Workers in Thai government offices and temples as well as high-ranking officials and monks often had ivory seals for stamping the identifying symbol of the office or temple on documents. Identifying symbols—rather like crests or logos—included mythological heroes, fantastic animals, legendary buildings, and monograms. Some are inscribed with the name of the institution for which they were used.

Lin Xue “seek[s] the ultimate spiritual condition through painting.” His artistic process begins in rural mountains, where he carefully observes and sketches nature. These sketches create a vocabulary of forms that the artist reproduces from memory in his ink compositions. He gazes silently at the blank paper until images emerge in his mind. He then applies ink with a bamboo twig, a tool literally connecting his artwork to nature. Delicate lines form organic images that seem both real and imagined, earthly and otherworldly, familiar and unfamiliar. Notice Lin Xue’s personal seal on the paper edge. This marker indicates the completion of his process and his reentry to the “here and now.”

During the late part of the dynasty, Shang power was focused in the city of Anyang. The majority of the ceremonial vessels cast there come from a standard set of shapes and have richly decorated surfaces and short inscriptions. In contrast, this vessel has an unadorned, natural form and a lengthy and detailed inscription. It was first published in 1845, shortly after its discovery in Shandong province in a buried cache of seven bronzes. It likely reflects the artistic preferences of the people living in that area during the late Shang dynasty.

A twenty-seven-character inscription cast on the inside of the rhinoceros’s belly mentions the patron, Xiaochen Yu; an unnamed king’s trip to Kui; a gift of cowry shells to Yu; and the king’s campaign against the troublesome Renfang, who lived in the Huai River valley south of Anyang.

A sphinx, with horns and a predator’s head at its wing tip, tramples a creature that resembles an antelope. The combination of different animal features, as in the sphinx’s wing, is characteristic of ancient bronzes found in the Luristan region of western Iran. The precise symbolism of these composite creatures is unclear. It is thought that the people who produced these bronzes were nomads, whose survival would have depended on certain animals. This object is one of a pair of a cheekpiece for a horse. The two pieces were connected by a metal rod that served as the bit, passing through the circular hole in each cheekpiece. The mate of this cheekpiece (identical, but a mirror image) is in the Louvre in Paris.

As one of the thirty-five Buddhas of confession in Tibetan Buddhism, Bhadrashri stands for all-embracing kindness. His right hand is in the gesture of resignation, and his left hand in the gesture of meditation.

Chakrasamvara is a principal god (yidam) of Tantric Buddhism and is popular in Tibet, Mongolia, and Nepal. Chakrasamvara means “binding the wheels,” a reference to the centers called chakras (wheels) that comprise the subtle body in Buddhist thought. He is in mystic union with his consort, Vajravarahi, signifying the blissful union of compassion and wisdom that together comprise enlightenment.

Each of Chakrasamvara’s twelve hands originally held a symbolic implement. The thunderbolt and bell in his primary hands symbolize the union of skillful means and wisdom that generates enlightenment.

Under the feet of these deities are the worldly divinities Bhairava and Kalaratri. Bhairava embodies the terrifying aspects of worldly life, and Kalaratri represents the seductive aspects. Both of these aspects are overcome by Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi in the process of enlightenment.

This gilded sculpture is a symbolic replica of the Svayambhu Stupa, a key monument of Nepali Buddhism. Stupas like this one were created to contain the relics of the Buddha, his disciples, or even his teachings. In form, the stupa takes the shape of a mandala: it is oriented to the four directions of ordinary space, and an axis marks its center. When constructed according to this form and consecrated with the proper ritual procedures, the stupa seals the power of the objects it contains. Since such potency cannot leak out of a stupa, the benefits of objects sealed inside are theoretically available forever.

Elephants were closely associated with rulership in South Asia and bore many kings through battles, hunts, and ceremonial processions. That this elephant throne, or howdah, was used by royalty is indicated by its covering of embossed and gilded sheets of silver. Some decorative motifs on the throne—such as the coat of arms on its front and the flower-filled urns on its sides—document the artistic exchange between Europe and South Asia during the colonial period. The lions on the front and sides of the throne continue a South Asian tradition of associating the regal animal with gods, religious figures, and rulers. Other culturally specific features include the peacocks, traditional South Asian emblems of royalty and divinity, in the side panel medallions. Furnishings of this type were probably produced using pattern books as guides. This elephant throne came with an elaborate burgundy velvet parasol decorated with gold thread. Part of the rod for the parasol can be seen behind the front seat.

This painting reveals the artist’s interest in both traditional Chinese ink painting and contemporary Western art. It reflects a conversation between traditional methods and newer forms of contemporary art involving the use of computers and distorted imagery. While featuring recognizable landscape elements and focusing on the appropriate use of brush and ink, the painting also shows an interest in light and texture. Its grid-like compositional approach demonstrates Wong’s studies of form and design. Interested in geometric abstraction, Wong has mixed Chinese textural strokes and Western tonality and structure over the past several decades.

Inscription:
This heart suddenly escapes to a strange place
A strange land outside the framework of time
Here your feelings begin to take shape
As picturesque hills peaks rivers and valleys
For you to make memorable excursions
Do not ask why your heart trembles unceasingly
Why you constantly sense the chillness
Why what has happened before no longer exists
Why what is seen now is not what was seen
You should transcend joy distress love and hate
Understand the perpetual cycle of growth and decay
Knowing that all adversities can be overcome

This painting depicts what the Buddha saw at the moment of his enlightenment: how Mara, the demon of time, death, and illusion holds the world of suffering (samsara) in his grip, and how an understanding of the laws of causality leads to the experience of liberation (nirvana).