This lecture series focuses on the history, art, religion, philosophy and culture of Asia.
Members-only event. The lectures start at 11 am (SGT) promptly. Please see “Events” below for details.
Every Monday | 11 am – 12 pm | Friends of the Museums Online Event
Coordinator:
Priya Seshadri
Olesya Belyanina
Adventures in Porcelain: The Hickleys, Dehua & ACM
Monday, 29 March 2021 | 11 am-12 pm
Speaker: Kenson Kwok
The gift of the Frank and Pamela Hickley collection of blanc de Chine, and subsequent acquisitions, have formed one of the strengths of the ACM. Kenson Kwok recounts his friendship with the Hickleys and the evolution of their collecting activities. He describes the conditions of ceramic production in Dehua at two points in the 20C, and the successive displays of the collection in Singapore museums since 1994. The talk concludes with a short re-assessment of the collection in light of on-going archaeological finds.
About the speaker:
Dr Kenson Kwok is the founding director of the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum. An architect and environmental psychologist by training, an abiding interest for him since childhood has been the ceramic medium. Landing in the museum world in mid-career was therefore a very happy accident.
In retirement he continues to be active in the museum sector. He was the commissioner for the exhibition Baba Bling: Signes Intérieurs de Richesse at the Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, 2010 – 11, and co-curator of the exhibition A Passage to Asia at Bozars, Brussels, 2010. He is a lecturer for the Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art (Southeast Asian module) at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, and a member of the Museum Restoration Fund Panel of The European Fine Art Fair, Maastricht (TEFAF). He currently serves on the board of the National Museum Singapore, as well as on sub-committees at NMS, NGS, IHC, the Lee Kong Chian Art Museum, and ICOM.
The Ultimate Romance: Shah Jahan’s Moonlight Garden
Monday 19 April 2021
Speaker: Pia Rampal
In the 17th century, both banks of the Yamuna river in Agra were lined with mansions, palatial gardens, and tombs, one of the great sights of Mughal India. When his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal died in childbirth, Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the most splendid addition to the riverside –the “Illumined Tomb” or Taj Mahal completed in 1643. After his visits to Agra, the French traveler Jean Baptiste Tavernier claimed that Shah Jahan had begun to build his own tomb on the opposite bank of the river, giving rise to the idea of a black marble ‘Taj’. Instead, recent archaeological findings reveal Shah Jahan’s grand plan, a fragrant Mahtab Bagh or Moonlight Garden. Here on a moonlit night, the Emperor could wonder at two views of the Taj Mahal, the ultimate romance!
About the speaker:
Pia Rampal studied consumer communication during her Masters at Northwestern University, then as an advertising professional at JWT in Chicago, Mumbai, Bangalore, and London. In Singapore, Pia discovered the power of ancient communication at the Asian Civilisations Museum. She has been a docent at the ACM for almost 15 years, co-head of docent training, done several pieces of training and Monday Morning Lectures, most recently for FOM’s new Museum Enthusiasts course. In 2018, Pia graduated with a diploma in Asian Art (Indian, Buddhist, Islamic) with high distinction from SOAS, University of London – hopefully, to return someday. The Mughals and their art were a key area of study – the elegant Shah Jahan, with his eye for perfection, are one of Pia’s icons.
Mae Phra Thorani Wrings Her Hair: Reflections on the role and development of the Earth Goddess’ forms in Thai Buddhism
Monday 26 April 2021
Speaker: M.L. Pattaratorn Chirapravati
At the moment before Shakyamuni Buddha attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, the God of the Dead, Mara, sent his troops to prevent this achievement. According to Buddhist texts, the Buddha reached out his hand requesting the Earth Goddess, Bhumidevi or Prithvi (Thai: Mae Phra Thorani), to witness his enlightenment. This action became part of the iconographic representation of the enlightenment scene in Indian Buddha images. The goddess is commonly depicted in small scale on the base of a Buddha image holding a container of water as an act of offering. In Southeast Asia, however, by around the twelfth century, Bhumidevi had developed a more prominent role; she is depicted in larger scale in both standing and sitting postures. She holds her long hair in a gesture of wringing water and flushing out Mara’s troops. She is the one who conquered the God of the Dead. This lecture investigates the role of Mae Phra Thorani and the transformation of her forms in Thai Buddhism.
About the speaker:
M.L. Pattaratorn Chirapravati is an art historian who specializes in Buddhist art and Southeast Asian art visual cultures. She received her Ph.D. in Southeast Asian Art history and Southeast Asian Studies at Cornell University. She has published extensively on ancient Buddhist art (e.g., Votive Tablets in Thailand: Origin, Styles, and Uses (Oxford University Press, 2007) and Divination Au Royaume De Siam: Le corps, la Guerre, le destine (Presses Universitaires de France, 2011). She co-curated two major art exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco entitled The Kingdom of Siam: Art from Central Thailand (1530–1800) and Emerald Cities: Arts of Siam and Burma (1775–1950). She is a faculty member in the Art Department and former Director and Vice Director of the Asian Studies Program at California State University, Sacramento. She is also former Head of Studies, Division of Arts and Humanities at Yale-NUS College (Singapore).
This is an FOM member-only event. The lecture will be held on-line 11 am – 12 pm (SGT).
To register click here. The registration will be open one week prior to the event.
61 Stamford Rd, #02-06 Stamford Court, Singapore 178892
