-Until November 7, 2011, at the Départemental Museum of Asian Arts
405, Promenade des Anglais Nice
From July 20 to November 7, 2011, the Asian Arts Museum is hosting the new exhibition Lacquer and Gold of Burma, showcasing many lacquered and gilded utilitarian objects related to everyday Burmese life.
The Asian Arts Museum offers a unique opportunity to discover Burma, a country where travel is still difficult, and to get close to the life of its inhabitants.
Influenced by Buddhism, which has shaped a landscape of pagodas and monasteries with sumptuous golden roofs, Burma is a fascinating country at the crossroads of India and China, two immense and powerful neighbors that are continually asserting themselves.
Sparsely visited due to its political situation, this true ethnic mosaic has managed to maintain a strong cultural identity, particularly through its lacquer art, which is still little known by Westerners.
This natural resin, like silk in China, is the emblematic material of this country.
The Burmese lacquer masters have excelled in technical and artistic feats to create true masterpieces.
In this hot and humid country, to ensure the longevity of everyday objects, they are frequently covered with lacquer, which is then decorated, sometimes in a sumptuous manner.
Each shape corresponds to a use, unchanged since the 19th century.
The Fatin collection reveals two types of objects: everyday items and those for religious use, which are often the most beautiful.
The two hundred objects in this collection, a true repertoire of forms and symbols, lent by the passionate collector Philippe Fatin, are presented. From betel boxes, fermented tea containers, and all domestic uses, to Buddhist pieces: offering trays, alms bowls, prayer books, and cult statuettes.
One notable piece is a hollow lacquer Buddha, named after this now-disappeared technique that dates back to the Tang era in China, and the ceremonial dish, hsun-ok, which bears the oldest known signature with a date to this day.
