The Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) is delighted to announce that the Central Government has approved the list of 914 priceless treasures from the Palace Museum to be lent to HKPM. These loans are amongst the finest works from the prestigious Palace Museum collection, and will be presented at the opening exhibitions of HKPM in July this year.
Unprecedented Loans with Iconic Works
This unprecedented loan is among the largest and finest the Palace Museum has ever lent to another cultural institution outside the Mainland since its establishment in 1925 and will be displayed at the opening exhibitions of HKPM. The 914 loans are thoughtfully selected from over 1.86 million works in the Palace Museum’s collection. Amongst them, 166 works (approximately 18% of the loans) are grade-one objects which are classified as “national treasures”. Most of the objects on loan are exhibited in Hong Kong for the first time. One of the HKPM opening exhibitions The Making of Masterpieces: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum brings together 35 rare and iconic works dated back to Tang and Sung dynasties, which form the largest group of early paintings and calligraphic works lent by the Palace Museum to institutions outside the Mainland in the past 15 years.
The treasures on loan to HKPM are rich and diverse, covering all major categories in the Palace Museum collection ranging from painting and calligraphy to bronze, ceramics, jade, metalwork, enamelware, lacquer, seal, costume and textile, jewelry, rare book, and architecture. These splendid works span nearly 5,000 years.
The HKPM and Palace Museum curatorial team tell the stories behind these national treasures from the perspective of cultural history, through which a window into the rich history and culture of the Forbidden City is opened and new light shed on its transformation from a palace into a modern museum. As crown jewels of Chinese art and culture, works from the Palace Museum celebrate China’s long history and its marvellous cultural and artistic achievements. The loaned objects made outside China testify to the vibrant cultural dialogue between China and the rest of the world.
Mr Bernard Charnwut Chan, Chairman of the HKPM Board, said “The Palace Museum represents the pinnacle of ancient Chinese art and culture and its collection embodies the richness and excellence of Chinese traditional culture over thousands of years. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Central Government, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the National Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Palace Museum, and other organisations, as well as the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for their unwavering support, which has made possible for 914 magnificent Palace Museum treasures to travel to HKPM.”
Dr Louis Ng, Museum Director, HKPM, said “Each object from the Palace Museum on display at HKPM has its unique historical, cultural, artistic or scientific significance, demonstrating China’s time-honoured and illustrious cultural traditions. Adopting an innovative curatorial approach, HKPM utilises new technology and new media to present these treasures from the Palace Museum. We look forward to the opening of HKPM in July when we can share the fascinating stories about these treasures with visitors from home and abroad.”
Highest Conservation Standards and Display Periods as Short as One Month
914 works from the Palace Museum will be on view at HKPM opening exhibitions for durations ranging from one month to over one year. Following best conservation practices, some of the works will be displayed for a limited period of time. For example, works on paper or silk such as ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphic works are highly sensitive to light and humidity fluctuation. Therefore, they will be exhibited at HKPM for one to three months only. After display at HKPM, they will be returned to the Palace Museum and put in storage for a rest period of several years.
Palace Museum Exhibitions, Stories about the Treasures and Fostering Cultural Exchanges
The Palace Museum loans will be displayed in HKPM opening exhibitions. Galleries 1 and 2 introduce the Forbidden City in the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as daily life in the palace. Galleries 3, 4, and 5 feature Chinese ceramics, Qing imperial portraits, and crafts respectively. Galleries 8 and 9 present early paintings and calligraphic works from the Palace Museum, and loans associated with the horse.
Being a “connected museum” is a key concept for the development of HKPM. The Museum connects the past and the present, and promotes cultural exchanges. For instance, the opening exhibition Grand Gallop: Art and Culture of the Horse in Gallery 9 juxtaposes loans from the Palace Museum and the Louvre to highlight cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world.
| |
Exhibition Theme |
No. of Loans from the Palace Museum |
Exhibition Period |
|
| Gallery 1 |
Entering the Forbidden City: Collection, Architecture, and Heritage |
179 |
1 year or above |
Thematic Exhibitions |
| Gallery 2 |
From Dawn to Dusk: Life in the Forbidden City |
319 |
1 year or above |
Thematic Exhibitions |
| Gallery 3 |
Clay to Treasure: Ceramics from the Palace Museum Collection |
169 |
1 year or above |
Thematic Exhibitions |
| Gallery 4 |
Encountering the Majestic: Portraits of Qing Emperors and Empresses |
8 |
1 Year |
Thematic Exhibitions |
| Gallery 5 |
The Quest for Originality: Contemporary Design and Traditional Craft in Dialogue |
93 |
1 year or above |
Thematic Exhibitions |
| Gallery 8 |
The Making of Masterpieces: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum |
35 iconic and texbook paintings and calligraphic works from the Jin, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. All works are grade-one cultural objects, and some are the only surviving examples of their kind. |
3 months |
Special Exhibitions |
| Gallery 9 |
Grand Gallop: Art and Culture of the Horse |
111 equine artworks from the Palace Museum, including some of the finest paintings and sculptures. These works are juxtaposed with the 13 loans from the Louvre. |
6 months |
Special Exhibitions |
There are two other thematic exhibitions in the opening exhibitions. The exhibition in Gallery 6 “Private to Public: The History of Chinese Art Collecting in Hong Kong” surveys for the first time over a century of Chinese art collecting in Hong Kong and the histories of local museums’ development. The exhibition in Gallery 7 “No Boundaries: Reinterpreting Palace Museum Culture” invites six Hong Kong-based multimedia and interdisciplinary artists to create new works and interpret the art and culture of the Forbidden City from a fresh perspective.
Remarks
About the Hong Kong Palace Museum
The Hong Kong Palace Museum aspires to become a leading cultural institution committed to the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture, while advancing dialogue among world civilisations. The Hong Kong Palace Museum is a collaborative project between the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the Palace Museum, which is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust with a donation of HK$3.5 billion for its establishment.
Embracing new curatorial approaches, the Museum offers a Hong Kong perspective and a global vision, presenting the finest objects from the Palace Museum and other important cultural institutions around the world. Through research, exhibitions, and educational and professional exchange programmes, the Museum will build international partnerships and help position Hong Kong as a global hub for art and culture. At heart a resource that belongs to the community of Hong Kong, the Museum will inspire community engagement, foster dialogue, and promote creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration.
About the West Kowloon Cultural District
The West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on 40 hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances and cultural events, providing 23 hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.
www.westkowloon.hk
