“Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea”

Long before Vietnam was colonized by France, occupied by Japan and bombed by America, it was home to a flourishing artistic culture, thanks to its prominent position on East-West trade routes. This fall, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Asia Society Present 2,000 years worth of the country’s finest creations in “Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea.”Many of the 100-plus objects, dating from the first millennium B.C. through the 17th century, have never been seen before in the U.S. Scholarly types can gain insight into the country’s rich religious history with ritual bronzes, terracotta burial wares and Hindu and Buddhist sculptures, and those who’d prefer to indulge their more superficial sensibilities can admire ornaments and jewelry made of gold, jade, crystal and carnelian. Through January 3. 1001 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-639-7300 or visit www.mfah.org. $7.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fridays, Saturdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sundays, 12:15-7 p.m. Starts: Sept. 16. Continues through Jan. 3, 2009