TAASA Review Issues

Christina Sumner

In the last issue of TAASA Review, in ‘Comment’, Adrian Snodgrass described the auspicious ocean encounter between this society and its recently launched offspring, the Ceramic Group. Further to this, I am now delighted to announce the establishment of a formidable liaison, as this edition celebrates the collaboration of the Society with another Sydney-based group dedicated to promoting Asian art. We welcome the Oriental Rug Society of New South Wales (the ORS) as co-producer of this issue, both editorially and financially, and encourage other societies with like aims to follow suit!

Specialist societies like the ORS cater to the aficionados in our midst, those happy people who have found a focused and often abiding passion in life. TAASA on the other hand, while still some might say catering to a small audience of Asian art lovers, has by comparison a breathtakingly broad brief. The interests of the Society span the breadth of Asia, from Turkey in the West to Korea in the northeast of the Asian landmass, from neolithic times to the present day.

TAASA’s aim is to encourage a broad understanding and appreciation of Asian cultures in all their diversity through their many art forms. The work of both the TAASA focus groups and special interest societies in the community such as the ORS supports this goal. For the ORS in particular, this is achieved through a regular program of lectures on rugs and related textiles; through the shared pleasure of collectors, dealers, curators, the curious and the interested alike in a common passion; and through its ongoing support for collection development at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

TAASA thanks the Oriental Rug Society of NSW for their support and for their huge contribution to this issue of the Review. It’s been a happy and productive liaison, and we look forward with anticipation to the forthcoming seminar on oriental rugs at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Saturday 28 October. Don’t miss it!

Christina Sumner is a founding member of TAASA and also heads our publications committee. She is a committee member of the Oriental Rug Society.