A long-planned exhibition of nearly 70 pieces of Buddhist art from Pakistan will finally open at New York City’s Asia Society on Aug. 9, after political intrigue in Pakistan and a breakdown in American-Pakistani relations delayed it for six months, according to the Buddhist Channel internet site.
“Anti-Americanism, which soared in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden, helped put the show in jeopardy,” according to Melissa Chiu, the director of Asia Society Museum — reports the Buddhist Channel’s Jane Perlez.
“The death of a major advocate, Richard C. Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s senior diplomat for Pakistan and a former chairman of Asia Society,” writes Perlez, “also complicated matters, she said, as did problems with getting American visas for the Pakistanis chosen to accompany the objects to New York.
“Shows that depend on loans from abroad are often fraught with difficulties with museum directors jealously guarding national treasures. Exacting negotiations that stretch to the 11th hour are commonplace. But never before has the society announced a show, chosen an opening night and then been forced to postpone it.”
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