Mapping the World: Perspectives from Asian Cartography

This exhibition brings together rare historical maps and mapping traditions from across Asia, offering a compelling window into how different Asian cultures conceived, measured, and depicted the world.

From the intricate cosmological diagrams of South Asia to the precise navigational charts of maritime East Asia, the works on display span centuries of geographic thought and artistic craftsmanship. Visitors are invited to explore how cartography served not only practical purposes — trade, navigation, and territorial administration — but also expressed philosophical, religious, and political worldviews.

The exhibition challenges Western-centric assumptions about the history of mapmaking, demonstrating that Asia produced sophisticated and visually stunning geographic traditions long before contact with European cartography.