ON SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2024, the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) in the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK) and Art Exhibitions China (AEC) jointly unveiled the new special exhibition, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Presents: “The Origins of Chinese Civilisation”. The opening ceremony was officiated by Raistlin Lau, Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government; Tan Ping, Director of Art Exhibitions China; Henry Tang, Chairman of the Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA); Stephen Chan, Deputy Chief Executive, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited; Betty Fung, Chief Executive Officer of the WKCDA; and Dr Louis Ng, Museum Director, HKPM. The exhibition, featuring some 110 precious objects from nine archaeological cultures and nine major archaeological sites, will run until February 7th, 2025.
“The Origins of Chinese Civilisation” highlights national archaeological discoveries of the past two decades in China, presenting rare archaeological finds and significant treasures that span 5000 years from the Neolithic period to the Xia dynasty. These treasures are on loan from fourteen museums and archaeological institutions in China, including those in Beijing, as well as Gansu, Liaoning, Anhui, Zhejiang, Shandong, Hubei, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces, and Hong Kong. Nearly all of the treasures are being displayed in Hong Kong for the first time. Please see the article in this issue by Dr Raphael Wong, Dr Shengyu Wang and Dr Meng Qiao to learn more about this fascinating exhibition.
For our impressive Arts of Asia Winter 2024 issue, five specially commissioned articles, written by Dr Louis Ng and the HKPM curatorial team, present important treasures at the HKPM. Among the priceless works of art featured are imperial porcelains and figure paintings from the Ming dynasty, ancient jades and hardstones, as well as exciting new acquisitions at the HKPM. I am confident that our readers will find these articles very informative and interesting.
From the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA), we have a superb article on the “Art of Gifting: The Fuyun Xuan Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles”, the generous donation from Josephine Sin, comprising 490 sets of Chinese snuff bottles. Established by the late Christopher Sin, the renowned local collector, the Fuyun Xuan Collection is recognised as one of the most important private collections of snuff bottles globally. Another fascinating article from the HKMoA focuses on Chinese paintings by Xie Zhiliu (1910–1997) and Chen Peiqiu (1923–2020), who were leading calligrapher-painters of the Shanghai School. More than just artists, this husband and wife team were eminent authenticators and researchers, contributing immensely to the development of modern Chinese painting. I would like to thank everyone at the HKMoA for their efforts in contributing these articles.
“Might and Magnificence: Ceremonial Arms and Armour Across Cultures” is the first ever ceremonial arms exhibition in Asia, curated by Dr Rachel Parikh and Dr Libby Lai-Pik Chan. Dr Parikh has kindly contributed a very informative article examining and explaining how weapons actually transcend the battlefield, and have historically served as powerful decorative symbols of rank and prestige in various societies across Asia. The exhibition runs from November 5th, 2024 to February 23rd, 2025 at the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK).
It is now 250 years since George Chinnery, the remarkable artist, was born on January 5th, 1774. Dr Patrick Conner, a leading specialist in historical paintings relating to the China Trade, has written an enlightening article to commemorate Chinnery’s incredible life and his wonderful paintings. On November 5th, 2024, Dr Conner will give a lecture titled “From China to the West: Martyn Gregory and the World of Chinese Export Paintings”, at Bonhams, New Bond Street, London. This should be a fascinating talk for anyone fortunate enough to be able to attend. On the same subject, the Martyn Gregory collection of imperial and fine China Trade paintings, including thirty works varying from port views to portraits, will be offered in the “Fine Chinese Art” sale at Bonhams London on November 7th, 2024.
Asian Art in London (AAL), the well-established Asian art event, takes place from October 30th to November 8th, 2024. A varied and extensive programme of specialist exhibitions and auctions will be held by AAL participants: respected dealers, galleries and auction houses focusing on Asian art. AAL and its education partner, SOAS-Alphawood, have this year launched a new initiative—the inaugural one-day symposium taking place on November 3rd, 9:30 am to 5:45 pm, at the Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre, SOAS, University of London. The theme of the symposium, “Asian Art: Objects in Focus”, brings together curators, scholars, artists and art market specialists to explore diverse perspectives on a range of media and materials across Asia, with panel discussions on ceramics, textiles and metalwork. The event will open with a keynote lecture from Professor Stacey Pierson of SOAS, and close with a keynote lecture from Rachel Dedman, Jameel Curator of Contemporary Art from the Middle East at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
At Sotheby’s on New Bond Street, three prime ground-floor galleries will host twelve AAL participants: ArtChina, Raquelle Azran Vietnamese Fine Art, Hanga Ten, Ming Gu Gallery, Susan Ollemans, Simon Pilling, Runjeet Singh, Jacqueline Simcox Limited, Schoeni Projects, Slaats Fine Art, Sundaram Tagore Gallery and Anastasia Von Seibold Japanese Art. They will exhibit an exceptional and wide-ranging variety of artworks, including Vietnamese fine art, ancient gold rings and jewellery, Japanese works of art, rare Chinese silk textiles, contemporary Chinese art, and Asian arms and armour.
Eskenazi are proud to present a small, but distinctive, group of early blue and white porcelain from the Yuan and early Ming dynasties in their beautiful gallery at 10 Clifford Street in Mayfair. The exhibits, comprising a cup, five dishes and a guan jar, though not comprehensive, is a select group chosen for quality and rarity. The magnificent Yuan dynasty guan jar, one of only five known, is by far the most complex ceramic in the group and one of the rarest porcelain objects ever shown at Eskenazi.
Marchant, for the final time at 120 Kensington Church Street, will present two very special exhibitions, “Blanc de Chine” and “Kosometsuke & Shonzui”, showcasing two of the renowned dealer’s favourite disciplines, ahead of their move to Mayfair in 2025. The carefully curated exhibitions both feature 17th century ceramics that are exceptional examples of their type, meticulously selected for their rarity, condition and fascinating provenance. One of the highlights, a Blanc de Chine figure of Guanyin with impressed “He Chaozong Yin” mark on the reverse, was formerly in an important French private collection and sold by C.T. Loo, Paris. The remarkable Chinese porcelain kosometsuke blue and white nightlight, modelled as a crouching tiger, is one of my favourite pieces. From the Jintsu family in Tokyo, only one other similar example appears to be published.
I am delighted to announce that Drs Feng-Chun Ma will hold a book launch and lecture at The Royal Over-Seas League in St James’s on November 1st, 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Drs Ma is this year celebrating her fortieth anniversary in the East Asian antiques trade with the publication of a book on her collection of objects depicting the “Boys at Play” motif on Chinese works of art. Her beautiful and richly illustrated book, A Thousand Years of Hundred Boys in Chinese Art, 10th–20th century, includes 100 items of Chinese ceramics and works of art, snuff bottles, textiles and paintings, relating to boys engaged in various activities. Each item is extensively described and researched against its historical, religious and cultural background, while at the same time exploring the hidden symbolic meanings behind the images. For more insights, please see my “Interview with Feng-Chun Ma: Celebrating Forty Years in Chinese and Japanese Art” in this issue.
In the St. James’s area, AAL participant, Lam & Co. UK, will hold the exhibition, “Shades of Serenity: Light and Shadow in Chinese Art”, that explores the serene beauty of Chinese art, where each glint of light on the artefacts embodies the cultural opulence of imperial China and its skilled artisans. First time AAL participant, Paul Ruitenbeek Chinese Art from Amsterdam, will showcase “Objects of the Tang and Song” at The Maas Gallery. Roseberys will also hold a viewing for their Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian works of art sale at Bowman Sculpture.
In the St. James’s area, AAL participant, Lam & Co. UK, will hold the exhibition, “Shades of Serenity: Light and Shadow in Chinese Art”, that explores the serene beauty of Chinese art, where each glint of light on the artefacts embodies the cultural opulence of imperial China and its skilled artisans. First time AAL participant, Paul Ruitenbeek Chinese Art from Amsterdam, will showcase “Objects of the Tang and Song” at The Maas Gallery. Roseberys will also hold a viewing for their Chinese, Japanese and Southeast Asian works of art sale at Bowman Sculpture.
Although no longer a participant of AAL, Jorge Welsh Works of Art will present “Animalia: Chinese Export Porcelain Animal-Form Tureens” in London from November 1st to 8th and in Lisbon from November 29th to December 14th. The “Animalia” exhibition brings together over sixty examples of extraordinary zoomorphic tureens made in China for export to Europe, fifty-five of which are discussed in detail in the accompanying catalogue. The catalogue is the first publication dedicated exclusively to the subject of zoomorphic tureens from the Qianlong period, mostly produced over a period of sixteen years, between 1759 and 1775. The catalogue reveals new research and provides a comprehensive overview, not only of these amazing tureens, some of the rarest and most spectacular ever made in China for export, but also the historical context of their production.
I would also like to mention two major museum exhibitions in London that should not be missed: “Silk Roads” at the British Museum and “A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang” at the British Library, both shows on view until February 23rd, 2025.
The groundbreaking new exhibition at the British Museum explores the Silk Roads and the epic journeys of the people, objects and ideas which shaped cultures and histories. The exhibition showcases more than 300 objects, including generous loans by twenty-nine national and international institutions. Many of the items will be on display in the United Kingdom for the first time, including the oldest group of chess pieces ever found and a monumental six-metre long wall painting from the “Hall of the Ambassadors” in Afrasiab (Samarkand), Uzbekistan. The painting evokes the cosmopolitanism of the Sogdians from Central Asia, who were great traders during this period.
The exhibition at the British Library provides a rare glimpse into the lives of people long ago through the remarkable contents of the “Library Cave”, part of the Buddhist cave complex of Mogao, where a wealth of manuscripts, documents and artworks remained sealed for nearly 900 years. Detailing life in and around Dunhuang during the 1st millennium AD, the documents include personal letters and wills encompassing multiple languages, faiths and cultures, including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and Christianity, and span topics as diverse as literature, astronomy, medicine, politics and art. This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the International Dunhuang Programme, a global collaboration committed to digitising, preserving and increasing access to the manuscripts from the Eastern Silk Roads, and the exhibition brings together documents and objects from Dunhuang, many for the very first time.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone Season’s Greetings and best wishes for the coming New Year.
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