includes textiles, bronze objects, furniture, and paintings.
The Japanese galleries feature Buddhist sculptures, paintings, screens, prints, samurai weapons, lacquerware, and ceramics dating from the prehistoric to modern times. Small collections of Korean works and objects from Southeast Asia give the flavor of those cultures in Buddhist sculptures, ceramic wares, silver, and bronze. An area devoted to the Indian subcontinent includes important sculptures that illustrate the major religions of the area—Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism—as well as related works from Tibet and Nepal.
