From October 23, 2009 through January 10, 2010, the Asian Art Museum showcases Emerald Cities: Arts of Siam & Burma, 1775-1950, the first exhibition of its kind to use a systematic approach to present artworks from this region and period. The exhibition features more than 140 artworks drawn exclusively from the museum’s collection, which is one of the largest and most important collections of nineteenth-century Siamese and Burmese art outside of Southeast Asia. On view are ornately carved furniture, lavishly decorated miniature shrines, gilded statues, elaborately illustrated manuscripts, colorfully detailed paintings, and mirrored and bejeweled ritual objects. The Asian Art Museum organized Emerald Cities and serves as the exhibition’s exclusive venue.

The museum’s holdings in Southeast Asian art increased dramatically in 2002 from a generous donation of artworks – including many rare sculptures, paintings, and decorative arts – from Doris Duke’s Southeast Asian Art Collection. Before being distributed to organizations such as the Asian Art Museum, Doris Duke’s Southeast Asian Art Collection included more than 400 museum-quality objects and 1,800 other items. Together, these objects have represented one of the most important collections of later Southeast Asian art outside Asia.

The collection was housed at Duke Farms – Doris Duke’s principal residence in Hillsborough, New Jersey – where for many years it remained largely unknown both to the public and specialists. Over two-thirds of the artworks on view in Emerald Cities are from this collection. The museum spent more than five years to complete an extensive conservation project to preserve and stabilize these very fragile artworks. Emerald Cities provides the opportunity for their public debut.

“All of the artworks on view in Emerald Cities originate from the museum’s extensive collection, demonstrating the quality and depth of the museum’s holdings from Thailand and Burma,” says Jay Xu, Director of the Asian Art Museum. “Through the efforts of Forrest McGill, the museum’s Chief Curator, and M.L. Pattaratorn Chirapravati, co-curator of the exhibition, Emerald Cities and its accompanying catalogue contribute both to scholarship and public appreciation of the rich and varied artistic traditions of Southeast Asia.”

“A feast for the eyes awaits visitors to Emerald Cities,” says Forrest McGill. “The writings and religious thought at the time emphasized the gorgeous, flowering, bejeweled, heavenly city of the gods. This view of a luxurious and fantastical Eden is evident through the artworks on view in the galleries which originate from the three great cities of the time—Bangkok, Mandalay and Rangoon.” The artworks in Emerald Cities are presented by region, divided into three distinctive geographical areas: Burma; the highlands of Northern Thailand and Shan State, Burma; and Central Thailand. Within each geographical region, artworks are further categorized by their functions: Religious Art – including Buddhist manuscripts, sculpture, and objects for ritual use such as offering containers and ceremonial begging bowls; Mythology – including theatrical masks, costumes and puppets used for the dramatic productions of the epic of Rama; and Luxury Goods – including gold and silver vessels, furniture, and textiles.

More than 400 guests celebrated the new exhibition at an opening reception on Wednesday October 21st. In addition to viewing the beautiful exhibition and enjoying a sumptuous buffet by McCall Associates, guests had the opportunity to see "Orchids at the Asian Art Museum," a special one-week show featuring 29 orchid displays by top Bay Area floral designers. The orchid show was inspired as an homage to Doris Duke, a passionate orchid enthusiast and collector of many of the artworks presented in the exhibition.