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| TREASURES OF THE SONS OF HEAVEN | |
| Treasures of the Sons of Heaven The Imperial Collection from the National Palace Museum Taipei, Taiwan 21 November 2003 - prolonged until 29 February 2004 in Bonn |
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supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds |
| The unique collection of
the Chinese imperial court, which for the most part has been preserved
in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, will be presented
for the first time in Berlin and Bonn next year. This exhibition is
part of the exhibition series “The Great Collections of the
World” of the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic
of Germany. The importance of the collection as a legacy of imperial China and a symbol of national culture heritage provides this exhibition with a special significance. It is now possible to encounter the oldest living culture in the world through its most exquisite masterpieces, which have become a synonym of unbroken traditionalism from the Chinese perspective. |
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The exhibition contributes
to a cross-cultural dialogue not least of all through its involvement
in a comprehensive project with the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin /
Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. As exchange for the exhibition
from Taipei the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz plans an exhibition
with the title “A Century of German Genius: Masterpieces of
the Berlin State Museums, from Classicism to early Modernism”,
which will be presented in Taipei in 2004. |
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| Square white-glazed
seal with a pair of young badgers Ming- or Ch’ing dynasty, 16th-18th century porcelain, Te-hua ware, 5,2 x 5,4 x 5,4 cm, National Palace Museum, Taipei, © NPM |
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| The National Palace Museum
in Taipei, which was built in 1965, houses the largest collection
of Chinese art in the world. Many of the 650.000 objects have neither
been shown nor written about until today. Some of these works of art
can now be included in the German exhibition after having recently
been recorded for the archives. The exhibition is displaying approximately
400 exhibits over a period of six months. They reflect the diversity,
creativity, and functions of Chinese art as well as major social,
intellectual, and political currents. |
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The exhibition is presenting 127 famous
paintings and calligraphies by old masters, rare seals, 69 exquisite
pieces of porcelain, 43 ancient ritual bronzes, 43 pieces of carved
jade. Also rare book prints that were never shown out of Taiwan before,
magnificent tapestries and picture embroideries as well as lacquer
works, cloisonné enamels, wood carving, and miscellaneous works
of art in various precious materials will be among the exhibits. |
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| Yün Shou-p’ing
(1633-1690, Ch’ing-Dynastie) Päonien, Albumblatt Tusche und Farben auf Papier Nationales Palastmuseum, Taipei, © NPM |
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| Thematically the main emphasis
is put on man in his relationship with society and nature. |
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| A more spiritual, reduced pictorial
language in the tradition of the “scholar artists” forms
the opposite pole to the sensual and strongly symbolic splendor of
courtly aristocracy. Imperial patronage is also a special topic in
the context of aesthetic values, moral ideas, and political goals.
The eventful fate of the collection thereby illustrates the history
of China under the aspect of preserving and handing down artistic
accomplishments from the highest achievements of burial art in the
bronze age to the emergence of the modern age. |
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| Square
box with cosmetic utensils Europe, 17th-18th century painted enamel, gold-plated National Palace Museum, Taipei, © NPM |
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A catalogue will be published
for the exhibition with articles by leading scholars in East Asian
art history and sinology as well as by experts from the National Palace
Museum in Taipei. There essays will deal with the following topics:
the history of the Imperial Collection, ancient ancestor worship,
ritual works of art, ceramics and porcelain, lacquer work and textile
art, calligraphy and seal art, and the aesthetics of literati and
courtly paintings. |
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Press officer |
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| Ritual vessel
’hu’ for the proclamation of order for Sung Sung hu, Western Chou dynasty, 9th–8th century b.c. bronze, h. 63 cm National Palace Museum, Taipei, © NPM |
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| Three scientific symposia
are being planned: on the history of Chinese Art and the Imperial
Collection, to the interpretation of poetry of the Tang-Dynasty and
the Calligraphy of the Song-Dynasty and to the aesthetics in east
and west, in cooperation with the Universities of Heidelberg and Bonn.
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