All roads lead East

Andrew Lambirth on our continuing fascination with the Orient

Almost everywhere you look these days there’s an exhibition to do with China or the Far East. Tinselly young oriental artists are fêted as if they were better than their limp-brained occidental counterparts, and scarcely a considered brushstroke between them. The East is Big Business and there’s more than one specialist agent concentrating on bringing over Chinese contemporary art to deluge the already schmaltz-surfeited English market. The old-established dealers, such as Eskenazi (10 Clifford Street, London W1), are world-leaders in the field of Chinese art, and show historical work of the highest quality, such as the earthenware horse and rider from the Tang period or the exquisite sandstone panels of musicians (Tang — Five Dynasties period). These glorious objects will be part of their forthcoming show Chinese Ceramics and Stone Sculpture (30 October to 28 November), timed to coincide with the annual event, Asian Art in London, which brings together exhibitions, auctions, receptions and lectures on the subject.