Asian Art
Asian ceramics, prints, paintings, and decorative arts — including Chinese export porcelain acquired by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), Japanese woodblock prints, and Indonesian artifacts.
Maritime commerce, courtly luxury, and cross-cultural trade.
he rise of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) transformed the Netherlands into Europe's primary importer of Asian material culture. The Rijksmuseum’s Asian collection reflects this history of commercial contact, collecting, and colonial dominance across Indonesia, China, Japan, and South Asia.
The galleries pair monumental Japanese temple guardians and Indonesian goldwork with Chinese export porcelain designed specifically for Western dining rooms. Rather than passive aesthetic borrowings, these objects illustrate complex global supply lines where Asian artisans actively adapted their technical traditions to capitalize on European markets.
