SAN FRANCISCO.- On Sunday, June 22, worldrenowned auction house
Sotheby’s invites the general public to bring Asian works of art to Ming and Other Things, a benefit appraisal day in celebration of the Asian Art Museum’s Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty. On view June 27 through September 21, the groundbreaking exhibition features more than 240 rare artworks — many of them recently discovered and on view for the first time — showcasing the artistic achievements of the Chinese dynasty most renowned for its refined aesthetic. Sotheby’s Ming and Other Things event provides the public with the opportunity to discover what treasures may be hidden away in their basements and attics. Sotheby’s Asian Arts specialists will appraise Asian artworks from 11 am to 5 pm, in the grand ballroom of Hilton San Francisco Financial District, the official hotel sponsor of Power & Glory. The appraisal fee is $5 per artwork with 100% of the proceeds to benefit the Asian Art Museum. Only cash or check can be accepted. The public is encouraged to arrive early. Appraisals are available to the first 500 attendees. For more information, please visit www.asianart.org or sothebys.com.

“Ming and Other Things offers the chance to discover whether an Asian art family heirloom or object of interest is truly a treasure or purely sentimental,” said MeeSeen Loong, Sotheby’s Senior Specialist in Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art. “While the discovery of an unknown treasure is rare, it certainly has occurred at events similar to Ming and Other Things. The moreservice Sotheby’s provides allows the owners of family treasures to know if their artworks have value outside their families and in the context of the art world.”

Sotheby’s appraisers participating in the Ming and Other Things event include Anu GhoshMazumdar, South East Asian art specialist, Alexandra Wang, Chinese contemporary art specialist, Christina PrescottWalker, porcelain specialist, MeeSeen Loong, Chinese art specialist, Sachiko Hori, Japanese art specialist and Phillip Jelley, generalist. Lark Mason, formerly of Antiques Road Show and a scholar of Chinese furniture will also participate. Appraisals for Ming and Other Things are limited to artworks of Asian origin. All valuations will be verbal, not written, and available to the first 500 attendees. All artworks must be portable and must remain with attendees at all times. Neither the Asian Art Museum nor Sotheby's nor the Hilton Hotels shall be responsible for any loss, damage or theft of objects or other property of attendees.

This summer, the Asian Art Museum’s special exhibition, Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty, is likely to heighten public interest in the subject of classic Chinese art. For centuries, Ming porcelain vases have been regarded as the epitome of priceless beauty. Power & Glory demonstrates why not just vases but Ming art of many types has earned such acclaim. On view from June 27–September 21, 2008, this major groundbreaking exhibition explores the grandeur and opulence of one of the most important dynasties in Chinese history. Power & Glory also marks the Asian Art Museum’s first collaboration with three of China’s most prestigious institutions — The Palace Museum (Forbidden City) in Beijing, the Nanjing Municipal Museum, and the Shanghai Museum. Some of the most precious artworks from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) from these museums, along with some of the finest items from this period owned by the Asian Art Museum, make up Power & Glory, the first exhibition in the U. S. to focus on the full range of Ming court arts.