Seated Bodhisattva. Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), ca. mid-17th century. Gilt wood, H. 20 1/4 in. Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015 (2015.300.301a–c). Metropolitan Museum of Art.

YORK, NY.- The Asia Week New York Association announced that its annual invitation-only reception, celebrating the ten-day Asian art extravaganza that attracts international museum curators and collectors throughout New York every spring, will take place at The Metropolitan Museum on March 14, 2016. 

“We are delighted to co-host our reception with the Department of Asian Art of the Met,” says Lark Mason, chairman of Asia Week New York. “There isn’t a grander setting in which to celebrate our seventh year.” 

Maxwell K. Hearn, Douglas Dillon Chairman of the Metropolitan’s Department of Asian Art, commented: “We're delighted to welcome the Asian art community to the Met as part of the exciting events of Asia Week. We feel a special debt of gratitude to this community as it has long been our greatest source of encouragement and support. That support is more important than ever as we endeavor to present not only Asia's diverse cultural past, but also its burgeoning future. We welcome everyone to discover all of Asia at the Met!” 

According to Mr. Mason, one of the main highlights of the evening is that the Metropolitan Museum opens all of its Asian art galleries for viewing so that guests can avail themselves of special curatorial tours of the ten exhibitions on view now. They include: Monkey Business: Celebrating the Year of the Monkey; Encountering Vishnu: The Lion Avatar in Indian Temple Drama; The Arts of Nepal and Tibet: Recent Gifts; Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from the Metropolitan Collection; Celebrating the Arts of Japan: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection; Asian Art at 100: A History in Photographs; Chinese Textiles: Ten Centuries of Masterpieces from the Met Collection; Chinese Lacquer: Treasures from the Irving Collection, 12th-18th Century; A Passion for Jade: The Heber Bishop Collection; and Korea: 100 Years of Collecting at the Met. 

This year, many of the Asia Week New York dealers will launch their exhibitions a day early on Thursday evening, March 10. The exhibitions will open to the public the next day and throughout the designated Open House Weekend, and continue through March 19. 

45 top-tier international Asian art specialists, five major auction houses, and 16 museums and Asian cultural institutions unite for a ten-day celebration of simultaneous gallery open houses, and Asian art auctions at Bonhams, Christie’s, Doyle, iGavel, and Sotheby’s, as well as numerous museum exhibitions, lectures, and special events. 

Participants from Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States unveil an extraordinary array of treasures from China, India, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Nepal, Japan, and Korea.

Night-Shining White. China, Han Gan (active ca. 742–56), Tang dynasty (618–907), ca. 750. Handscroll; ink on paper, 12 1/8 x 13 3/8 in. Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1977 (1977.78). Metropolitan Museum of Art.