Reports on museum, gallery and web exhibitions in the world of rugs, textiles, Asian and tribal art.

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LEVI'S MOTHER GODDESS (23 April 2002)
A rare and unusual piece, this rug is characterised by a central stylised element derived from the Mother Goddess motif...

IN THE SPIRIT OF THINGS (19 March 2002)
Recently opened at the Textile Museum of Canada Out of this World, Textiles from the Spirit Realm is a special exhibition of rugs, temple cloths and clothing which present images of gods, ancestors and the afterlife. The show attempts to explore the ways people from different cultures use textiles as a conduit between this world and the spiritual.

FROM THE SOURCE (5 February 2002)
For the first time in years, the James Blackmon Gallery will not be exhibiting at this week's Tribal, Folk and Textile Arts fair in San Francisco. Instead, Blackmon has organised a special exhibition of pre-Columbian and Central Asian weavings at his Bush street gallery.

ONE TO WATCH (21 September 2001)
To be held at the gallery of Tibetan art specialists Anna Maria and Fabio Rossi, Sara Kuehn's exhibition 'Central Asian & Islamic Textiles & Works of Art 2' (13-24 October 2001), timed to coincide with London's Islamic Week, promises to inspire with an impressive range of early textiles, lustreware, and metalwork on offer. Abigail McCullough reports.

WILD AT HEART (21 September 2001)
The Second International Conference on North African Carpets and Textiles (ICOC) gets underway next week in Marrakesh with a lively schedule of talks and tours. This year's event also features a special exhibition of rural Moroccan weavings entitled 'Wild Beauty' (26 September-11 October 2001), which are currently the focus of much market interest. Gebhart Blazek reports.

FROM THE AMU DARYA TO THE POTOMAC (14 August 2001)
A major exhibition at the Textile Museum in Washington DC next month, 'From the Amu Darya to the Potomac' (7 September 2001 - 24 February 2002), celebrates the Turkmen and other bag-weaving cultures of Central Asia. Richard Isaacson reports.

A RARE SCREENING (9 August 2001)
On view at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the two-part exhibition 'Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art' (15 July - 12 August; 14 August - 16 September 2001) shows the huge variety and unending inventiveness of this art form. Tony Luppino reports.

EMPIRICAL GOLD (3 August 2001)
'Treasures of the Golden Horde', currently on view at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg (14 February - 31 December 2001), is the first major exhibition of artefacts from the vast Mongol empire. Edward Gibbs reports.

A LIFE OF ART (27 July 2001)
The first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Hasegawa Tohaku, showing at the Museum Rietberg in Zurich (17 June - 29 July 2001), includes several of his masterworks as well as Japan's 'most-loved' work of art, a pair of screens depicting a pine forest. Thomas Bachmann reports.

THE WEIRD AND THE WONDERFUL (26 July 2001)
Recently showing at the Louvre Museum in Paris, 'The Strange and the Marvellous in the Land of Islam' (23 April - 23 July 2001) featured monsters and gargoyles, angels and prophets, dragons and unicorns – in short, the weird and the wonderful in Islamic art. Edward Gibbs reports.

COMMERCIAL CLASSICS (25 July 2001)
For the first time in its three year history, a special selling exhibition of rugs and carpets was mounted at this year's Hali Antique Carpet and Textile Art Fair (14-18 June 2001). 'Masterpieces on the Market: Turkish Carpets and Textiles before 1800' focused on weavings from the Ottoman period. Robert Pinner reports.

ROYAL RICHES (17 July 2001)
A dazzling exhibition of Indian jewellery and jewelled arts is on view at the British Museum. 'Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals' (18 May - 2 September 2001) features works from the al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait. Samina Khanyari and Mehboob Hussain report.

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING (5 July 2001)
An exhibition of Chinese, West Asian and European antiquities at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), 'Just Uncrated: Masterpieces from the Tanenbaum Gift' (21 April - 3 September 2001), highlights the philanthropic deeds of Canadian collectors Toby and Joey Tanenbaum. Tony Luppino reports.

WAXING LYRICAL (3 July 2001)
Recently opened in Amsterdam, the Royal Tropical Museum's 'Batik - Drawn in Wax: 200 Years of Textile Art from Indonesia' (11 April - 14 October 2001) celebrates the rich and remarkably varied textile art of Southeast Asia. The exhibition's curator, Itie van Hout, reports.

FROM BIRMINGHAM TO BUDDHA (28 June 2001)
An exhibition of calligraphic works by the English Buddhist artist Tashi Mannox on view at the Linda Wrigglesworth Gallery in London (11-29 June 2001). Jane Casey Singer reports.

PORCELAIN MADNESS (13 June 2001)
One hundred masterworks of Chinese and Japanese porcelain are currently on view at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden (31 March - 22 July 2001). Collected by Augustus the Strong, they were a result of his mad obsession with East Asian ceramics. Thomas Bachmann reports.

EGYPTIAN STITCH (4 June 2001)
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford will this week present 'A Stitch in Time: Medieval Islamic Embroideries from Egypt' (6 June - 22 July 2001), an exhibition featuring 67 works from the Newberry Collection – one of the world's largest and most impressive. The exhibitioin's curator, Ruth Barnes, reports.

ORNAMENTED BODIES (1 June 2001)
'Ornaments for the Body' (until 10 June), an exhibition of ethnic African, Asian, Oceanic and American jewellery from the collection of Jean-Pierre & Colette Ghysels, is drawing crowds to Palazzo Strozzi in the heart of Florence. Filippo Salviati reports.

THE TRUE ART OF A COPY CAT (24 May 2001)
'Seeing Double: Copies and Copying in the Art of China', at the Princeton University Art Museum (13 February - 4 November 2001), shows how copying and imitation have played a formative role in the arts of China over thousands of years. Tony Luppino reports.

NAKED BEAUTY (21 May 2001)
Frederick Schultz, in association with Peter Marks Gallery, recently presented 'The Jina Collection' (20 March - 28 April 2001), an exhibition of 25 bronze and stone Jain sculptures, which perfectly encapsulated the great diversity of these beautifully restrained works of art. Naman Ahuja reports.

COMING IN FROM THE COLD (10 May 2001)
An exhibition of some 350 artefacts from the collections of Peter the Great is currently on view at Trieste's Scuderie del Castello di Miramare (until 29 July 2001). 'Siberia: Men from Frozen Rivers' highlights the extraordinary artistic tradition of a nomadic people whose legacy extends from the Black Sea to Mongolia. Filippo Salviati reports.

COMPARING THE FEMALE FORM (3 May 2001)
The traditional sculpture of the Luba people of Central Africa and the contemporary art of Alison Saar are juxtaposed in an exhibition currently on view at the Fowler Museum of Cultural History in Los Angeles. 'Body Politics' (12 November 2000 - 13 May 2001) offers a compelling insight into the female image. Amber Daines reports.

VISITING THE ENCHANTED GARDEN (2 May 2001)
An outstanding selection of Islamic art from the prestigious Gulbenkian Collection was recently on view at the Fundacion Santander Central Hispano in Madrid (27 February - 22 April 2001). 'An Enchanted Garden' focused on the Ottoman milieu, but also included some outstanding Safavid and Mughal textiles. Nick Purdon reports.

CLOTHED IN VIRTUE (20 April 2001)
A selection of Qing dynasty costumes and textiles from two Canadian museum collections are brought together in 'Celebrating Virtue: Prestige Costumes and Fabrics of Late Imperial China' at The Museum for Textiles in Toronto (15 November 2000 - 13 May 2001). Tony Luppino reports.

MANIFESTING THE DIVINE (17 April 2001)
Two separate exhibitions at the Norton Simon (4 February - 4 June 2001) Museum and Pacific Asia Museum (4 February - 6 May 2001), both in Pasedena, California, show works depicting cosmic and spiritual imagery from various Asian religions. Meher McArthur reports.

MASTERS OF DEPICTION (10 April 2001)
An exhibition currently on view at The Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art at the Clark Center in Hanford, California, focuses on the problems of depiction in Japanese paintings and sculpture. 'Reflections of Reality: Masterworks from the Lee Institute Collection' (6 February - 28 April 2001) charts the emergence of realistic and abstract styles in Japanese art. Sandra Sheckter reports.

RAIN OF THE MOON (6 April 2001)
An exhibition of Pre-Columbian silver from Peru is currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 'Rain of the Moon: Silver in Ancient Peru' (3 November 2000 - 29 April 2001) highlights the artistic creativity and technological ingenuity of this 2,000-year-old tradition. David Bernstein reports.

THE UMAYYAD LEGACY (29 March 2001)
'Les Andalousies de Damas à Cordoue', at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris (28 November 2000 - 15 April 2001), brings together a wide range of Islamic works to give the most complete account to date of the art of Islamic Andalusia. Geoffrey King reports.

THE UNDERGROUND EMPIRE (29 March 2001)
The Terracotta Army from the mausoleum of Qin Shihuang, China's first emperor, is currently on view at the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung, Taiwan. 'Qin Shihuang: The Culture of the Qin People' (20 March - 10 May 2001) provides a fascinating insight into the short-lived Qin dynasty. Audrey Li reports.

A GOLDEN HOARD (29 March 2001)
'Legacy in Gold: Scythian Treasures from the Ancient Ukraine' (18 February - 6 May 2001) at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto showcases 170 works made for or by the Scythians between the 3rd and 6th centuries BCE. Regina Haggo reports.

GLIMPSES OF THE FLOATING WORLD (7 March 2001)
An outstanding exhibition of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints from the Max Palevsky Collection is currently on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (8 February - 15 May 2001). Meher McArthur reports.

MASKS OF MYSTERY (2 March 2001)
An exhibition of Chinese Bronze Masks from Sanxingdui is currently on view at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. 'Masks of Mystery' (22 December 2000 - 18 March 2001) examines these unprecedented artworks of China's Bronze Age. Tony Luppino reports.

TREASURES FROM THE ARCHIPELAGOS (21 February 2001)
'Gold from the Archipelagos, Jewels from Indonesia and the Philippines' at the Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale in Rome (30 November 2000 - 4 March 2001) showcases the Carla Pozzi Collection. Filippo Salviati reports.

IMAGES OF A NATION (16 February 2001)
'7,000 Years of Persian Art: Masterworks from the Iranian National Museum in Tehran' is an astonishing exhibtion at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (22 November 2000 - 25 March 2001). Many of the objects on view have not been seen in Europe for decades. Edward Gibbs reports.

VISIONS OF SERENITY (15 February 2001)
'Buddhist Sculptures: New Discoveries from Qingzhou, Shandong Province' at the Hong Kong Museum of Art (19 January - 15 April 2001) showcases 100 of the striking sculptures discovered at the Longxing Temple in 1996. Hilary Binks reports.

SONG OF THE DRAGON (15 February 2001)
'Song of the Dragon: Archaelogical Treasures and the Art of Campanology in Ancient China' at the Musée de la Musique in Paris (21 November 2000 - 25 February 2001) includes numerous examples of bells and other musical instruments from China. Eva McLaughlin reports.

A ROMANTIC REVIVAL (24 Janaury 2001)
'Majapahit: The Golden Age of Indonesia' at the Wereldmuseum (World Museum) in Rotterdam (26 November 2000 - 25 May 2001) takes a nostalgic view of Indonesia's last Indianised kingdom in Central Java. Alessandra Lopez y Royo Iyer reports.

CHINA AND THE DESIRE FOR HAPPINESS (17 January 2001)
'China and the Desire for Happiness' at the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst in Cologne (28 October 2000 - 18 February 2001) features a large selection of Chinese works of art from the Peter and Irene Ludwig Collection, including bronze vessels, funerary goods, Buddhist works of art, porcelains and objects relating to the pursuits of the literati. Filippo Salviati reports.

CHINA'S PRINTED TREASURES (15 December 2000)
London dealer Sam Fogg held a special exhibition of Chinese books last month (9-30 November 2000) comprising manuscripts, early printing and illustrated books from the Sui to Qing dynasties. Eva McLaughlin reports.

HIDDEN INDIAN BRONZES (12 December 2000)
An exhibition of Indian bronzes at the Victoria and Albert Museum (1 November 2000 - 2 January 2001) sadly fails to do justice to a remarkable group of 'unseen' sculptures from the Museum's collection. Naman Ahuja reports.

TRADITION AND INNOVATION (12 December 2000)
An exhibition of contemporary Japanese ceramics from Saga prefecture at the British Museum (20 October 2000 - 14 January 2001) reveals the potters' commitment to tradition, as well as their mastery of the modern. Morgan Pitelka reports.

HUMAN AND DIVINE (5 December 2000)
'Human and Divine: 2000 Years of Indian Sculpture' at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich (30 September-10 December 2000), celebrates the depiction of the human body in Indian sacred art. Madhuvanti Ghose reports.

EQUAL PARTNERS (5 December 2000)
'The Chinese Painter as Poet', on view at The China Institute Gallery, New York (14 September-10 December 2000), explores the relationships between poetry and painting in Chinese art, as well as drawing parallels to the same in other cultures. Richard Pegg reports.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LINE AND SPACE (28 November 2000)
'Drawing Space: Contemporary Indian Drawing', at London's Beaconsfield Gallery from 7 October to 29 November 2000, showcases the works of N.S. Harsha, Nasreen Mohamedi and Sheela Gowda. Robin Banerji reports.

THE UNIVERSAL WISDOM OF BUDDHA (23 November 2000)
Mayfair dealer Robert Hall recently presented a selection of ink paintings by modern Chinese artist, Kwok Hon Sum. 'The Seamless Coat of the Universe' (9-17 November 2000) was Kwok's debut solo show in London, featuring 25 works inspired by Buddhist themes. Amber Daines reports.

THINE AID WE SEEK; SHOW US THE STRAIGHT WAY... (23 November 2000)
For the fifth of her reports on 'Islamic Art of the 8th-20th Centuries' at the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg (13 June-15 September 2000) and Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam (16 December 1999-24 April 2000), Roya Shahr-Yazdi focuses on royal patronage.

REFLECTIONS OF A WOODBLOCK PRINT ARTIST (21 November 2000)
Newly-opened London gallery Asia Contemporary Art celebrated half a century of modern woodblock prints by Zhao Yannian with an exhibition of his gripping works (8-17 November 2000). Amber Daines reports.

A GREAT TRADITION (21 November 2000)
For their 75th Anniversary exhibition, S. Marchant & Son are holding their second exhibition of Chinese jades in five years. 'Post-Archaic Chinese Jades from Private Collections' (9-24 November 2000) features 89 works from the Song to Qing dynasties. Nick Purdon reports.

THIS LAND IS OUR STORY (20 November 2000)
'This Earth for Us' at The Commonwealth Institute in London (25 June-25 November 2000) celebrates the life and art of Australian Aboriginal communities with 100 works for sale, including paintings, sculptures, weapons and textiles. Amber Daines reports.

SCULPTURES OF THE DIVINE (17 November 2000)
A careful selection of 16 works of art, mainly comprising sculptures from the Indian subcontinent, feature at John Suidmak's second Asian Art in London exhibition (9-17 November 2000). Eva McLaughlin reports.

PRECIOUS JEWELS AND MAJESTIC JADES (17 November 2000)
A stunning selection of antique Indian jewellery and jades feature at Samina Inc.'s latest exhibition (9 November-2 December 2000). One of the star pieces is a nephrite jade hookah mouthpiece inlaid with diamonds, rubies and emeralds. Amber Daines reports.

READY FOR THE AFTERLIFE (16 November 2000)
For his second Asian Art in London exhibition (9-17 November 2000), Malcolm Rushton has assembled an interesting selection of early Chinese artefacts, with a particular emphasis on pieces of archaeological interest. Eva McLaughlin reports.

STEEL: A MIRROR OF LIFE IN IRAN (15 November 2000)
A small but extremely informative selection of objects on view at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (12 September-26 November 2000), highlights the craft of the Persian steelworker from the 16th to 20th centuries. Edward Gibbs reports.

FINERY FOR THE GODS (8 November 2000)
Danart's upcoming exhibition (9-17 November 2000 ) focuses on Indonesian art of the Majapahit period, in anticipation of widespread interest that will be aroused by a major exhibition in Rotterdam later this month. Eva McLaughlin reports.

GOPIS, GODDESSES AND DEMONS (7 November 2000)
Simon Ray and Leng Tang of Spink's Indian and Islamic department have put together an impressive selection of objects for 'Gopis, Goddesses and Demons' (9 October - 17 November 2000), the inaugural exhibition at their new gallery. Nick Purdon reports.

EASTERN PLENTY (7 November 2000)
Mayfair oriental art specialists, A & J Speelman are offering a diverse range of objects, mainly from East Asia, for their exhibition of recent acquisitions (9-17 November 2000). These range in style from meditative Buddhas for the serious collector to decorative cloisonné enamel vases. Amber Daines reports.

FURNITURE FIT FOR AN EMPEROR (6 November 2000)
Grace Wu Bruce presents her latest acquisitions of Chinese classical furniture from the late 16th to the early 17th centuries in her Mayfair gallery from 9-17 November 2000. Amber Daines reports.

MODERN MUGHAL MASTERY (6 November 2000)
'Flowers and Creatures of Earth and Heaven' (9 November - 31 December 2000) at London's Saray Limited will showcase 30 drawings and paintings by Jaipur-based artist Shaikh Usman Tirandaz. Amber Daines reports.

FOR BOOKS AND BEAUTY (31 October 2000)
Jan van Beers' forthcoming exhibition of 'Recent Acquisitions' (9-17 November 2000) features some impressive Chinese sculptures dating to the Tang dynasty and later periods. Eva McLaughlin reports.

TAKE ONE IZNIK TILE (27 October 2000)
London art consultants, Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch, offer an eclectic mix of Islamic, Indian and Southeast Asian works in their London gallery in November 2000, including a late 16th century Iznik pottery tile panel from Turkey. Amber Daines reports.

ZEN AND THE ART OF THE BRUSH (27 October 2000)
An exhibition of 22 Edo period ink paintings from the collection of Dr Peter and Mrs Doris Tucker is on show at the Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art in California (12 September - 28 October 2000). Sandra Sheckter reports.

MEYER MAKES IT TWENTY (11 October 2000)
Galerie Meyer Oceanic Art in Paris celebrates its 20th anniversary with a major exhibition of sculpture, jewellery and weapons from the South Pacific Islands (13 September-26 October 2000). Kunang Helmi-Picard reports.

RADIANT STONES (11 October 2000)
A stunning collection of over 100 archaic Chinese jades is on view at Myrna Myers' gallery in Paris, from 29 September to 2 December 2000. Eva McLaughlin reports.

WIVES AND GODDESSES (5 October 2000)
A carefully selected number of Indian, Islamic and Southeast Asian works of art will be on view at Michael and Henrietta Spink Ltd. during Asian Art in London (9-17 November 2000). Our author, Eva McLaughlin, examines two works that show contrasting depictions of the female form in Indian art.

GARDENS OF THE PUNJAB (5 October 2000)
'Embroidered Gardens of the Punjab', a major exhibition of textiles from rural India and Pakistan goes on view at Joss Graham's gallery in London (8-18 November 2000). The show features over 20 phulkari, embroidered shawls and coverlets for daily and ritual use. Nick Purdon reports.

ANYTHING BUT ISLAMIC (5 October 2000)
Jonathan Tucker and Antonia Tozer will be showing a diverse selection of works of art for their first showing at Asian Art in London (9-17 November), including sculptures from Gandhara and a number of silk textiles. Eva McLaughlin reports.

OF STONE AND WOOD (5 October 2000)
Following the success of his first exhibition in New York last March, Nicholas Grindley's 'November 2000' in London (6-17 November 2000) will include huanghuali furniture, early stone sculpture and pottery. Highlights include a superb limestone frieze dating from the early 6th century. Amber Daines reports.

CALLIGRAPHY WITH A MODERN EDGE (5 October 2000)
London contemporary art dealer Michael Goedhuis shows a selection of contemporary paintings by Taiwanese calligraphy artist, Fung Ming Chip (8-24 November 2000). Amber Daines got a sneak preview.

PIGS, POEMS AND A FEW ADULTEROUS WOMEN (29 September 2000)
Cohen and Cohen's 'From Poems to Piglets - Variety in Chinese Export Porcelain' (11-25 November 2000) features over 30 porcelains, including several impressive pieces of swatow ware and an Imari-style dinner service. Amber Daines reports.

SEASONAL SCREENS (27 September 2000)
For the second year running, Gregg Baker Asian Art is mounting an exhibition of Japanese screens. 'Transitional Landscapes' (9-17 November 2000) features nearly 20 examples, each of which features scenes from nature symbolising a particular season. Nick Purdon reports.

WESTERN DESERT DREAMING (22 September 2000)
'Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius' at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (18 August - 12 November 2000) is the first major exhibition to examine the phenomenon of this Aboriginal art movement. Amber Daines reports.

PICTURES OF THE PRECIOUS ONES (22 September 2000)
A fascinating photographic exhibition takes place at Rossi & Rossi in London this autumn (9 November - 2 December 2000), featuring portraits by Martine Franck of young children who are the reincarnations of Buddhist Lamas. Nick Purdon reports.

BAHRAIN'S UNKNOWN HERITAGE (13 September 2000)
'Traces of Paradise' at the Brunei Gallery in London (12 July-15 September 2000) explores the little known archaeological heritage of ancient Bahrain. Dr Geoffrey King reports.

A TRIBAL ART SHOWCASE IN ITALY (31 August 2000)
Two exhibitions of tribal art in Italy: one on Papua New Guinea art at Rome's Museo National Romano-Terme di Diocleziano (29 June - 31 October 2000), and another features west African sculpture at Palazzo Reale in Milan (6 July - 17 September 2000). Filippo Salviati reports.

MASTER OF THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT; THEE DO WE WORSHIP... (31 August 2000)
In the fourth of her reports on 'Islamic Art of the 8th-20th centuries', an exhibition at the State Hermitage Museum (13 June - 15 September 2000), Roya Shahr-Yazdi considers the Qur'an.

IN SEARCH OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM (21 August 2000)
The Los Angeles Museum of Art explores Tibetan Buddhist art with an exhibition of 23 works from its renowned Himalayan Art Collection (19 September 1999 - 4 September 2000). Reviewed by Dr Jane Casey Singer.

BETWEEN THE BLACK DESERT AND THE RED (11 August 2000)
Over 20 Turkmen weavings from the Wiedersperg Collection were chosen for 'Between the Black Desert and the Red', a major exhibition at the De Young Museum in San Francisco from 18 December 1999 to 23 July 2000. Michael Rothberg takes an appreciative look at some of the best pieces on show.

LACQUER FROM THE GOLDEN LAND (11 August 2000)
The British Museum's exhibition of Burmese lacquerware from the late 18th to 20th centuries (8 April - 13 August 2000) is based on the impressive collection of Ralph and Ruth Isaacs, and offers a different perspective on Burmese culture.

ONE MAN'S PASSION (7 August 2000)
Rudolf Smend's extensive collection of Javanese and Sumatran batik is currently exhibited in Cologne at the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum (22 June - 8 October 2000) and at Smend's own gallery (22 June - 9 September 2000).

HEALING POWER (28 July 2000)
'The World Is My Village' was the evocative title for Nigerian artist and traditional healer, Chief Oloruntoba's, latest exhibition at the October Gallery, London.

SONG DONG'S LONDON EXPOSÉ (27 July 2000)
'Song Dong in London' (30 June - 29 July 2000) showcases one young Chinese artist's experiences as a visitor in the British capital expressed through installation, video, performance and photography. Robin Banerji went along.

ANTIQUITIES FROM KAZAKHSTAN (27 July 2000)
Venice's Museum Correr exhibition, 'Shamans and Dervishes', examines the visual culture of the shaman, and its relations with other religions, primarily Islam. By Filippo Salviati.

ARTS OF THE WARRIOR (17 July 2000)
The exhibition 'Dragons and Peonies' at Museo Stibbert in Florence (until 30 July 2000) features more than 80 impressive Japanese works from the renowned collection of Frederick Stibbert (1830-1906).

THE SILKEN ROUTE (14 July 2000)
Sydney's Powerhouse Museum drew on its remarkably good collection of Central Asian art for 'Beyond the Silk Road' (30 August 1999 - 30 June 2000), an exhibition which included nomadic rugs, urban silks, tile mosaics and Iranian ceramics.

IN THE NAME OF GOD, MOST GRACIOUS, MOST MERCIFUL (7 July 2000)
The second of our reports on a major exhibition of Islamic art at the Hermitage in St Petersburg (13 June-15 September 2000). Roya Shahr-Yazdi considers the promise of a paradise of visual beauty made by the abstract ornamentation found in the Mosque.

THE ART OF JAPAN IN TIME (30 June 2000)
Dr Tim Screech looks at the assortment of clocks, paintings, Ukiyo-e prints, netsuke, inro and ceramics used in a British Museum exhibition (24 March-24 September 2000) to illustrate the nature of time in Edo period Japan.

ONE HUNDRED FAMOUS VIEWS (9 June 2000)
'One Hundred Famous Views of Edo' (18 February-23 April 2000) at the Brooklyn Museum of Art featured 100 woodblock prints from Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), one of the most renowned Japanese woodblock artists.

CENTRAL ASIA IN FOCUS (30 May 2000)
Outstanding and esoteric weavings from Central Asia at the James Blackmon Gallery in San Francisco (28 March-1 May 2000).

ODE TO OTTOMAN EMBROIDERY (24 May 2000)
'Flowers of Silk and Gold' (18 February - 30 July 2000) features a number of outstanding Ottoman embroideries, all drawn from the collection of The Textile Museum in Washington DC.

EASTERN TREASURES FROM THE WEST COAST (19 May 2000)
Sandra Sheckter looks at the Japan Society Gallery in New York's presentation of wonderful Japanese works from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (22 March - 9 July 2000).

VERILY GOD IS BEAUTY (16 May 2000)
The first in a series of reports on 'Earthly Beauty, Heavenly Art', a major exhibition at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam (16 December 1999 - 24 April 2000).

PASSAGE TO CALIFORNIA (9 May 2000)
An in-depth review of a selection of the best rugs and textiles at 'Passages II', an exhibition of Bay Area collections for the Fifth American Conference on Oriental Rugs (30 March - 2 April 2000).

CLOTH FROM THE HILLS (3 April 2000)
Angela Bliss describes her favourite pieces at the Saint Louis Art Museum's collection of textiles from the hills tribes of Southeast Asia.

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (31 March 2000)
The Musée Cernuschi in Paris exhibits a superb selection of oriental art masterpieces from the New York Asia Society's Rockefeller collection. Reviewed by Filippo Salviati.

NEOLITHIC WORKS COME OF AGE (16 March 2000)
J.J. Lally & Co's spring 2000 show features 20 Neolithic works of art that are sure to command some of the best prices amongst galleries during Asian Art in New York.

ORNATE MINIMALISM (16 March 2000)
Sarah Potter reports on the fine selection of classical Chinese furniture London's Nicholas Grindley put together for New York's Asia Week.

A HIGHER PLANE (10 March 2000)
Amy Page reports on E&J Frankel's first show dedicated to Tibetan art, as the New York dealership capitalises on the exponential growth of interest in this area.

AMERICAN INDIAN BEAUTY (10 March 2000)
The Chase Manhattan Gallery is the British Museum's first exhibition space devoted to the indigenous art of North America.

OCEANIC MASTERPIECES (7 March 2000)
Oceanic Arts Australia's 'Grand Opening' exhibition (18 December 1999 - 31 January 2000) demonstrated the huge potential for high-end tribal art amongst Sydney's growing number of private buyers.

SYDNEY'S TRIBAL TRIBUTE (7 March 2000)
The success of Conru Primitive Art's recent voyage down under (18 December 1999 - 31 January 2000) speaks volumes for the fast-maturing market in tribal art.

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GANI (10 February 2000)
The Brunei Gallery in London showcases the works of the Nigerian artist, Gani Odutokun, from 20 January to 24 March 2000.

THE WOODBLOCK PRINT INSPIRATION (3 February 2000)
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts' April 2000 exhibition of 100 Japanese woodblock prints.

EMBODIMENTS OF CULTURE (26 January 2000)
The elaborate and highly-symbolic body markings of Maori and Samoan tribes were the subject of an exhibition at the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum of Ethnology in Cologne.

LOOKING THROUGH A LENS (21 January 2000)
New York's Marlborough Gallery showcased the latest works by the contemporary Chinese painter, Chen Yifei,.

QUEUE HERE FOR
AN INDIGENOUS STATEMENT! (19 January 2000)
An installation of 100 Aboriginal warrior shields at Sydney's Djamu Gallery confronted visitors with how indigenous peoples continue to feel about European settlement.

CHICAGO MEETS MENTAWAI (22 December 1999)
The first major exhibition in the States of art from the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia was a big hit amongst connoisseurs of both tribal and modern art.

REVOLUTIONARY FASHION (16 December 1999)
'Fashioning Mao' at the Victoria & Albert Museum looks at the use of Mao Zedong's image in western fashion.

POLDI'S PRIDE (15 December 1999)
To coincide with the International Conference on Oriental Carpets, the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan brought out from storage 12 of its renowned carpets, most of which had never before been on public display.

CELEBRATING THE TURKMEN WEDDING (15 December 1999)
At this year's International Conference on Oriental Carpets, 32 trappings and rugs from the State Museum of St Petersburg were exhibited at the Palazzo Reale. This was the first time that the Museum's collection had been shown outside Russia and, as the author found out, there were many interesting and beautiful examples to be seen.

KINGS OF ITALY (6 December 1999)
A comprehensive overview by Ralph Kaffel of the rugs and textiles from Italian private collections exhibited in 'Sovrani Tappeti: Oriental Carpets from the 15th to the 19th Century' (7 September - 8 November 1999), the centrepiece of the 9th International Conference on Oriental Carpets.

SCHOLARLY BY NAME, SCHOLARLY BY NATURE (29 November 1999)
Kaikodo gallery in New York once again staged the consummate exhibition, with great art on view, a scholarly catalogue and a memorable party on opening night.

BUDDHAS AND BODHISATTVAS (25 November 1999)
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford is showcasing Buddhist sculpture from the Nyingjei Lam Collection: an outstanding sample of works from Tibet and surrounding regions.

THE CONNOISSEUR'S BUDDHA (22 November 1999)
For Asian Art in London Rossi & Rossi have assembled a superior selection of ten works from India, Tibet and Nepal that convey the power of Buddhist expression in the human form.

IMPERIAL WARES UNITE (16 November 1999)
Important and in some cases extremely rare Chinese ceramics of the Yuan (1279-1368) and early Ming (1368-1644) dynasties have been brought together for the first time at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

ORDER AND ELEGANCE (15 November 1999)
This week sees the opening of the largest exhibition of Chinese furniture ever to come to Britain. 'Ming Furniture from the Collection of Dr S.Y. Yip' at the Institute for Contemporary Art promises to be a focal point for this year's Asian Art in London season.

THE GILDED DRAGONS EXTRAVAGANZA (3 November 1999)
The much-publicised 'Gilded Dragons' at the British Museum includes a host of ancient Chinese state treasures never before displayed outside the country and shows many spectacular discoveries of the last three decades from the Han and Tang dynasties.

HISTORY AND ROMANCE (3 November 1999)
As the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia become increasingly popular tourist destinations, an exhibition at the British Museum features the work of a photographer who ventured beyond the Oxus long before the Western hordes.

ARCHITECTURE AND ART OF THE DECCAN SULTANATES (3 November 1999)
In this elaborate and enlightening account of Deccan art, George Michell and Mark Zebrowski unite to provide an in depth account of over four centuries of architecture, painting and decorative art from central India.

ANDEAN ART EXPOSÉ! (20 October 1999)
London's Paul Hughes aroused interest in the pre-Columbian art market at the 1999 LAPADA Show with his show '2,000 Years of Andean Art'.

THE SELLER'S ALWAYS RIGHT (11 October 1999)
Contemporary kilims take centre stage at David Black Oriental Carpets in London this November. Nick Purdon reports on 'Natural Born Colours', which blends the contemporary with the ornate.

REVEALING THE FORMS AND MYTHS OF VISHNU (28 September 1999)
An unusual exhibition of paintings, sculptures and textiles at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (6 June 1999 - 13 February 2000) examines the many complex forms of the Hindu God Vishnu. Amber Daines reports.

A FLORENTINE MENAGERIE (23 September 1999)
Alberto Boralevi's 'Animals and Carpets' exhibition is amongst the most intriguing display to feature at this year's International Conference on Oriental Carpets. Cloudband's Editor explains the highlights of these well-chosen weavings which are all united by their depiction of animals.

IMAGE VERSUS REALITY (20 September 1999)
As the dust begins to settle after one of the most in-depth studies of Qajar painting, first at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and now at SOAS, Roya Shahr-Yazdi considers the role that these images played in promoting a cult of personality for Iran's penultimate dynasty.

KAGURA: The Oka Gift of Japanese Ritual Mask (8 September 1999)
A recent British Museum exhibition examined a collection of Japanese kagura masks, so called after a form of ceremonial dance in the Shinto religion. Amber Daines, Cloudband's Assistant Editor, takes a look at a group of objects rarely seen in Western museums.

PLEASURE AND PAIN IN A BRUSHSTROKE (22 July 1999)
Connoisseurship reigns at Japan Society's 'Crosscurrents', a recent exhibition of East Asian art during New York's Asia Week. Jane Singer was there.

LESS IS MORE (12 July 1999)
So you missed the exhibition? Don't worry! These days more and more dealers are preserving their gallery shows online. Nick Purdon looks at 'Minimal', the online manifestation of Alberto Levi's most recent show, and asks a few pertinent questions.

BEAUTY AND ENLIGHTENMENT (10 June 1999)
Buddhist art is a vehicle for spiritual awakening, but beauty was at the heart of Tibetans' best painterly efforts. Jane Casey Singer on 'Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

EMBODIMENTS OF AN AGE (16 June 1999)
The wealth and power of the Church in the Middle Ages ensured that only the richest materials and the finest artistry went into the making of its textiles and vestments.

THREADS OF COTTON, THREADS OF BRASS (16 June 1999)
The Philadelphia's exhibition of the arts of eastern India and Bangladesh from the Stella Kramrisch Collection included a few outstanding kanthas, exemplars of folk art made in the home for use in the home.

RITUAL ART (28 June 1999)
Rossi & Rossi's trailblazer continues to receive plaudits from all and sundry - ground-breaking exhibitions of this quality are rare indeed.