Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon: Masterworks from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection at Asia Society

John D. Rockefeller 3rd and his wife Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller began their journey into the Asian arts after World War II, aiming to prioritize classical masterpieces that represented the great technical skill and creative breadth of Asian artistic practice. Assembled between the 1940s and 1970s, the collection includes objects from across the Asian continent—Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam. The collection includes a massive diversity of objects ranging from every day food wares to imperial dining vessels and ceremonial Bodhisattvas to devotional Hindu sculptures. The diversity of class, region, and religion are represented in the range. The couple hoped that sharing such an assemblage of artifacts would act as a catalyst for increasing understanding between the United States and Asia, and create the foundation for future economic and sociopolitical engagement.

Typically housed at the Asia Society Museum in New York City, this collection will be presented at the New Orleans Museum of Art for a rare exhibition. noma.org.