First-time showing of East Asian masks and armor at the Johnson

An array of recent gifts from Southeast Asian countries and cultures are on view at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art through Dec. 19.

"In the past two years, we have had an extraordinary array of gifts of art from Indonesia, Burma and Malaysia," said Ellen Avril, curator of Asian art at the Johnson Museum. "In this exhibition we are showing them to the public for the first time."

The works of art are both traditional and contemporary. They include a group of Balinese and Javanese masks given by Benedict R.O. Anderson, the Aaron L. Binenkorb Professor of International Studies; Burmese art given by Robert B. Jones, professor emeritus of linguistics; a complete warrior's ensemble from the Asmat culture of Irian Jaya, given to Cornell by David Cohn; and a collection of modern Malaysian and Singaporean paintings, given by Dolores Wharton and Clifton R. Wharton Jr.

"These gifts come at a time when interest in the politics, cultures and languages of these countries is growing at Cornell and around the world," said Avril.

"We see these works of art as another means of understanding and appreciating both past traditions and present transitions in these countries."

The Johnson Museum is open Tuesday-Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free. For further information, call 255-6464 or visit the web site http://www.museum.cornell.edu.