Arts Visual Arts

Seen in funerary architecture, homes, and religious buildings across regions spanning modern-day India and Pakistan, pinjrakari involves transforming wood into intricate latticed screens that filter light, allow ventilation, and create privacy. Drawing from Central Asian and broader Islamicate design traditions, the craft evolved through architectural exchange, regional patronage, and highly skilled woodworking practices across South Asia.

From royal armouries to international exhibitions, koftgari reflects a metalworking tradition shaped by conquest, courtly patronage, and shifting markets. Across Persia and South Asia, artisans inlaid steel with gold and silver, turning arms and regalia into symbols of power, protection, and prestige. Explore the craft across changing political landscapes as its patronage and purpose evolved.

In the fast pace of urban life, time slips quietly away amid daily routines. From 6 March to 4 September, the Chamber of Young Snow Art Exhibition Hall at Lingnan University presents Fleeting, Fleeting Light—Imagery of Time in Chinese Art, featuring 24 rare ink paintings, porcelain, lacquerware, and jade dating from the late Yuan dynasty to the modern era. The exhibition highlights the internationally acclaimed Space Series by Liu Kuo-sung, revered as the father of modern ink painting. The seasons, landscapes, immortal realms, and cosmos shown here invite visitors to think anew about the meaning of time.

Known as chattra, koda, godugu, sesath and hti in several Indian, Sri Lankan and Burmese languages, the ceremonial parasol has remained a symbol of divinity and political authority across South and Southeast Asia. Discover some of its earliest depictions and read about its making and use today.

In 2022, Bangladeshi architecture firm Sthapotik designed a mausoleum for the influential 20th-century Uwaisi pir (saint), Shah Muhammad Mohshin Khan. Located in Manikganj, approximately 54 kilometres from Dhaka, this building stands out as a most unconventional interpretation of the traditional dargah, or Sufi tomb.

Chimeric, half-human, half-animal figures of stone guard the doorways of many historic and contemporary temples across the world. Read more about these powerful entities and how they were crucial to the evolution of Hindu and Buddhist practices in southern India.

In the East Indian Ocean, the indigenous inhabitants of Nicobar carved fearsome figurines called hantakoi to fight off malevolent spirits. These totemic scare-devils, represented in both human and zoomorphic form, reveal the ways in which the people of Nicobar engaged with other dwellers of the Indian Ocean world.

An early 19th-century miniature painting depicts a late-night tryst between two lovers, under the storm clouds of twilight skies. Created in western India’s Mewar court atelier, by the master painter Chokha, this image reveals layers of meaning.

In 1938, archaeologists discovered an ivory statuette of a goddess in the ruins of the Roman city of Pompeii, which was buried under ash for thousands of years after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Who was this goddess — Lakshmi, the Hindu deity of wealth and prosperity or Venus, the Roman goddess of beauty — and why was she in Pompeii?

The Chamber of Young Snow Art Exhibition Hall at Lingnan University in Hong Kong presents “Print and Preservation: Special Exhibition on the Exhortations to Promote Good Deeds by Empress Renxiao of the Great Ming”. This is the first public display of the rare 1405 imperial edition from the third year of the Yongle reign compiled by Empress Renxiao of the Ming dynasty. A detailed examination of the historical context and content of this work highlights how the Ming imperial court published ethical and moral texts to assert its legitimacy and stability. Visitors will receive a free copy of the picture book “Dai Ming: Keeper of Time and Legacy” created by artist Lam Kin-choi at certain events held as part of the special exhibition. For more details, please stay tuned to our social media channels. The exhibition runs from now until 2 December 2025.

Often depicted as a celestial being traversing the sky in a horse-drawn chariot, Surya is the sun god in Hinduism. Once a prominent Vedic figure, today his importance has declined. Discover the many mythologies of this solar deity, whose worship can be traced to the second century BCE.

In 1864, Prussian photographer John Edward Sache arrived in Calcutta and set up a studio in partnership with WF Westfield. From albumen prints of cityscapes to controversial photographs of Indians, Sache’s career embodied British imperial attitudes to colonised landscapes and peoples.

A popular pastime in South and Southeast Asia, carrom is played by flicking and pocketing coin-like discs across a smooth tabletop made of wood. Did you know that this game, which originated in India, is now played professionally in competitions across the West?

Lacquerware and porcelain are significant in the history of Chinese civilisation. Lingnan University’s Chamber of Young Snow Art Exhibition Hall is hosting a new exhibition, titled ‘Shine and Shade, Earth and Wood: The Story of Everyday Porcelain and Lacquer’ from 17 February to 2 December 2025 featuring over 30 rare and exquisite lacquer and porcelain pieces from the Tang to the Qing dynasties. Experts and academics from the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Zhejiang Provincial Museum will lecture on the culture, design, and academic research of Chinese handicrafts, and Lingnan will also organise two workshops on ‘The Beauty of Everyday: Experience Session on Chinese Lacquer Decorations’. The public is welcome to register and participate.

From an ancient Buddhist symbol representing the wheel of law to an enduring icon of self-reliance and resistance in the early twentieth century, the charkha, a hand-driven spinning wheel, and the chakra, the flat-spoked wheel with which it is often conflated, have lived many lives in South Asia.

Perched on a hill overlooking the village of Thiksey in Ladakh, Thiksey Monastery is one of the most expansive Buddhist complexes in India. Notable for its vast collection of murals, sculptures and rare manuscripts, this 15th-century religious site is heavily fortified and was once an administrative centre.

For centuries, gold and silver ornamentation was used to embellish textiles. Gota work is one such technique, which incorporates these precious metals in appliqué form. Read more about the history of this craft, which is inspired by Mughal and Islamic art, and found on bridal and ceremonial garments across northern India.

A luminary of modern Indian art, Jamini Roy is celebrated for his experiments with Bengali patachitra painting traditions and his brightly hued, bold and two-dimensional depictions of human, animal and mythological forms. Discover the legacy of this 20th-century artist, whose works have been declared national treasures of India under the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972.

A rare artefact of 19th-century tawaif culture, The Beauties of Lucknow is a fascinating photograph album from colonial South Asia. Compiled in 1874, it consists of 24 portraits of courtesans from Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh. Read more to know how Darogah Abbas Ali, the photographer behind it, reimagined Mughal-era muraqqa traditions and colonial portraiture to create one of the earliest works of nostalgia on the tawaifs of Lucknow.

A board game made of cloth or paper and featuring a series of squares, snakes and ladders, with the latter functioning as karmic devices, gyan chaupar was not only a popular recreation in ancient India, but also an important spiritual tool. Literally translating to the ‘game of knowledge’ this game instilled lessons on attaining moksha or salvation from the cycle of death and rebirth. Read more about gyan chaupar’s many variations in medieval India and how it gradually evolved into a children’s board game at the turn of the twentieth century.

Since the early 1900s, Indian women artists have consistently raised sociopolitical issues with their aesthetic and thematic choices. While painters like Amrita Sher-Gil were among the privileged few to have received global recognition in their lifetime, the works of Sunayani Devi, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Bhuri Bai and others have been overlooked in favour of their more celebrated male peers. Discover the rich legacy of feminist consciousness in modern Indian art and how it has been shaped by gender justice movements and caste reform in recent decades.

A historic folk tradition from Bengal, patua combines storytelling with scroll painting. Performers of this tradition travel from one village to another, reciting tales from Hindu epics like the Ramayana, and from local Santhal mythologies, bringing them to life by unravelling vivid scroll paintings illustrating these stories. Discover the ancient history, decline and revitalisation of this folk tradition, and how the government has used it to promote family planning in postcolonial India.

Fragrant, sweet, exotic and golden-yellow, the mango is an apt metaphor for summer in South Asia. Domesticated over 4,000 years ago, it has been a symbol of wealth, desire and luxury in the subcontinent. Peel back the layers of this iconic fruit to reveal the reasons behind its enduring popularity and read more about mango’s significance through art objects and discover how artists and craftsmen have tried to capture its essence in all its glory.

A 90-acre garden complex in the heart of New Delhi, Lodi Gardens is one of the city’s most-loved public parks. Surprisingly, it is actually a tomb complex — dotted with mosques and domes from the Sayyid, Lodi and Mughal eras. Explore the park’s cultural and geographical significance by tracing the garden's history from the 15th century to the present, and read about the iconic figures and architectural styles associated with the monument.

Associated with the forest and healing herbs, the goddess Parnashavari is revered for her ability to cure illnesses, contagious diseases and epidemics. A folk deity for the Shavari or Sabara indigenous community of central and eastern India, she was later integrated into the Buddhist pantheon and continues to be venerated in the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet. Learn about her iconography and the symbolic objects and weapons she wields.

Renowned for its gleaming silver and gold inlay against dark metallic backgrounds, Bidriware metal work derives its name from the town of its origin — Bidar in southern India. While the earliest documented presence of Bidriware is in a 1625 Deccani miniature painting, the craft is believed to have originated in the 14th century under the patronage of the Bahmani Sultans. Bidriware's allure ensured that it was valued and patronised by royalty across the Indian subcontinent in the late medieval and early modern period. Read about this living tradition, and the processes behind the creation of Bidriware.

Late in the sixteenth century, a master artist from the Mughal emperor Akbar’s atelier adopted the technique of using monochromatic tones with highlights of colour or gold. Known as ‘nim qalam,’ Persian for ‘half pen,’ or ‘siyah qalam’ for ‘black pen’, this technique was eventually adopted by artists in the Deccan, and later the Rajput courts. Although its precise origins remain uncertain, nim qalam continues to be used by contemporary South Asian artists working on manuscript painting.

Once a two-armed attendant to the goddess Tara, over time, Marichi was increasingly endowed with power until she became a deity in her own right. Revered as a warrior and guardian against evil and darkness, Marichi’s imagery reveals myriad symbolisms — from her association with the sun to her role as a fierce protector. Read about the multifaceted nature of Marichi's mythology and imagery, spanning nations, cultures, and time.

In India’s dry, western-most state — Rajasthan — the gods are carried from village to village, and tales that surround the deity are narrated so that the devout may be blessed. The gods are housed in a ‘kavad’, a portable shrine adorned with intricate narrative paintings of folk tales and epics. Constructed from low-density wood and painted with mineral-derived pigments, the kavad serves as a conduit for the oral storytelling tradition known as kavad banchana. Learn about the synergy between the makers, painters and patrons of these shrines, and how this tradition continues to evolve.

In the late 1930s, French archaeologists discovered a large and remarkable group of ivory sculptures, in Afghanistan's Begram (present-day Bagram). Stipulated to have been used as accents or embellishments for wooden furniture, these carved objects showcase a blend of Greco-Roman, Central Asian, Mediterranean, and Indic stylistic influences. Despite the political upheavals in the region, some of these ivory artefacts still survive. Explore how ongoing scholarly efforts shed light on the historical significance of these art objects, highlighting the cultural connections that were built and flourished along the Silk Road.