{"id":171891,"date":"2026-09-28T14:33:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T12:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humboldtforum.org\/programm\/laufzeitangebot\/other-en\/freunde-der-kunst-ostasiens-171891\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T11:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T09:51:08","slug":"freunde-der-kunst-ostasiens","status":"publish","type":"event-period","link":"https:\/\/www.humboldtforum.org\/en\/programm\/laufzeitangebot\/exhibition\/freunde-der-kunst-ostasiens-171891\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends for the Arts of East Asia in Berlin"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In 1926 the Gesellschaft f\u00fcr Ostasiatische Kunst (Society for East Asian Art, GOK for short) was established as the first society of Friends of the Ostasiatische Kunstsammlung (East Asian Art Collection), a forerunner of the Museum f\u00fcr Asiatische Kunst. This temporary presentation drawn from museum holdings and long-term loans from the collection of the Deutsche Gesellschaft f\u00fcr Ostasiatische Kunst (German Society for East Asian Art, DGOK for short), re-established and named in the spirit of the former society in 1990, celebrates 100\u00a0years of engagement with and for the arts of East Asia in Berlin by members of the civilian society.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the 1920s the Friends supported the museum in many ways: by underwriting acquisitions, loans from members\u2019 collections, advice and feed-back as well as by organising major presentations of East Asian Art such as the Ausstellung Chinesischer Kunst<\/em> (Exhibition of Chinese Art) in 1928 and Japanische Malerei der Gegenwart<\/em> (Contemporary Japanese Painting) in 1931, both displayed at Akademie der K\u00fcnste located at Pariser Platz. They contributed to the publishing expenses of the journal \u201cOstasiatische Zeitschrift\u201d which had been initiated by the first museum curator-director, Otto K\u00fcmmel (1874\u2009\u2013\u20091952) and his assistant, the scholar William Cohn (1880\u2009\u2013\u20091961), The Friends officially took over the role of editor when the latter\u2019s names had to be dropped after the Nazi rise to power, because Cohn was Jewish. Fascist rule was disastrous for the society of Friends, and even more so for many of its Jewish members who suffered from persecution, exile, multiple losses or even death during the Holocaust. Since the museum building was hit and severely damaged by a bomb and the major part of collections were relocated after the Second World War to the U.S.S.R. where they presumably remain to this day, the short and variegated history of the first society of friends came to an end in 1945.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

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That the museum is once again flourishing after the catastrophes of War and Holocaust is in no small part the merit of the members of the Friends re-established as Deutsche Gesellschaft f\u00fcr Ostasiatische Kunst in 1990 and its predecessor organisations. Aside from lectures and excursions for members, they publish once again a \u201cOstasiatische Zeitschrift\u201d under the editorship of Patrizia Jirka-Schmitz, follow the development of the museum closely with advice and guidance and add to its holdings by providing long-term loans from its collection.<\/p>\n

Highlights displayed on the occasion of the Friends centennial in the \u201cArts of Japan\u201d parts of the gallery include first time presentations of an installation of 108 bowls by ceramic artist Young-Jae Lee who lives and works in Essen as well as a fragment of a Buddhist painting from eighteenth century Japan that depicts a guardian deity of Buddhism. It is reunited here with another two paintings from the set of originally five hanging scrolls, one on loan from a private collection and the other from museum holdings. Seldom shown art works from the collection of the Friends and donations, especially of woodblock prints, by members of as well as publications issued by or related to the former society of Friends complete this temporary presentation. In its second part from 16\u00a0December2026 to 1\u00a0March 2027 the most recent acquisitions will be presented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tread more<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tread less<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/read-mode>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

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