Toronto museum devoted to South Asia

{image-south asia01_19022008.gif news.oneindia.in}New York, Feb 19: The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has reopened its galleries devoted to South and West Asian art and artefacts. The Sir Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery that opened on saturday, has works from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Tibet, the Canadian Broadcasting Centre (CBC) reported.

Another two galleries in the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal are set to open in April, completing the historic museum's renovation. A series of nine exhibit areas in the galleries present the stories of the region, beginning with 3,500 B C in the Indus Valley and extending to modern times with an exhibit of contemporary art. The exhibits tell the story of civilisations that formed in what are now Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen, CBC said. Among the thousands of artifacts are a 10th-century stone sculpture of the goddess Yogini, stucco head of a Boddisattva dated to the 4th or 5th century and lavish luxury items from the Mughal and Rajput courts.

UNI