Asia Week New York is an annual nine-day celebration of Asian art; held in New York from March 13 through 21 2015 this year, it featured non-stop exhibitions, auctions and special events presented by leading international Asian art specialists and world-renowned museums and institutions. Somewhat of a controversial topic is the influence & impact of Asian Art & the Pacific trade industry in the early Americas. The influence of Asian culture in Latin America was the subject matter for Walter Hough’s “Oriental Influences in Mexico,” written in 1900. Between 1565 and 1815, immense quantities of Asian goods were exported across the Pacific as part of the Manila Galleons trade. Intricate works of silk, porcelain, lacquerwork, art, furniture, teas and exotic spices and even Asian slaves made their way to New Spain over the a period spanning nearly three centuries. Interestingly, Asian collectors have developed a fascination with Latin American art, ahead of the American and European markets.
The Great Wave at Kanagawa (from a Series of Thirty–Six Views of Mount Fuji), Edo period (1615–1868), ca. 1831–33