"This is the first book to survey the full range of Asian art in the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which houses one of America's foremost collections. It presents more than one hundred masterpieces from these extraordinary holdings, representing China, Korea, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and the Islamic world. The featured works introduce to the general public and scholars worldwide the quality and rich diversity of the Museum's collection." "Published to celebrate the centenary of the Department of Asian Art at Brooklyn, the volume also tells the fascinating history behind the collection, beginning with the department's founding in 1903. Through two principal essays, the book traces the development of the Museum's criteria of artistic excellence over the course of a century as well as the institution's evolving definition of the arts of Asia." "Each of the one hundred and four featured works is reproduced in full colour and accompanied by an illuminating commentary. A bibliography and index complete the volume."--BOOK JACKET.