Dating from 2,500BCE to the contemporary era and created across a vast geographic area, the works displayed here represent many different nations and cultures. This artistic legacy is presented in four thematic groups—Devotion, Nature, People and Time and place—and explores Asian art across geographic, temporal, religious and cultural boundaries.
The theme of Devotion reflects the role of spirituality in the creation of works of art through historical and recent Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, animist and ancestral images, ceremonial objects and texts. Nature reveals the many ways artists depict the natural world, from stylised motifs to intricate, realistic drawings of flora, fauna and landscapes. People explores portraiture in diverse forms including Chinese funerary goods, Indonesian ancestor figures and Japanese woodblock prints and paintings. Also on display are textiles, costume and everyday objects that celebrate the skill of the maker and the entwined lives of objects and people. Time and Place presents artists’ responses to specific locations and events, from personal moments to events of great historical or political significance.
Research is underway to better understand the ownership histories of the art on display. The known provenance of most works is available on the NGA website and is regularly updated to reflect new information.