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Michigan State University

Asian Art Resources: Getting Started

This guide provides assistance with locating basic English-language resources for researching Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art.

Fine Arts Library

Chinese storage jar

The Fine Arts Library is located in the Main Library, on the 4th floor of the west wing, and houses books and periodicals about Asian art.

"Hu" Storage Jar with Decoration of Figures and Animals in a Mountainous Landscape
Unknown artist
Chinese
2nd-3rd century
Broad Art Museum
Michigan State University

Online Reference Sources

Finding Books

To find books in the MSU Libraries (including the Fine Arts Library), use the MSU Libraries' catalog. You can search by KEYWORD for a topic, such as "Ming dynasty painting", or you can use an author, title, or LC SUBJECT search.

The following are sample searches:

keyword search = Korean ceramics
LC subject search = Landscape painting, Chinese
author search = Lee, Sherman
title search = Poetry and Image in Japanese Prints


If you cannot find a book title in our catalog, or if the book you need is checked out, you can borrow books from other libraries at no cost.  Information on how to do this can be found at the Request Non-MSU Material page.

Need help? Contact me!

Profile Photo
Terrie Wilson
Contact:
Humanities Coordinator and Head, Art Library
Michigan State University
wilso398@msu.edu
Website