PAC Museum - From the Lands of Asia

From the Lands of Asia
Sam and Myrna Myers Collection

November 17, 2016 - March 19, 2017

Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History (PAC) opened a new exhibition that features some 450 exceptional objects that offer an uncommon perspective of the vast sweep of East Asian history. The objects come from a large private collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, an American couple living in Paris. Their collection has been amassed over a 50 years period and consists of some 5,000 works of Asian art, including one of the world’s most extensive private collections of ancient jade. The exhibition also includes a selection of pieces from classical antiquity, ivories, impressive Buddhist icons, porcelain, and silks. This is the world premier of the exhibition.

Chinese jade is a centrepiece of the collection. The objects on display, made of a rare material that is difficult to work with, primarily date back to early Antiquity. Emblematic of the power of an ancient civilization, they symbolize the great principles of the universe that highlighted in the exhibition - the sky, the Earth, and man.  

Visitors can also explore the world of medieval Buddhism, with its statuary and liturgical objects. This introductory itinerary takes visitors from Northern China to the high plains of Tibet, and from the Mongolian steppes to the shores of Korea and Japan.

Customs and clothing are also part of the presentation, inviting visitors to look through a prism of silks and lacquers to discover the ways of life of the sophisticated civilizations. Visitors get a glimpse of the daily life of a man of letters from the Ming dynasty, peek into an emperor’s wardrobe, and can marvel at samurai outfits, painted, woven, and embroidered kimonos, and Noh theatre costumes.

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For more information, visit the PAC Museum's website.