The newspaper for collectors, dealers, museums and galleries • june 2005 • £5.00/US$8/€10 The newspaper for collecTors, dealers, museums and galleries • april 2025 • £5.00/us$10/€10 VIETNAM TO BE PRESERVED T


he People’s Committee of the central province of Quang Nam and the Archaeological


Survey of India (ASI) have launched a 2025-29 project to preserve and restore Towers E and F at the My Son Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Duy Phu Commune, Quang Nam Province. Te Towers E and F complex


comprises 11 structures, with the E group consisting of eight towers (E1–E8) and the F group including three towers (F1, F2, F3). Experts from Vietnam and


India have


identified these monuments as those requiring the most urgent restoration. Te My Son Sanctuary site, situated in central Vietnam, dates from the 4th to the 13th centuries, and is located in an elevated geological basin surrounded by a ring of mountains, which also includes the source of the sacred Tu Bon River. Tower E1, the oldest in the group,


dates to the 8th century and is the main tower in the E group. It remains the most intact among the site’s structures, however, the


brickwork is poorly bonded, with bricks stacked without visible mortar and Tower E2, a gateway tower, is in severe disrepair. Only 2.2 metres of the tower remains, showing multiple horizontal and vertical cracks, with the western and eastern gate pillars having detached from the main structure. Tower E5 is almost entirely in ruins, with collapsed walls that are now only 1.2 metres in height, with cracks and crumbling bricks making the tower vulnerable to further deterioration. Te F group consists of three


towers: F1, F2, and F3. Tower F1, the main temple of the group, dates to the 8th to 9th century and shows a fusion of the then-prevailing architectural styles. Excavated in 2003, it has not yet undergone any restoration. Tower F2, another gateway tower, has collapsed, leaving only the southern wall standing. Tis initiative aims to prevent further deterioration,


restore, and


improve the architectural integrity of the My Son temple complex. Archaeological evidence shows that


Many temples in the Champa


kingdom were built for devotion to the Hindu gods such as Krishna and Vishnu; however, the most important god in the Cham world was Shiva. Although Mahayana


Buddhism


penetrated Cham culture, probably from the 4th century, and became strongly established in the north of the kingdom, Shivite Hinduism continued to main the established state religion. Te


towers have a variety of


architectural designs symbolising the greatness and purity of Mount Meru, the mythical sacred mountain home to Hindu gods considered to be at the centre of the universe. Tey were constructed in fired brick with stone pillars and decorated with sandstone


bas-reliefs My Son Sanctuary, groups B, C, and D, Quang Nam province, 2024


the tower temples were constructed over a period of about 10 centuries reflecting continuous development in what was the heart of the ancestral homeland of the ruling Dua Clan, which unified the Cham clans and


established the kingdom of Champapura in the 2nd century. Te My Son monuments in the sanctuary are considered among the most important constructions still existing from this culture.


NEWS IN BRIEF


A Mughal painting of long-tailed bird in the style of Ustad Mansur, India,18th century Estimate: £3,000 - £4,000*


REDESIGNING THE WESTERN RANGE GALLERIES, BRITISH MUSEUM Te British Museum has today announced that Lina Ghotmeh Architecture (LG-A) has won the competition to redesign its Western Range galleries. Tis is a pivotal moment in the museum’s Masterplan to transform the historic building – the project is one of the biggest cultural renovations undertaken anywhere in the world. Lebanese-born Ghotmeh was said to have likened each new project to an archaeological dig, looking at a building’s past to support the reimagination and ‘story’ of its future, with sustainability at its heart and a close observance of the use of natural materials. Te panel felt this sentiment resonated with the museum collection, which spans two million years of human history. Te complete reimagining of the Western Range,


Antiquities, Islamic


& Indian Arts Friday 2 May


is the third phase of the Masterplan, which includes all the galleries to the west of the Great Court. Since it opened in 1857, the British Museum buildings have evolved to accommodate more visitors and a growing collection. Tis section includes all the galleries to the west of the Great Court, housing our greatest objects from ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, Rome, Assyria, and the Middle East.


LIU JIAKUN WINS 2025 PRITZKER PRIZE FOR ARCHITECTURE Liu Jiakun has been announced as the 2025 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, considered architecture’s highest honour. Intertwining ideas such as utopia versus everyday existence, history versus modernity, and collectivism versus individuality, Liu offers affirming architecture that celebrates the lives of ordinary citizens. In 2001, Liu Jiakun’s work was first showcased in


Continued on page 2


+44 (0)20 8761 2522 | islamic@roseberys.co.uk | www.roseberys.co.uk * www.roscberys.co.uk/buy-sell/buying-guide for additional charges on hammer price


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scenes from Hindu mythology. ASI Director Shri Azmira Bhima


expressed his hope that the project will not only protect the historical significance of Towers E and F but will support and enhance the technical and managerial skills of the local workforce.


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ASIAN ART TOWERS AT MY SON IN


depicting


Profile: the painter Yuan Fang The opening of the Albuquerque Foundation in Sintra, Portugal Theaster Gates, in Portugal Recasting the Past: The Art of Chinese Bronzes 1100-1900, in New York City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920-1940s, in Singapore From the archives: Art from the lost kingdom of Champa A short history of moon jars Meisen kimonos and the dawn of the modern age in Japan, in Vienna Asian textiles in London and National Treasures in Kyoto Art treasures from Korea, in Dresden Modern Japanese portrait prints; Indian paintings; and a moveable feast in Hong Kong The prints of Masami Teraoka and Everyday War by Yuan Goang-Ming, in San Francisco Auction previews in Hong Kong and gallery shows Islamic Arts Diary


Next issue May 2025


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