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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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallery1 | 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 institution on the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture while advancing dialogue between 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, as well as some of the annual exhibitions and education programmes in 2023-2031.
Embracing new curatorial approaches, the museum combines a Hong Kong perspective with a global vision to present precious artefacts from the Palace Museum and other important cultural institutions around the world. Through research, exhibitions, and educational and professional exchange programmes, the museum aims to build international partnerships and position Hong Kong as a global hub for art and culture. At heart a resource that belongs to the local community, the museum strives to 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.
Annex 1: Fact Sheet of Loaned Treasures from the Palace Museum
The priceless treasures on loan from the Palace Museum will be displayed in the opening exhibitions of the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM). This unprecedented loan is among the largest and finest the Palace Museum has ever lent to another cultural institution since its establishment in 1925. 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.
The treasures on loan to the 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.
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.
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.
Overview of the Loaned Treasures
| Overall number of loans | Grade-one national treasures |
Categories they cover |
| 914 pieces | 166 pieces | 25 |
Exhibition Galleries which display the Loaned Treasures
| Gallery | Exhibition Title | Exhibition Period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallery 1 |
Entering the Forbidden City: Architecture, Collection, and Heritage |
1 year or above |
Thematic Exhibitions |
| Gallery 2 |
From Dawn to Dusk: Life in the Forbidden City |
1 year or above |
Thematic Exhibitions |
| Gallery 3 |
Clay to Treasure: Ceramics from the Palace Museum Collection |
1 year or above |
Thematic Exhibitions |
| Gallery 4 |
Encountering the Majestic: Portraits of Qing Emperors and Empresses |
1 year |
Thematic Exhibitions |
| Gallery 5 |
The Quest of Originality: Contemporary Design and Traditional Craft in Dialogue |
1 year or above |
Thematic Exhibitions |
| Gallery 8 |
The Making of Masterpieces: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum |
3 months | Special Exhibitions |
| Gallery 9 |
Grand Gallop: Art and Culture of the Horse |
6 months | Special Exhibitions |
Paintings and Calligraphic Works
Gu Kaizhi (around 345–406)
Nymph of the Luo River (Northern Song copy)
Northern Song dynasty, 11th or 12th century
Handscroll, ink and colour on silk
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
This painting is based on a classic poem by Cao Zhi, a prince who lived during the Three Kingdoms period. The poem tells the story of a romance between Cao and the nymph of the Luo River, and inspired many works of painting and calligraphy, including a painting possibly by Gu Kaizhi of the Six dynasties period that served as a model for later artists.
This handscroll is believed to be a Northern Song copy of Gu’s painting. One of the oldest surviving illustrations of poem, this painting with a continuous composition depicts many scenes in the poem, from the moment Cao Zhi and the nymph meet until their parting. The rich colours, silky lines, and out-of-proportion figures perfectly reflects the artistic styles of the Six dynasties period.
The seal of Emperor Zhangzong of the Jin dynasty indicates that this work was once collected by the court of Jin. Centuries later, it became one of the Qianlong Emperor’s favourite works after it entered the Qing imperial collection in 1741 and was recorded in the Treasured Boxes of the Stone Moat, a catalogue of important works in the Qing imperial collection. The emperor composed a frontispiece and several colophons expressing his admiration for the work and ordered the court painter Ding Guanpeng to make a copy of it. He viewed the original as superior to other versions and had it stored in his Imperial Study.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition The Making of Masterpieces: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum in Gallery 8.
Attributed to Zhao Boju (around 1120–1162)
Autumn Colours over Rivers and Mountains
Southern Song dynasty, 12th century
Handscroll, ink and colour on silk
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
Although this landscape is unsigned, it was identified as a work of the Southern Song painter Zhao Boju by Zhu Biao, son of the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty. Zhao Boju was a distant member of the Song imperial family. His distinctive blue-and-green landscape paintings were influenced by the style of the renowned Tang dynasty painter Li Sixun and his son Li Zhaodao.
The mountains in this painting were first contoured with lines, then accented with “small axe cut” texture strokes to create depth, and finally finished with colours. Majestic and imposing, they are comparable to those of Northern Song painting, but with subtle colours that resemble the literati ink paintings and lyrical landscapes of the Southern Song period. These features were particularly admired by later connoisseurs such as Dong Qichang, who described Zhao’s paintings as having “exquisite workmanship with a scholar’s touch”.
Once in the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the painting bears the seal marks of the Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Xuantong emperors. In 1922, it was removed from the palace and brought to Changchun. After the liberation of Northeast China, it was housed at the Dongbei Museum (now the Liaoning Provincial Museum). It was transferred to the Palace Museum in 1959.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition The Making of Masterpieces: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum in Gallery 8.
Attributed to Yu Shinan (558–638)
Preface to Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion in Running Script
Tang dynasty, 7th century
Handscroll, ink on paper
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition The Making of Masterpieces: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum in Gallery 8.
Mi Fu (1051–1107)
Encomium on a Mountain Inkstone in Running Script
Northern Song dynasty, 11th or 12th century
Handscroll, ink on paper
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
Mi Fu was a celebrated Northern Song dynasty calligrapher, one of the “Four Great Masters of the Song Dynasty”. He was particularly obsessed with stones. This work is related to an inkstone of his that was once owned by Li Yu, the ruler of the Southern Tang dynasty. Its exuberant and versatile brushstrokes express his excitement over acquiring the inkstone. A painting of the stone and colophons were added later.
After the Southern Song court re-established its capital in Lin’an (present-day Hangzhou), prominent calligraphers strove to preserve and continue the style of their Northern Song predecessors. They held Mi Fu’s calligraphy in high esteem, as did Emperor Gaozong, who collected Mi’s several examples of his work. The seal of the emperor indicates that it was once in the court collection, but the collection seal of the Song Chancellor Jia Sidao indicates that it was later removed from the imperial collection.
Several versions of Encomium on a Mountain Inkstone were documented during the late Ming and early Qing periods. This original was never recorded and was held in private collections until it resurfaced in Japan in the twentieth century. This work was acquired by the National Cultural Heritage Administration in 2002 and transferred to the Palace Museum. The current exhibition marks its debut outside of Mainland China.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition The Making of Masterpieces: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum in Gallery 8.
Zhao Ji (1082–1135)
Poem on a Summer Day in Regular Script
Northern Song dynasty, 11th or 12th century
Album leaf, ink on paper
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
Zhao Ji, also known as Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song dynasty, was an accomplished painter and calligrapher, with a calligraphic style that is perhaps the most distinct among all Chinese emperors. He was also a connoisseur with a large collection of masterpieces from earlier dynasties.
The text on this calligraphic work describes the writer strolling in a garden after a summer rain shower, enjoying the cooling and soothing sight of blossoming lotuses. The work is executed with great skill and confidence and bears a seal that reads “Zheng He”, one of the emperor’s reign titles. His distinct calligraphic style draws on works from the early Tang dynasty. The beginning of each stroke is accentuated with a hook, resembling the calligraphy of Chu Suiliang, a calligrapher, historian, and politician who served as a chancellor during the reigns of two Tang emperors. Long, angular horizontal strokes demonstrate lift-and-press movement of the brushwork written swiftly with occasional thin ligatures. Stiff yet graceful, the ubiquitous shape of the characters was later known as “slender gold” script.
The work was part of the album Masterworks by Virtuous Men of the Song Dynasty, which was donated to the Shanghai Municipal Committee of Antiquities by Ding Huizhen in 1957. It entered the Palace Museum collection in 1960.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition The Making of Masterpieces: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum in Gallery 8.
Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining, 1688–1766)
Jade Lion
Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, 1743
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
This horse, named “Jade Lion”, was a tribute gift from the living buddha of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. It was painted by the Italian Jesuit painter Giuseppe Castiglione who served the Qing court.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition Grand Gallop: Art and Culture of the Horse in Gallery 9.
Ceramic
Washer
Ru kilns, Henan province
Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Stoneware with celadon glaze
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
During the Northern Song dynasty, the Ru kilns were highly notable for its superb blue-greenish glazed wares exclusively made for the imperial court. But the Ru ware was only in production about twenty years, contributing to its rarity. Already extremely rare by the Southern Song dynasty, today less than a hundred Ru wares survive.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition Clay to Treasure: Chinese Ceramics from the Palace Museum in Gallery 3.
Headrest in the shape of a reclining boy
Ding kilns, Hebei province
Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Stoneware with ivory glaze
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
Headrests like this were popular during the Song dynasty. This ceramic pillow was produced at Ding kiln, one of the “Five Famous Kilns” of the Song dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor collected several Ding ware headrests, for which he composed many poems. One of these poems reads, “On all fours, he has a focused gaze. Such an adorable child, how could I sleep on it?”
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition Clay to Treasure: Chinese Ceramics from the Palace Museum in Gallery 3.
Bodhidharma crossing the river
Dehua kilns, Fujian province
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Porcelain with white glaze
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
Dehua wares are admired for their translucent milky white or ivory body. Dehua kilns produced wide-ranging ceramics for both local and overseas markets, and Dehua porcelain sculptures of religious figures and characters from classical literature were best known. Dehua ware was called blanc de Chine in French, meaning Chinese whiteware. This sculpture depicting the Indian Buddhist monk Bodhidharma bears the seal mark of He Chaozong, a celebrated late Ming ceramist from Dehua.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition Clay to Treasure: Chinese Ceramics from the Palace Museum in Gallery 3.
Garlic-mouth bottle with dragon
Imperial Kilns, Jingdezhen
Ming dynasty, Jiajing period (1522–1566)
Applied porcelain with overglaze copper red
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition Clay to Treasure: Chinese Ceramics from the Palace Museum in Gallery 3.
Jade and Seal
Boulder with two ladies at a moon gate and a poem by the Qianlong Emperor
Suzhou, Jiangsu province
Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, 1736–73
Jade (nephrite)
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
Boulders are fairly common in the Chinese study. The story of this boulder is told in the inscription and poem by the Qianlong Emperor incised on the base: the core of this jade, which was a tribute from Khotan, was dug out to make a bowl. However, in the hands of an anonymous Suzhou jade craftsman, the leftover material was reworked into the current boulder. Some ingenious handling include the transformation of the hole at the center into a moon gate or the unpolished outer sections into paulownia trees and banana leaves.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition themed The Quest of Originality: Contemporary Design and Traditional Craft in Dialogue in Gallery 5.
Seal of the emperor with coiling dragon and box
Qing dynasty, Chongde period (1636–43)
Seal: jade; Box: gilded silver
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
An imperial seal symbolises the supreme power and authority of the emperor and his empire. Engraved on jade or stone, the seal finial takes the form of a dragon, the chief symbol of the emperor. The most important seals were managed by designated officials to ensure their proper use.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition Entering the Forbidden City: Architecture, Collection and Heritage in Gallery 1.
Metalwork
Ewer with dragons and clouds
Probably Imperial Workshop, Beijing
Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, 1736–95
Gold
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
At family banquets during the Lunar New Year, the emperor would use this type of gold ewer decorated with dragons and clouds for wine. In winter, hot wine was served and gold containers were preferred. In the summer, wine containers made of jade or crystal, which provided a cooling sensation, would be favoured.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition From Dawn to Dusk: Life in the Forbidden City in Gallery 2.
Raft-shaped cup with seated figure and inscription
Zhu Bishan (active 14th century); inscription: Du Ben (active 14th century)
Yuan dynasty, 1345
Silver with incised inscriptions on base and handle
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
A wooden raft is known as cha in Chinese. According to the Records of Diverse Matters by Zhang Hua of the Western Jin dynasty, a man once rode a raft out to sea and eventually reached the Milky Way, where he met the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl. Based on this legend, this type of drinking vessel was first created by Zhu Bishan, a Yuan dynasty silversmith, and only four examples exist today. The raft cup in the Palace Museum’s collection is in the form of an intertwined tree trunk, with a hollowed centre to facilitate the serving of wine. The head, hands, clouds, and other parts are cast and welded, although no welding is visible. This is both a drinking vessel and a sculpture.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition themed The Quest of Originality: Contemporary Design and Traditional Craft in Dialogue in Gallery 5.
Enamelware
Handled pot with landscape, birds, and flowers in cartouches
Imperial Workshops
Qing dynasty, Qianlong mark and period (1736-95)
Pot: painted enamel, polychrome enamels on gilded copper alloy; handle: aventurine glass and gilded copper alloy
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
The core of the pot is made with copper, with surface gilded and decorated with painted enamel. The design combines Chinese and Western elements. The form alludes to Western teapots, while the decorations in the cartouches are in the traditional Chinese gongbi style. In addition to the superior materials and techniques, the design of this teapot takes practical usage into consideration. For instance, the aventurine beads in the handle do not only serve a decorative purpose but can also avoid slipping. The teapot is also accompanied by a small fuel can for heating.
This work is a grade-one national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition themed The Quest of Originality: Contemporary Design and Traditional Craft in Dialogue in Gallery 5.
Textiles
Court robe with dragons and clouds
Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662–1722)
Patterned silk gauze
Palace Museum
© Palace Museum
This work is a grade-two national treasure. It will be displayed in the exhibition Entering the Forbidden City: Architecture, Collection, and Heritage in Gallery 1.
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