Summer News - My Orientations Article 'Imperial Treasures' from the Rockefeller Collection at Asia Society and 5000+ Instagram Followers!

I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful summer!

At the time of writing this blog, I’m taking a bit of downtime in Toronto as I prepare for a busy Fall season. In July, I spent about two weeks in Vancouver working on my upcoming October Asian art online auction in collaboration with Heffel.

In just a week, I’ll be flying off on an exciting Asian art development trip that will take me to San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Over the next three weeks, I’ll be engaged in a number of projects - from new Asian art appraisals, to meetings with international colleagues and clients, as well as visiting art auction previews and museums. The schedule should also bring me to Asia Week New York in mid-September, just as the Fall Asian art season begins!

In the meantime, I’m pleased to share that my latest article for Orientations Magazine is now published! I’ve been writing for Orientations for nearly ten years, covering everything from Asian art exhibitions across North America to reporting on evolving trends in the Chinese art market.

In this most recent piece, I review the impressive exhibition “Imperial Treasures: Chinese Ceramics of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection,” currently on view at Asia Society in New York.

Running until January 4, 2026, the exhibition explores how foreign trade influenced porcelain design during the Yuan and Ming dynasties - all through a remarkable selection of pieces from the museum’s permanent collection. I had the opportunity to view some of these stunning works during my visit to the museum during Asia Week New York this past March.

You can read my latest Orientations article on "Imperial Treasures" here.

Below I've also included a couple of images that I used for this exhibition review.

Image 1a. (Left) a large Chinese Ming Dynasty wucai 'fish' jar and cover, with Jiajing mark and period (1522-1566) and (Right) a Large Chinese Ming Dynasty copper red 'three friends' jar from the Hongwu Period (1368-1398).

Photo Title and Credit:

Installation view of Imperial Treasures: Chinese Ceramics of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection on view at Asia Society Museum February 18 through January 4, 2026. Photo © Bruce M. White 2025, courtesy Asia Society Museum.

Image 1b. The larger display case showcases a selection of important Chinese Ming Dynasty domestic porcelain wares from the 15th Century. To the back-right are Chinese Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) porcelain and ceramic wares for the Southeast Asian trade. And to the back-left is an important Chinese Ming Dynasty 'dragon' moonflask from the Yongle period (1403-1425).

Photo Title and Credit:

Installation view of Imperial Treasures: Chinese Ceramics of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties from the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection on view at Asia Society Museum February 18 through January 4, 2026. Photo © Bruce M. White 2025, courtesy Asia Society Museum.

Image 2. In other summer news, I surpassed 5000+ followers on my Instagram account @anthonywuart! I started this feed in 2015 after leaving my full-time Asian art specialist job at Toronto-based regional auction house. My initial posts were of Asian art objects I liked from museum and auction house visits, but now it is more of a chronological journey of my trips around the world engaging in Asian art.

These photos include my trips to various international cities around the world, Asian art objects that I happen to be examining (some of which are extremely significant highlights!), and visits to museums, galleries and major auction houses.

For those of you who are reading my blog for the first time:

I have been working in the Asian art field for nearly 20 years now. For the past ten years I have been an independent Asian art specialist, appraiser and consultant. Some of my qualifications include being:

• a certified appraiser in Chinese Fine Art with the Appraisers Association of America (AAA) based out of New York City. With the AAA, I am also an accredited appraiser in Japanese Fine Art, and Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Pre-Modern Art

• a board member with the Gardiner Museum in Toronto

• a board member with The Canadian Association of Personal Property Appraisers

• a board member with The Canadian Society of Decorative Arts 

• a writer for the Hong Kong based international Asian art magazine Orientations 

• an Asian art consultant for approximately a dozen auction houses in Canada, the USA and the UK - albeit most of my work goes through Heffel (Canada), Freeman's-Hindman (Chicago and Philadelphia) and Rago-Wright (Lambertville and Chicago)

Image 3. And finally, I’d like to share one of the lovely new additions to my slowly growing collection of shin hanga (new wave) woodblock prints by Kawase Hasui (1883–1957). This particular work is titled Sōbu Garden, Meiji Shrine (1951).

I’ve been captivated by Hasui’s work for the past twenty years and he remains my absolute favourite woodblock print artist. Over his lifetime, Hasui produced more than 600 images, many of which are beloved for their atmospheric depictions of snow, rain, and night scenes. But for me, I’m especially drawn to the prints that capture a nostalgic, idealized vision of early 20th Century Japan - a country delicately balancing its traditions with the tides of modernization.

In this scene, Hasui presents visitors wandering through the famous Meiji Shrine and Sōbu Garden, completed in 1920 and dedicated to the Meiji Emperor. In the foreground, beautiful irises bloom in soft color, while in the background, we see figures in both traditional and modern attire enjoying a peaceful stroll through the grounds.

Though the original shrine was destroyed during World War II, it was rebuilt in 1958. Yet in this 1951 print, Hasui captures a timeless moment, a reminder of the enduring beauty of the garden and the human desire to find serenity in nature, even in times of recovery and change.

Thank you for reading this post, and a reminder to follow my Instagram feed for the latest news on my Asian art adventures around the world! My next website blog will cover the three-week work trip I mentioned earlier to San Francisco, Hong Kong and Tokyo. This will be followed up with some highlights from Asia Week New York and my October Heffel Asian art online sale!