Vietnamese Art Exhibition to Premiere in Houston

An exhibition of Vietnamese art, with more than 100 objects never before seen in the U.S., will premiere at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston Sept. 13. It will remain on view through Jan. 3.

The show, called "Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea," includes major loans from Vietnam's leading museums, including objects from the first millennium B.C. through the 17th century that have never before left the country.

The museum describes the show as the first "exhibition in the U.S. to address the historical, geographic, and cultural contexts of pre-colonial Vietnamese art in depth."

The show looks at Vietnam's history as a crossroads for travel and trade in Southeast Asia and beyond. Artifacts include ritual bronzes, fine gold jewelry, terra cotta burial wares, Hindu and Buddhist sculptures, and ornaments made of gold, lapis lazuli and crystal.

The exhibit was co-organized by The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and Asia Society in New York, which worked with nine museums in Vietnam and the Ministry of Culture. The show will travel to New York next year and be on view at Asia Society Feb. 2-May 2, 2010.