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An Asian man plays a flute in a rough sea

Zhang Jin 張錦 (Chinese, ca. 1450s–1520s), Daoist Immortal Han Xiangzi, late 15th century, hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, Museum Purchase: Gift of the Duke and Duchess of Talleyrand-Perigord, by exchange, 2011.70

New Identity: Through research, the painter of this work was identified as the poorly documented Ming painter Zhang Jin (1450s–1520s), making this his sole extant painting.

An Asian woman in a red dress beside a tall crane

Female Immortal with Crane, China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, Gift of Dr. Martin Fischer, 1957.383

Conservation: Originally glued to a board, this painting has been removed, cleaned, and remounted as a hanging scroll.

A performer wearing a black mask and an orange outfit with white birds

Sasayama Yoi 笹山養意 (Japanese, d. 1743), Portrait of an Actor with a Black Mask and Bells, Edo period (1615–1868), hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, Gift of Robert F. Blum Estate, 1906.14

Rediscovery: This painting represents a group of 22 scrolls which came into the museum in the early 1900s. They were rediscovered by Curator Hou-mei Sung and finally accessioned in 2006.

An ink painting of a bird on a flowering branch

Kishi Renzan 岸德連山 (Japanese, 1805–1859), Hawk, 19th century, hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, The Thoms Collection; Given by Mrs. Murat H. Davidson in Honor of her Grandfather, Joseph C. Thoms, 1982.21

Conservation: This painting has been conserved and remounted.

A simple green bowl with shell fragment details

Bowl with Shell Attachments, Thailand, 13th century, ceramic, Gift of Widodo Latip, 2019.208

Conservation: Recovered from a 13th century shipwreck in the waters off the coast of Indonesia, this ceramic has unique condition requirements to prevent further degradation.

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Rediscovered Treasures

September 19, 2025 – January 18, 2026

The Thomas R. Schiff Gallery (Gallery 234 & 235)
Free Admission
Press Release

Rediscovered Treasures features nearly 60 artworks selected from the Cincinnati Art Museum’s East Asian Art collection. Each tells a fascinating story of its rediscovery through scholarship or conservation, fulfilling two key goals of the museum’s mission: interpreting and preserving the cultural objects in our care.

The museum acquired the core of its East Asian collection in the late nineteenth century when Cincinnati became a flourishing cultural center in the Midwest. These early acquisitions were often left unidentified, misidentified, or sometimes not accessioned at all due to a lack of information at the time. However, over the past two decades, new research on these works and others in the East Asian collection has led to many exciting discoveries, providing not only new information about the objects themselves, but also their histories and provenances.

Events

Free Exhibition Tours

Every Thursday from September 19, 2025–January 18, 2026, 6:30–7:30 p.m.

 

11th Annual Asian Art Society Lecture: Rediscovered Treasures

Sunday, September 28, 2025, 2–4 p.m.

 

CAM Presents: The Art of Asian Painting Conservation with Qian He 

Sunday, October 5, 2025, 2–3 p.m.

 

Evenings for Educators - Rediscovered Treasures

Thursday, January 15, 2026, 4–7 p.m.

 

Presenting Sponsor

Everything But The House

Additional support provided by

The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation