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December 8, 2023
MoAW
presents
ALL UNDER HEAVEN
Earth, Heaven, and the Afterlife
A Very Special Gift From
Heather James Fine Art Gallery, Palm Desert
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Figure of Maitreya
China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
Painted Wood
…He who comes to Earth from Heaven
after a period of decline and chaos
to restore order and harmony
to humanity.
Maitreya, the “happy Buddha” of the future, represents the harbinger of a new age and will be reborn in a period of decline to renew the doctrine of Buddhism. The name Maitreya comes from the Sanskrit word Maitri, which means “loving-kindness.” This Buddha-to-be from China’s Ming dynasty sits in vajrasana, the left hand in varadamudra and the right hand in vitarkamudra, with his feet crossed at the ankles. The position represents reasoning, argumentation, or explanation of a teaching.
A major sculpture from a Buddhist temple weighing 800 pounds and sculpted from flanks of solid wood, this figure is approximately 650 years old, according to carbon-14 dating conducted on the object. The eyes are made of glass and obsidian. Dressed in the clothes of either Bhiksu or Indian royalty and adorned with jewelry and a high tiara, Maitreya exudes majesty, limitless tolerance, and generosity. His images appear in Gandhara, possibly predating those of the Buddha.
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Head of Buddha
Burma
Shan Period (17th / 18th century)
Wood and Pigments
Two traditional crafts at which the Burmese excel are wood carving and lacquerwork. They used their skills in these areas to create images of the Buddha, as part of their devotion to Theravada Buddhism. The use of woodcarving for religious and secular purposes has been confirmed in Burma since Pyu times (200-900 CE) and may have begun earlier. As evidenced by this particular piece, the Burmese had an innate understanding of the properties of wood, working with the grain of the wood to best utilize its properties.
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Pair of Foo Dogs
China, Ming Dynasty
(1368-1644)
Stone
The concept, which originated and became popular in Chinese Buddhism features a pair of highly stylized lions flanking an entrance which were thought to protect the building from harmful spiritual influences and harmful people that might be a threat. Used in imperial Chinese palaces and tombs, the lions subsequently spread to other parts of Asia including Japan, Korea, Philippines, Tibet, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, and Malaysia. Though they are lions they are traditionally referred to as Foo Dogs or Fu Dogs.
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The lions are usually depicted in pairs. When used as statuary, the pair would consist of a male leaning his paw upon an embroidered ball (in an imperial context), representing paternal supremacy over the world, and a female embracing a playful cub representing maternal nurture.
On view exclusively at the Museum of Ancient Wonders
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Holiday Membership Special
The Gift That Gives All Year Long
Until December 31, 2024,
all memberships purchased will have a 3-month bonus,
15 months for the price of 12
Purchase 2 Memberships at the Donor Level ($125.00 each)
or above and get a 3rd at no cost.
This INCLUDES FREE Admission to more than
1,200 museums across North America through the
North American Reciprocal Museum Association (NARM)
for further information
write to [email protected] or
call (442) 268-5004
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FREE ADMISSION TO CATHEDRAL CITY RESIDENTS
The Museum of Ancient Wonders (MoAW) is proud to offer free admission to all Cathedral City residents from November 1, 2023 – April 30, 2024, through the City’s Community Assistance Grant Program. The museum is located at 69028-B E Palm Canyon Dr, Cathedral City, CA 92234.
Cathedral City residents are invited to discover the Valley’s newest museum where they will find world-class exhibitions on display with a focus on prehistoric life and ancient civilizations to enhance universal curriculum development for local and surrounding school districts while providing museum diversity for residents and tourists alike.
Please bring proof of residency and fill out a survey before you leave to achieve free admission.
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Sleeping Hermaphroditus
Gian Lorenzo Bernini
(7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680)
Louvre Museum, Paris, France
Announcing the Future
LGBTQ+ World History Museum
In association with the
Museum of Ancient Wonders
presents
BCE to LGBTQ+
Out of the darkness, into the light.
10,000 Years of LGBTQ+ History
In one exhibition, BCE to LGBTQ+ dramatically illustrates a vast and universal depiction of LGBTQ+ history, from the mythological to the rulers, warriors, artists, scientists, entertainers, and activists who have contributed to civilization, from ancient epochs and periods to modern society, experienced in a geographical, chronological timeline.
Encompassing 10,000 years, from Mediterranean rock art of 9,600 years ago to ancient Africa, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and on to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, Early, Middle, and Late civilization, with a gender-diverse history presented in a global perspective.
This unprecedented exhibition allows visitors to explore and appreciate the human history of LGBTQ+ experiences, contributions, tribulations, and triumphs throughout the millennia to the 21st Century. An immersive experience, BCE to LGBTQ+, Out of the Darkness, Into the Light is a vivid history of humankind’s natural diversity, adaptation, and resilience to thrive.
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Emperor Ai
(27 BCE – 1 BCE)
The Passion of the Cut Sleeve
CHINA
The Passion of the Cut Sleeve is an Ancient Chinese story depicting homosexual love and desire. Same-sex unions are not a new phenomenon or a Western invention. Homosexuality has been present in human nature at least since the dawn of civilization. Just as Ancient Greeks and Romans have their tales involving same-sex relationships, so too the Ancient Chinese stories depict themes of love between the rulers and their “favorites” (lovers). “The Passion of the Cut Sleeve,” tells the story of the second to last Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Ai, and his lover, Dong Xian. The story told in ‘The Book of Han’, describes how Emperor Ai loved his companion Dong Xian. One day the couple took a nap together. When the Emperor awakened, he realized his lover had fallen asleep on the sleeve of his robe. The Emperor didn’t want to wake the peaceful Dong Xian. Therefore, he cut the sleeve from his robe so as not to disturb him and left the room silently. The phrase ‘the passion of the cut sleeve’ is now often used to refer to homosexuality, more explicitly, male same-sex love in Chinese culture.
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CURRENT EXHIBTIONS ON DISPLAY |  | |
BEHIND THE MASK:
Ancient African Traditions and Mysticism
From the continent of Africa, thirty-seven ancient masks and sculptures dating from 2,000 years ago until the mid-1800s, representing 12 Central African countries and 27 indigenous communities are presented in the Museum of Ancient Wonders Behind the Mask: Ancient African Traditions and Mysticism, a very special gift from Heather James Fine Art Gallery, Palm Desert.
From a Nok terracotta head of 100 C.E. (Current Era) to the beginning of the 19th Century, this diverse collection of masks and sculptures from antiquity celebrates the tradition of ritual and mysticism from time immemorial. These once-used sacred and revered objects are honored and beloved in addition to being a feared and dangerous entity.
For the people of ancient civilization, masks and sculptures represented the invisible force of nature assigned to them, which may be the spirit of a wise ancestor, a tutelary deity, or any embodiment of supernatural power from the animal kingdom. Used to commemorate the events in their lives, whoever wears a mask combines and unites their strength with the spirit, enhancing value and heightening power, creating a mystical empyreal bond between the past and present, the honored living and the sacred dead. Together for the first time, and a permanent addition to MoAW's inventory of exhibitions, this stunning collection is currently on view exclusively at the Museum of Ancient Wonders.
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ALL UNDER HEAVEN
Earth, Heaven,
and the Afterlife
A Very Special Gift From
Marlene and Bruce Kanter,
Heather James Fine Art
Tim Walsh
Michael H. Healy
Tianxia (天下) or, All Under Heaven, is the ideal of a perfect and harmonious empire in the eyes of the people.
50 original antiquities spanning millennia (3,600 B.C.E. to 1920s C.E.) of ancient Asian cultures, from mysterious funerary objects and life-size protective temple guardians to delicate terracotta sculptures created for the tombs of the deceased. A tapestry of silk and gold thread, a rare lacquered cosmetic box, earthen vessels, and bronze statues, these ancient treasures from China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, celebrate the ancient world.
This grand collection of 50 Asian antiquities is divided into three sections: Earthly possessions, objects used by the living, the temple icons of Buddha and Shiva (Heaven), and funerary goods, objects found in the tombs of the elite (the Afterlife). MoAW premieres these dazzling artifacts for the first time together in one exhibition All Under Heaven: Earth, Heaven, and the Afterlife.
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PALEO: The Story of Life
4.6 billion years of fossil history
Drawn from the world’s foremost fossil collections, the unprecedented treasury of fossil casts known as PALEO: The Story of Life brings together in one exhibition some of the most exciting finds in the history of paleontology and paleoanthropology from over a century of worldwide excavations, exhibited in geological, chronological order.
From 2.5 billion-year-old single cellular cyanobacteria responsible for the oxygenation of the atmosphere to the first multicellular life 700 million years ago, PALEO: The Story of Life spans 4.6 billion years in scope. From the Precambrian, and Cambrian Eras, to the Paleozoic Era, from the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods of the Mesozoic Era to mammals and prehistoric humans of the Cenozoic Era (including the famous Lucy skeleton), this internationally acclaimed, comprehensive collection dramatically illustrates the awesome progression of prehistoric life on Earth.
Displaying casts of rare fossils from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, this prestigious collection includes skeletons, skulls, claws, and eggs gathered from such revered museums as the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, The Royal Ontario Museum, the Carnegie Museum, and the National Museums of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Tanzania, as well as many others.
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THE CRAB NEBULA (M1) IN TAURUS.
Photographed with the 26-inch Crossley Reflector at Lick Observatory. Copyright Regents, University of California. Lick Observatory photograph.
STARSCAPE:
A Journey To The
Beginning of Time
This spectacular collection of 33 space photographs combines breathtaking digitalized images from the historic Mariner, Viking, and Voyager probes with stunning photographs from the Apollo lunar missions, the Hubble Space Telescope, and ground-based observatories. Gathered from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the California Institute of Technology, the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the Hansen Planetarium, this awesome display of cosmic spectacles is a journey to the early days of the cosmos.
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photo: Steven Salisbury
LUCY:
(Australopithecus afarensis)
The Story of Human Origins
(Courtesy of the Institute of Human Origins and
the National Museum of Ethiopia,
Addis Ababa)
On view exclusively at the
Museum of Ancient Wonders
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TUTANKHAMUN
"Wonderful Things"
Treasures From The Pharaoh's Tomb
2022 marked the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. To share in the commemoration, MoAW's "Wonderful Things" exhibition is on a nationwide tour. Click on the link below to see the installation on the banks of the Sacramento River at Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding CA.
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Please Become A Member of MoAW
by contributing to our efforts
THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ALL SEASONS
The newest perk of membership: Free admission to more than 1,200 museums nationwide through the North American Reciprocal Museum Program (NARM) Plus, discounts at their museum shops and restaurants (if given to their members). Local museums include the Palm Springs Art Museum and Cabot's Pueblo Museum, several museums in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, throughout California, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia, including Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. This is available to all members at the Donor Level ($125.00) or higher. Members who qualify will be receiving new membership cards with the NARM logo to be used at participating museums.
Current members who would like to upgrade their membership to take advantage of this new benefit please give us a call at (442) 268-5004.
Click below for more information and to join.
THANK YOU
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MoAW's mission is to educate a diverse audience about the history of ancient civilizations and prehistoric life using fossils and artifacts from a variety of cultures and time periods; to enhance universal curriculum development for local and surrounding school districts, colleges, and universities, establishing museum diversity for the Coachella Valley.
Hours of Operation
Monday through Saturday - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday - 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.
The last admission is taken one hour before closing.
Admission:
$15.00 Adults
$12.00 Students, Seniors, & Military
$10.00 Group Rate for 10 or more individuals.
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, MoAW is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association, the American Alliance of Museums, and the California Association of Museums. Contributions are tax-deductible and gratefully accepted.
MoAW IS SPONSORED WITH FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS
BY THE FOLLOWING:
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Alberto Acosta, Executive Director & Chief Curator
Joseph McCabe, Director of Development
Art Laboe Foundation, Inc.
A beloved resident of Palm Springs, Art Laboe was an American disc jockey, songwriter, record producer, and radio station owner. He was generally credited with coining the term "Oldies but Goodies".
Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation
The mission of the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation
is to support Arts & Culture, Youth, Educational, Medical and,
Social Servies, and Community activities that enhance the quality of life.
Municipalities & Societies
City of Cathedral City
Cathedral City Historical Society
City of Rancho Mirage
Members and Patrons
Geoffrey Gray-Lee
Townsend Public Affairs
Christopher Townsend
Niccolo De Luca
Anastasia Heaton
Heather James Fine Art, Palm Desert
Marlene and Bruce Kanter
Tim Walsh
Mike Healy
Bjorn Kielman
Lynne Tucker
Zachary Weingart
Karen Speros
Nancy Dobrozdravic
Mary Madison
Carla San Miguel, CSM Traducciones
Margie St. Anthony
Skot Jones
Dean Keefer
Leo Stevens
David Garcia, ARSVIDA.com
Barbara Kerr
Steven Biller
Joe Smith
Kip Serafin
Sandie Newton
Sarah and Malcolm Beresford
Corky and Barbara Goss
KESQ Eye On The Desert
Tarek & Mohamed Ragab, the Egyptian Art Center
Marty Martin, CEO of Origins Institute, Inc.
Scott Robertson & Staff, New Leaf Caterers, Cathedral City
Willie Rhine & Albert Gonzales, 849 Restaurant, Palm Springs
Jack and Sandra Rivers, Canyon Printing, Cathedral City
Gamma Mu
THANK YOU
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