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Orientations Magazine, Unit 1501, 15/F, M Place, 54 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong (2025)

08/08/2025

Each career phase was marked by the use of different signatures corresponding to Jane’s evolving identity and circumstances. Yet she continued to sign some works ‘Jane Hendromartono’, particularly her white-ground batiks made in the 1940s–50s. A photograph of Jane with one of these works reveals the intimate connection between her artistic practice and personal identity (image 1). Building on her family’s rich artistic heritage and her lifelong dedication to batik, her work reflects her resilient adaptation to changing times, offering a nuanced and authentic image of an artist creating work for diverse markets in the second half of the twentieth century.

Read more in Naomi Wang's article "Batik Making and Artistic Innovation Across Three Generations: The Oeij Family of Pekalongan " in our current issue, link in bio.

Images:

1. Jane Hendromartono with a batik,
circa. 1980
Collection of Inge Hendromartono

2. Sarong
Jane Hendromartono (Indonesian, 1924–1988); c. 1948–1950s
Cotton (drawn batik), 107 x 102 cm
Peranakan Museum, Gift of the family of Mr and Mrs Lee Kip Lee

07/08/2025

Gallery 149 will be hosting upcoming workshops and events in collaboration with Art N platform to launch unique beading courses & workshops.

Gallery 149 is offering four courses:

- Beading & String Weaving Introduction
- Beaded Collar Workshop
- Jewelry Art Expression
- Metal Wire Textile Techniques

Hosted at Gallery149, 149 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong

06/08/2025

Batik makers like Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing capitalized on this to explore innovative and unconventional interplays of colours and patterns. Her work during this phase was characterized by innovative colour combinations and strikingly original motifs, juxtaposing delicate pastel tones with vibrant accent colours. Inventive new motifs populated her backgrounds, including rice grains, clove buds, peacock feathers, and ornamental balls (image 1).

Read more in Naomi Wang's article "Batik Making and Artistic Innovation Across Three Generations: The Oeij Family of Pekalongan " in our current issue, link in bio.

Images:

1. Detail of sarong with batik signature
Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing (Indonesian, 1895–1966); 1929
Cotton (drawn batik); 106 x 94 cm
Peranakan Museum, Gift of the family of Mr and Mrs Lee Kip Lee

2. Kain panjang
Nyonya Oeij Kok Sing (Indonesian, 1895–1966) and Jane Hendromartono (Indonesian, 1924–1988);
c. 1948–early 1950s Cotton (drawn batik);
106 x 258 cm Peranakan Museum, Gift of the family of Mr and Mrs Lee Kip Lee

04/08/2025

Around the World: August

Your monthly guide to must-see exhibitions and events worldwide across Asian and Middle Eastern arts.

1. "Enduring Traditions: Celebrating the World of Textiles", George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum, Toronto, 16 August to 20 December 2025

2. "The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Treasures of the Mughal Court from the Victoria and Albert Museum", The Palace Museum, 6 August 2025 to 23 February 2026

3. "Operatic Heights: A Tribute to Mei Lanfang", Liang Yi Museum, Hong Kong, 6 August to 1 December 2025

4. "Lyrically Rebellious: The Prints of Onchi Kōshirō" Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawaii, 23 August 2025 to 12 April 2026

Let us know if you visit any of these exhibitions, and tag us in your photos!

01/08/2025

The bronzes unearthed at the Sanxingdui site in Sichuan province, home to the remains of a previously unknown Bronze Age civilization, come almost entirely from a group of sacrificial pits— apart from a few surface finds—and number in the thousands. They can be categorized as human figures and masks, animal and plant forms, vessels, weapons, and various ornaments. Except for the vessels, which exhibit the typical southern Shang bronze style, the other artefacts are exceedingly unusual, forming a distinctive local style for Sanxingdui bronzeware. The manufacturing techniques encapsulate both the functions and the means of realization of the objects, and are therefore essential for understanding the artefacts’ properties.

Read more in Su Rongyu and Zhu Yarong's article "A Glimpse into the Bronze Casting Technology of Sanxingdui" in our current issue, click the link in our bio for more.

Images:

1. Trace welding discovered on bronze mask (detail of fig.1 in article)
Photo by Su Rongyu,
Courtesy of Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan

2. Traces of welding on the interior side of an ear (detail of fig.1 in article)
Photo by Su Rongyu,
Courtesy of Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan

30/07/2025

The bronze material of Sanxingdui artefacts is primarily a copper-tin-lead alloy, with tin contents often exceeding 10 per cent, resulting in a material hardness comparable to low-carbon steel. Based on modern bronze standards (ZCuSn10P5, alloy with 9 to 11 per cent tin and 4 to 6 per cent lead), the Brinell hardness can reach HB 685—similar to that of quenched medium-carbon tool steel (T7). Thus, cutting or chiselling such bronze would require an even harder material.

Archaeological evidence, however, suggests that cast iron did not appear in China until the middle of the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE), and advanced steel-making technology likely only matured late in that period. Therefore, the cutting of holes into Sanxingdui bronze heads and masks remains an unsolved mystery. It is reported that some iron artefacts have been unearthed from pit K7, and further research into them may yield crucial breakthroughs.

Read more in Su Rongyu and Zhu Yarong's article "A Glimpse into the Bronze Casting Technology of Sanxingdui" in our current issue, click the link in our bio for more.

Images:

1. Wine vessel (zun)
Excavated from pit K2, Sanxingdui, China (K2:79)
Bronze; dimensions unknown
Photo courtesy of Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan

2. Colour reconstructed photo of the bronze zun (image 1)
Photo courtesy of D**g Yiyan and Su Rongyu

25/07/2025

A well-known imperial portrait by Castiglione is Portraits of Emperor Qianlong and His Twelve Consorts in the Cleveland Museum of Art (image 1). The handscroll is an official portrait of the Qianlong emperor, his empress, and his twelve consorts, each identified by label and presented frontally with only the upper body shown against a blank background. As a formal imperial portrait, this work is quite different in nature from the CAM work, which is an unofficial full-sized portrayal of a court lady. Also, the CAM work, created before 1723, is much earlier than the Cleveland work, created after 1736. However, these two works still share Castiglione’s skilful fusion of Western realism and Chinese aesthetics in depicting the ladies’ faces. In both, Castiglione avoided strong shadows by using soft colour shading to define the facial contours.

Read more in Hou-mei Sung's article "Portrait of a Qing Dynasty Court Lady" in our current issue, click the link in our bio for more.

Images:

1. Portraits of the Qianlong Emperor and His Twelve Consorts (detail) By Giuseppe Castiglione (Italian, 1688–1766);
Qing dynasty (1644–1911), 1736–70s
Handscroll, ink and colour on silk; 53 x 688.3 cm
Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund
Photo © The Cleveland Museum of Art

2. Portrait of a Qing Dynasty Court Lady
Artist unknown; Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk; 146.1 x 88.3 cm
Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio
Photo © Cincinnati Art Museum

23/07/2025

A change made by the Beijing painter to the position of the lady’s left hand is especially significant. Instead of the alluring gesture of lifting her right sleeve and revealing her slender arm, as seen in the CAM scroll, the lady in ‘Distant thoughts’ is holding a pale green scarf in her hand. This adjustment clearly made the painting more agreeable within its conventional cultural context.

However, the alteration also posed difficult challenges for the artist, who struggled to reproduce the new hand gesture with the same skill as the CAM artist. As a result, the lady’s right sleeve awkwardly hangs from the chairback, and the hand is not perfectly aligned. These changes reveal not only the different nature of the two paintings, but also the likelihood that the CAM work served as the model for ‘Distant thoughts’. Since ‘Distant thoughts’ was created before 1723, when Prince Yinzhen ascended the throne, the CAM painting can also be dated to shortly before that.

Read more in Hou-mei Sung's article "Portrait of a Qing Dynasty Court Lady" in our current issue, click the link in our bio for more.

Images:

1. Distant thoughts among antiquities’ (‘Boguyousi’) from Twelve Beauties
Artist unknown; Qing dynasty (1644–1911), before 1723
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk; 184 x 98 cm
The Palace Museum, Beijing
Photo © The Palace Museum

2. Watching cats while handling beads’ (‘Nianzhu guanmao’) from Twelve Beauties
Artist unknown; Qing dynasty (1644–1911),
before 1723 Hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk; 184 x 98 cm
The Palace Museum, Beijing
Photo © The Palace Museum

21/07/2025

Dive into a mixed media journey that celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Central Africa at the City University of Hong Kong’s Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, this groundbreaking exhibition features nearly 200 remarkable artifacts from the 19th to early 20th century. Indra and Harry Banga Gallery 般哥展覽館

Explore the three treasures of Central African art — sculptures, masks, and weapons — and discover their profound societal roles. The exhibition unfolds across three main sections: 1) Ritual Sculpture – Invocation, 2) Masks – Transfiguration and 3)Weapons – Social & Symbolic Action —as well as a section on Geographical Zones.

In addition, experience five innovative media art installations that reinterpret these artistic forms, reflecting the beliefs and rituals of the people. This immersive experience invites you to engage with Central African art in multi-sensory ways, bridging the sacred and the spiritual.
The exhibition runs until September 28, 2025.
Free Admission and more details: www.cityu.edu.hk/bg

Images:

2. Nkisi Nkondi Female Figure with Iron Decoration/Ornaments
Iron blades and nails, wood
Manyanga, West Central Africa
Mid-19th century

3. Ngady Mwaash Female Mask
Beads, cloth, cord, cowrie shells, fibre,pigments
Kuba, Kuba Kingdom and its neighbours
Early 20th century

4. 8K full-body cinematic interactive game “A Warrior Play”
All photos courtesy of the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery

18/07/2025

The object is a wine vessel known as a mashrabah, made of nephrite with enamelled gold attachments on the handle (fig. 1). It has a globular body held by a low foot-ring, a pronounced cylindrical neck, and a highly ornate handle shaped like a dragon. This wine vessel illuminates the continuity between the decorative arts of the Mughal dynasty (1526–1857) and those of their Timurid predecessors (fl. 15th–16th century), pointing to the Mongol (1206–1368) cultural ties they shared. During its lifespan, the jade object crossed cultural and geographical boundaries as it came into the possession of three rulers in Central and South Asia: Timur’s (r. 1370–1405) grandson, the celebrated astronomer Ulugh Beg (1394–1449), the Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569–1627), and his son Shah Jahan (1592–1666), known for building the Taj Mahal.

Read more in Petya Andreeva's article "Jades from the Timurid and Mughal Courts: Recovering a Mongol Past in an Interconnected Afro-Eurasia" in our current issue, link in bio.

Images:

1. Wine tankard
Afghanistan (Herat) or Uzbekistan (Samarkand);
Timurid dynasty (fl. 15th–16th century), 15th century
Nephrite with gold attachments; 14.5 x 16 cm
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
Photo by Catarina Gomes Ferreira, courtesy of Calouste Gulbenkian Museum

2. Jug
Probably Afghanistan, Herat;
Timurid dynasty (fl. 15th–16th century), early 16th century
Brass, silver, gold and black organic compound; 14.3 x 15.6 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Photo in the public domain

16/07/2025

So strong was Jahangir’s fascination with Chinese decorative art that, following in the footsteps of Ulugh Beg, he built his own chīnīkhāna in the Agra Fort. It is worth noting that the chīnīkhāna underwent significant design shifts between the Timurid and Mughal periods. In the time of Ulugh Beg, it was widely conceived as an exhibition pavilion, but under the Mughals and especially in Jahangir’s reign it turned from a space of display to a small wall niche or even a purely ornamental motif. Whether inscribed or real, these decorative niches continued to carry the connotation of a sumptuous display of Chinese porcelain.

Read more in Petya Andreeva's article "Jades from the Timurid and Mughal Courts: Recovering a Mongol Past in an Interconnected Afro-Eurasia" in our current issue, link in bio.

Images:

1. Jahangir’s cup
India; Mughal dynasty (1526–1827),
1612–13 Quartz, chromium muscovite; height 7.1 cm
RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island
Photo in the Public Domain

2. Jahangir’s wine cup
India; Mughal dynasty (1526–1827),
1613 Nephrite, 3.8 x 8.8 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum
Photo courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum

11/07/2025

This warrior-borne platform once supported a divine beast—a hybrid creature combining traits of elephants, felines, and fantastical beings, which was also found in Pit K8 (image 1). The upper part of a masked human figure, shown kneeling atop this beast, was found separately in Pit K3, broken from its lower body and later rejoined. The figure is depicted with raised arms, supporting a platform bearing four dramatically elongated zun. Spiralling dragons coil around each zun, and circular structures between the vessels add visual grandeur, structural balance, and a sense of numinous sanctity, echoing the presence of celestial order.

Read more in Liu Yang's article "Otherworldly Forms: The Newly Unearthed Bronze Figures from Sanxingdui" in our current issue: https://www.orientations.com.hk/past-issues/p/julaug-2025

Images:
1. Beast carrying a kneeling deity on its back
Excavated from Pit K8 (K8⑨TQ:120)
China; late 12th–early 11th century BCE
Bronze; overall height 42 cm
Sichuan Provincial Institute of
Cultural Relics and Archaeology

2. Altar with four warriors supporting a wooden-like frame
Excavated from Pit K8 (K8⑨TQ:120)
China; late 12th–early 11th century BCE
Bronze; height 38 cm, long 32.1 cm, width 31 cm
Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

Orientations Magazine

08/08/2025

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Monday	09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 17:30
Wednesday	09:00 - 17:00
Thursday	09:00 - 17:30
Friday	09:00 - 17:30