Free Admission to Asia Society Museum

Through March 3

February 14th, 2019 by Ami Li

Do you like art? What about free things? While we ready the galleries for the rest of our upcoming exhibitions, see In Focus: A Complete Map of the World—The Eighteenth-century Convergence of China and Europe in our third floor gallery — for free! Curated by Adriana Proser, Asia Society's John H. Foster Senior Curator for Traditional Asian Art, this small, focused exhibition highlights a rare woodblock print of a map of the world from eighteenth-century China.

Ma Junliang (active late 18th century). Capital Edition of a Complete Map (of the World Based on) Astronomy (Jingban tianwen quantu). China. Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong period, ca. 1780–90. Colored woodblock print on paper. Private Collection. Photograph courtesy of Sotheby's

Created by Qing Dynasty scholar, civil servant, and mapmaker Ma Junliang, the Capital Edition of the Complete Map (of the World Based on) Astronomy or Jingban tianwen quantu is a testimony to shared Chinese and European geographic knowledge. The map offers viewers a Chinese perspective about power and the nature of the world with China at the center. The exhibition also includes Chinese eighteenth-century artworks that appropriate and reinterpret European images and techniques.

Through March 3, 2019, admission to Asia Society Museum is free. Plan your visit now!