Art of Asia | Art History | Khan Academy

Made to accompany From temple to home: celebrating Ganesha, a display at the British Museum from 27 February -- 25 May 2014 http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on... Explore the iconography of and find out how he is celebrated across India. The elephant-headed Ganesha is one of the most popular Hindu gods -- the creator and remover of obstacles. The main stone sculpture in the display was carved from schist around 800 years ago and was originally positioned on the outside of a temple in the eastern state of Orissa (recently renamed Odisha). The display brings this sculpture together with other more recent depictions of Ganesha created for different purposes. Among these are the temporary statues created every year for the Ganeshchaturthi festival in Mumbai, which are placed in public or domestic shrines before being immersed in water at the end of the celebrations.

The Chinese Buddhist figures seen in the galleries at the Asian Art Museum were originally placed in temples and monastic buildings. This video explores Wutaishan, an area with one of the heaviest concentration of Buddhist temples in China.

This video documents the creation of a Buddhist painting by the monk artist, Seol-min (formerly known as Jae-u), who has dedicated her life to keeping the tradition of Buddhist painting alive.

In 1420, in an effort to consolidate his control over the throne, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty moved China's capital to a site in the North, now known as Bejing. There, he built a vast complex of palaces and administrative buildings now covering 178 acres. Because access was restricted to the imperial family and to those who had business with them, it came to be known as the Forbidden City.

Da Ke Ding, c. 1046 - 771 B.C.E. (late Western Zhou dynasty, China), bronze, 93.1 cm high (Shanghai Museum) Speakers: Dr. Kristen Chiem and Dr. Beth Harris. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Hear the origin story of the Hindu deity Ganesha and learn how to identify depictions of Ganesha with the use of artworks in the Asian Art Museum's collection.

Melinda Takeuchi, Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Department of Art History at Stanford University, discusses the coded meanings behind a woodblock print in the Asian Art Museum's collection.

Haniwa warrior in keiko armor (Kofun period), c. 6th century, excavated in lizuka-machi, Ota City, Gunma, Japan, terracotta, 130.5 cm high (Tokyo National Museum) Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.