Manuscript with scenes of combat from the Ramayana1800-1840.
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is alive with breathtaking arrangements of orchids through Sunday. That makes this weekend a fine time to explore the museum’s enticing new exhibition Emerald Cities: Arts of Siam & Burma, 1775-1950, and enjoy the brilliant tropical floral designs outside its galleries.
The link is Doris Duke, the avid orchid collector, cultivator and preservationist, whose generous donation of artworks makes up two-thirds of the exhibition.
Shadow puppet of the monkey hero Hanuman in the guise of Ravana's heir, from the Thai version of the epic of Rama
Before being distributed to organizations such as the Asian Art Museum, Duke’s Southeast Asian Art Collection included more than 400 museum quality objects and 1,800 other items. Together, these objects represented one of the most important collections of later Southeast Asian art outside Asia.
The collection was housed at Duke Farms – Doris Duke’s principal residence in
Hillsborough, New Jersey – where for many years it remained largely unknown both to the public and specialists. The museum spent more than five years completing an extensive conservation project to preserve and stabilize these very fragile artworks. That translates to 7,500 hours of work to prepare the treasures which are now on view at the Asian Art Museum. 
Miniature temple, Approx. 1850-1900. Northern Thailand
The result is an exhibition of sumptuous beauty, brilliant colors, impressive scholarship and captivating stories that reveal the rich and varied artistic traditions of Southeast Asia.
The artworks are divided into three distinctive geographical areas: Burma; the highlands of Northern Thailand and Shan State, Burma; and Central Thailand. They are also organized by function: religious art, mythology and luxury goods.
On view are ornately carved furniture, lavishly decorated miniature shrines, gilded statues, elaborately illustrated manuscripts, colorfully detailed paintings, and mirrored and bejeweled ritual objects. 
Seated crowned and bejeweled Buddha, 1895. Burma
“A feast for the eyes awaits visitors to Emerald Cities,” says Forrest McGill, the museum’s chief curator. “The writings and religious thought at the time emphasized the gorgeous, flowering, bejeweled, heavenly city of the gods. This view of a luxurious and fantastical Eden is evident through the artworks on view in the galleries which originate from the three great cities of the time—Bangkok, Mandalay and Rangoon.”
The Asian Art Museum organized Emerald Cities and serves as the exhibition’s exclusive venue. M.L. Pattaratorn Chirapravati is co-curator of the exhibition, which runs through January 10, 2010..jpg)
orchid photo C.Canter
For more information:
The Asian Art Museum (415-581-3500), is located at 200 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Hours: The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm..
General Admission: $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, $7 for youth 13–17, and free for children under 12.
Target First Free Sundays: The museum offers FREE general admission to all on the first Sunday of every month, courtesy of Target. Entry into Emerald Cities requires a $5 surcharge after general admission.
Access: The Asian Art Museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information regarding access, please call (415) 581-3598; TDD: (415) 861-2035.
In conjunction with Emerald Cities, the Asian Art Museum is presenting a host of related programs onsite including Burmese puppet performances by a marionette troupe brought from
Mandalay, a family festival, a MATCHA evening mixer, lectures and more. On October 29 and 30, U.C. Berkeley is presenting a symposium—Object Knowledge: Art, Artifact and Authority in
Southeast Asia—complementing the exhibition. Through the Community Speakers Program, the museum’s trained docent corps travel throughout the community upon request to present talks on
the Emerald Cities exhibition to interested organizations.
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