CONSERVING YAO SCROLL PAINTINGS AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA - TAASA Review June 2016

CONSERVING YAO SCROLL PAINTINGS AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA – TAASA Review June 2016

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This article was originally found in the June 2016 edition of TAASA Review (Volume 25, Issue 2, Page 24).

The full article is available for free to TAASA Members.

Claudia Motolese and Andrea Wise T he National Gallery of Australia (NGA) holds a small group of vibrant 19th century scroll paintings that depict the traditional deities of the North Vietnamese Mien Yao people, a minority ethno-linguistic group originating in China, later migrating to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Burma.

Yao myths describe their origins and migration, while their spiritual beliefs combine elements of animism, ancestor worship and Taoism.

Sets of scroll paintings representing the Taoist pantheon, collectively known as Mien Fang, are created by newly ordained Yao priests to use in rituals and display at places of worship...