"Kinky: Ancient Chinese and Japanese Erotic Images," To Oct. 16 at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

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Utagawa Yoshitora, "An American Drinking and Carousing," 1861

Utagawa Yoshitora, "An American Drinking and Carousing," 1861, woodblock print

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria offers a rare glimpse into Asia's erotic history with Kinky: Ancient Chinese and Japanese Erotic Images.

The show includes ivory and ceramic sculptures as well as a set of 19th-century ceramic tiles and painted box containers never before exhibited in a public gallery, says Barry Till, curator of Asian art.

Also on display are shoes for women's bound feet, once considered erotic by Chinese men, and shunga woodblock prints from Japan.

“Almost all the great print masters designed erotic works, partially for economic reasons, and also because they were considered to be a vital element of their art,” says Till.

Shunga, the term for erotic art in Japanese, features scenes that vary from the tender advances of youth to violence and debauchery. They were used for everything from training courtesans to educating newlyweds.