Society for Asian Art

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Society for Asian Art The Society for Asian Art, an independent non-profit organization, provides programs on Asian Art.

If you would like to contact us, please do so by email at: [email protected] or visit our website at societyforasianart.org

10/14/2026

Accusations of stolen palace treasures and artwork, alleged plots to assassinate China’s last emperor, and centuries of scandal and intrigue have plagued the once-vital emasculated servants who served China’s imperial court. What can Chinese eunuchs tell us about the downfall of the Qing dynasty and the end of the Chinese imperial system?

Join us next Saturday, October 24, for an illuminating presentation by historian Dr. Melissa S. Dale:

“Chinese Eu**chs at the End of Empire”
🗓️ Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026
🕥 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
📍 Koret Education Center, Asian Art Museum
🎟️ $15 Society Member Registration Fee | $20 Non-Members (after museum admission)

Register via the link in our bio or at societyforasianart.org/calendar.

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What do we really know about Japanese ceramics and tea culture in early modern Kyoto? What can tea bowls and museum obje...
10/12/2026

What do we really know about Japanese ceramics and tea culture in early modern Kyoto? What can tea bowls and museum objects reveal about the environmental history and economics that were at play, and how do these factors change our perspective?

This Friday, October 16, see another side of early modern Kyoto with guest lecturer Dr. Morgan Pitelka:

“Beyond the Tea Bowl: Material Culture and the Environmental History of Edo-Period Kyoto”

🗓️ Friday, Oct. 16, 2026
🕥 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
📍 Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum

Drop-ins will be accepted at Samsung Hall on a space-available basis. To see the full schedule of lectures or register late for the series, visit the link in bio or societyforasianart.org.

Images: Cherry blossom viewing in Kyoto, approx. 1700-1800. Japan. Edo period (1615-1868). Ink and colors on gold paper. Asian Art Museum, Gift of Fernande May Lazarus, 1989.21. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

This Friday, October 9, explore how Japan’s Mingei movement shaped American studio pottery after World War II. Professor...
10/08/2026

This Friday, October 9, explore how Japan’s Mingei movement shaped American studio pottery after World War II.

Professor of Art History Meghen Jones will explore the origins and ideals of Mingei, or “folk craft,” in modern Japan and its transmission to the United States through ceramics and influential figures such as Hamada Shōji.

“Mingei in Japan and the Postwar United States”
🗓️ Friday, Oct. 9, 2026
🕥 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
📍 Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum

Drop-ins will be accepted at Samsung Hall on a space-available basis. To see the full schedule of lectures or register late for the series, visit the link in bio or societyforasianart.org.

Image 1: Oval vase with grass designs, 1950-1960, by Hamada Shoji (Japanese, 1894-1978). Stoneware with iron pigment and glaze. Asian Art Museum, Gift of June and William Vredenburg, 1991.99. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.



Image 2: Large jar, 2009, by Randy Johnston (American). Heisei period (1989-2019). Stoneware with glaze. Asian Art Museum, Gift of Bernard and Sue Pucker in honor of Georgiana Aronson and her recent birthday, 2010.363. © Randy J Johnston. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

Between the fourth and eighth centuries CE, the Sogdians became the most influential merchants of the Silk Roads, establ...
09/30/2026

Between the fourth and eighth centuries CE, the Sogdians became the most influential merchants of the Silk Roads, establishing trading communities that stretched from Central Asia to China and beyond. More than just traders, they served as cultural brokers, carrying artistic traditions, technologies, and religious ideas that helped shape the spread of Buddhism, Manichaeism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism across Eurasia.

Register for our next study group with Dr. Sanjyot Mehendale to explore the fascinating and impactful world of the Sogdians.

“Across Eurasia with the Sogdians: Trade, Religion, and Cultural Exchange”

🗓️ Saturday, November 14, 2026
🕥 10:30 AM – 3:00 PM
📍 Koret Education Center, Asian Art Museum
🎟️ $30 Members | $35 Non-Members (after museum admission)

Register by Nov. 6, 2026 — link in bio or societyforasianart.org/calendar

If you were a fan of the Asian Art Museum’s “New Japanese Clay” exhibit, this lecture is for you.A familiar face, Chief ...
09/28/2026

If you were a fan of the Asian Art Museum’s “New Japanese Clay” exhibit, this lecture is for you.

A familiar face, Chief Curator Robert Mintz, will be presenting this Friday’s Arts of Asia lecture: “Crawling Through the Mud: Sodeisha, Mingei, and Modern Clay.”

🗓️ Friday, October 2, 2026
🕥 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
📍 Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum

Drop-ins will be accepted at Samsung Hall on a space-available basis. To see the full schedule of lectures or register late for the series, visit the link in bio or societyforasianart.org.

09/24/2026

Eu**chs were first hand witnesses to the decline and fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. What can we gleam from these emasculated servants about the Chinese imperial court and the country as it transitioned from a monarchy to a republic?

Join us for our next member event with guest speaker Dr. Melissa S. Dale: “Chinese Eu**chs at the End of Empire”

🗓️ Saturday, October 24, 2026
🕥 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
📍 Koret Education Center, Asian Art Museum
🎟️ $15 Society Member Registration Fee | $20 Non-Members (after museum admission)

Register via the link in our bio or at societyforasianart.org/calendar.

Image: Eu**chs in the Grounds of the Forbidden City, ca. 1884 - 1924, Beijing, China. Gerow D. Brill papers, no. 1379. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library

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We’re excited to announce the Society will be re-launching our Upper Category member events with an advance viewing of “...
09/24/2026

We’re excited to announce the Society will be re-launching our Upper Category member events with an advance viewing of “Beyond the Endgame” this Saturday, September 26 at Qualia Contemporary Art.

“Beyond the Endgame” brings together nine internationally celebrated Paris-based Chinese artists, each offering divergent approaches to endgame scenarios. The event will include a conversation with Curator Martina Köppel-Yang and a tour of the exhibition.

Following the tour, Donor and Sponsor members are invited to attend Qualia’s opening reception for the exhibition.

Beyond the Endgame: Exhibition Preview & Tour
🗓️ Saturday, Sep. 26, 2026
🕐 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., exhibition opening reception 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
📍 Qualia Contemporary Art, Palo Alto
🎟️ Free of charge for Society Sponsor and Donor members.

Sign up or upgrade to become an Upper Category member via the link in our bio or visit societyforasianart.org/membership.

Image: Ru Xiaofan (b. 1954, Chinese-French), Temptation, 2025, oil on canvas. Photo courtesy of Qualia Contemporary Art.



Join Qualia Contemporary Art’s Opening Reception for “Beyond the Endgame” this Saturday, September 26 by becoming a Donor or Sponsor member of the Society for Asian Art.

Image: Du Zhenjun (b. 1961, Chinese-French), Deplacement, 2026. Photo courtesy of Qualia Contemporary Art.

Don’t miss the chance to hear from internationally recognized artist, scholar, and historian Xiaoze Xie this Saturday, S...
09/22/2026

Don’t miss the chance to hear from internationally recognized artist, scholar, and historian Xiaoze Xie this Saturday, September 26.

Xie will speak exclusively to the Society about his three decades of multidisciplinary artistic practice, covering topics spanning the history of banned books in China to the dispersal and loss of cultural treasures from the Dunhuang Library Cave.

Join us for this special artist talk: “From Libraries to the Dunhuang Library Cave: Exploring Historical Memory in Art”

🗓️ Saturday, September 26, 2026
🕥 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Koret Education Center, Asian Art Museum
🎟️ $15 Members | $20 Non-Members

Register through the link in our bio or at societyforasianart.org/calendar.

Image 1: Chinese Library No. 66, 2018, oil on linen, 4’x6’



Xiaoze Xie, internationally recognized artist and the Paul L. & Phyllis Wattis Professor of Art at Stanford University.

Xie has exhibited extensively in the US and internationally. His most recent solo exhibitions were at the Tsinghua University Art Museum in Beijing and the Asia Society Museum in New York City. Xie has participated in numerous group exhibitions including the 2026 Chengdu Biennale and the 2022 Wuhan Biennale.

His work is in the permanent collection of museums across the U.S. and in 2022, Xie received the Asia Game Changer West Award from the Asia Society Northern California.

This Friday, September 25, Asian Art Museum Associate Curator Yuki Morishima will discuss the fascinating art of Japanes...
09/21/2026

This Friday, September 25, Asian Art Museum Associate Curator Yuki Morishima will discuss the fascinating art of Japanese bamboo basketry and how this everyday utility evolved into a celebrated fine art form.

Join us for our next fall Arts of Asia lecture: “Cotsen Basket Collection: From Utility to Fine Art”

🗓️ Friday, September 25
🕥 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
📍 Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum

Late registration for the Fall Arts of Asia lecture series is still being accepted. Drop-ins for individual lectures are also available in Samsung Hall on a space-available basis.

To see the full schedule of lectures or register late for the series, visit the link in bio or societyforasianart.org.

Image: Frill: Surging Waves III, 2023, by Nakatomi Hajime (Japanese, b. 1974). Bamboo, rattan, and lacquer. Asian Art Museum, Museum purchase, with additional funds from Robert Coffland in memory of his friend and mentor Lloyd Cotsen, 2025.2. © Nakatomi Hajime. Photograph © Kubo Takashi.

This Friday, September 18, learn more about the cultural history and artistry behind some of China’s most celebrated por...
09/15/2026

This Friday, September 18, learn more about the cultural history and artistry behind some of China’s most celebrated porcelain in our next fall Arts of Asia lecture, “Jingdezhen Ceramists and the Art of Porcelain.”

Guest speaker Ellen Huang will discuss the materials, techniques, and innovative porcelain creations that emerged from China’s “Porcelain Capital” over nearly 1,000 years.

🗓️ Friday, September 18
🕥 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
📍 Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum

Late registration for the Fall Arts of Asia lecture series is still being accepted. Drop-ins for individual lectures are also available in Samsung Hall on a space-available basis.

To see the full schedule of lectures or register late for the series, visit the link in bio or societyforasianart.org.



Image: Vase with “hundred flowers” decoration, 1736–1795. China. Porcelain with overglaze multicolor decoration. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection, B65P13. Photograph © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

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San Francisco, CA
94102

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