The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation awarded a $15,000 grant in June to the Harn Museum of Art. The grant partially funds two scholarly publications about Chinese Art organized by Cofrin Curator of Asian Art Jason Steuber. Both projects will be published by the University Press of Florida in 2011.

“The recognition and award from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation to the Harn Museum reiterates the emergence of the Harn as an important contributor to the Asian art field,” said Steuber. “With the new David A. Cofrin Asian Art Wing under construction and due to open in 2011, the two publications will usher in a new prominence for Asian art at the University of Florida.”

“Collectors, Collections and Collecting the Arts of China: Histories and Challenges,” is a collaboration with Guolong Lai, assistant professor of Chinese art history and archaeology at UF. Steuber and Lai convened an international symposium of Chinese art scholars Feb. 20 - 22, 2009. The book is a compilation of the symposium papers, which explore the issues of provenance, collectors, museum collecting histories, and the development of the history of Chinese art and archaeology studies in the West.

“Original Intentions: Essays on Production, Reproduction and Interpretation in the Arts of China,” is a collaboration with Nicholas Pearce, director of the Institute for Art History and the department of art history at the University of Glasgow. The publication contains essays by international specialists exploring authenticity in the arts of China. The collection addresses issues relating to bronzes, ceramics, works on paper, sculpture and painting. A broad range of perspectives, including conservation, technical analysis, social history and aspects of collecting, are explored.