Asian Bronze at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam with Anna Slaczka, Ching-Ling Wang, William Southworth, and Sara Creange
This episode features a conversation with the team behind the exhibition Asian Bronze at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. The ambitious show celebrates 4000 years of bronze art and the central role of bronze in the traditions of Asia. Ranging from prehistoric objects to contemporary artworks, the exhibition includes pieces from India, China, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nepal, and Korea. In this conversation, our four guests elaborate on the magnificence of this metal and its importance across widely different regions of the Asian continent. They discuss the complexities of planning and designing an exhibition of this scale and proportion, and they introduce some of their favorite objects and stories. At the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, William Southworth is Curator of Southeast Asian Art, Ching-Ling Wang is Curator of East Asian Art at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Anna Slaczka is Curator of South Asian Art at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, and Sara Creange is Conservator Metals at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
Asian Bronze is on view at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam until 12 January 2025. It includes a book entitled Asian Bronze. 4000 Years of Beauty, as well as a symposium that will be held on 9 and 10 January 2025. Interested listeners can register for the symposium using the following link: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/lectures-symposiums/symposium-asian-bronze
The recording of bronze bells, a clip of which is played in this episode, was kindly provided by the Museum of East Asian Art, Koeln & Ludwig Foundation, Aachen.
Buddha seated under the Hood of a Seven-Headed Naga. Wat Wiang, Chaiya, Surat Thani Province, Thailand, 12th-13th century Bronze. (Courtesy of National Museum, Bangkok)
Set of eight yong bells and one bo bell, China, c. 8th century BCE bronze. (Courtesy of Museum of East Asian Art, Koeln & Ludwig Foundation, Aachen)
Shiva Nataraja, Tamil Nadu, India, c. 12th century, 153 x 114.5 cm, weight figure/halo approx. 255 kg., weight square base approx. 40 kg., inv. no. AK-MAK-187, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; on loan from the Royal Asian Art Society in the Netherlands. (Courtesy of Rijksmuseum Amsterdam)
X-radiograph of the Rijksmuseum Shiva Nataraja in a truck. Solid grey tones of the Nataraja, the halo and the small figure on which he stands show that these parts are completely solid-cast. (Image courtesy of Dutch Customs, Rotterdam, 2011)