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Smashing show of regal chinaware
By Xu Wenwen |
October 5, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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A large-scale exhibition of exquisite china is underway at the Southern Song Imperial Kiln Museum, where some of the pieces were created 800 years ago. Xu Wenwen reports.
The largest porcelain vase known to come from the guan yao (imperial kiln) of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) is part of a large-scale ceramic exhibition underway through December 31.
The vase -- a national treasure from the Palace Museum in Beijing - stands 34.5 centimeters high. It is valued at 80 million yuan (US$11.9 million) and was delivered by chartered plane.
It is the star of the exhibition of more than 330 ceramic pieces at the Southern Song Imperial Kiln Museum at the western foot of Tortoise Hill in Hangzhou near the south shore of West Lake.
The vase has before only exhibited once outside the Palace Museum - in 1999 when Macau was returned to the People's Republic of China.
Hangzhou, known as Lin'an at that time, was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.
The "Exhibition of Selected Ceramics of the Southern Song Dynasty" opened last Friday. It is the museum's largest-ever visiting show.
China has a long tradition of porcelain making, and one of the high points was the Song Dynasty (960-1279), when the guan yao was operating.
Works from the kiln were intended for the imperial court, either for daily use or decorative and ritual purposes.
Guan yao ceramics have been much admired and reproduced over the years.
The displayed exhibits also come from the National Museum of China - 22 pieces are rated national first-class cultural relics, and 39 are second-rank.
Another highlight from the Palace Museum is the Song Imperial Kiln Shallow Bowl with Foliated Rim. It belonged to Emperor Qianlong (1735-1795) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), who was also a collector and literati.
To express his appreciation for the work of art, the emperor wrote a poem which a craftsman later engraved on the bottom.
Other highlights include 13 ceramics retrieved from the Nanhai No. 1 Merchant Ship that sank in the South China Sea around 800 years ago. These are on loan from the National Museum of China in Beijing.
The ceramics are gorgeous, well preserved and appear new since they were buried in silt and sand from seawater erosion.
A "resurrection" bottle on loan from the Jiangxi Museum features a dragon and tiger entwined around the neck and clouds fluttering at the "shoulders," reflecting the wish to ascend to heaven after death.
To learn more about the Southern Song Dynasty, visitors can view a permanent exhibition of the dynasty's history and culture. The museum also offers a series of lectures on the culture of the dynasty.
Exhibitions
Yue Kiln
Date: October 23-December 31
Marine Archeology
Date: November 13-December 31
Court Ceramics of Southern Song Dynasty
Date: November 27-December 31
Address: 60 Nanfu Rd
Open: 8:30am-4:20pm (closed on Mondays, opens on holidays)
How to get there: Take buses No. 809 and Y3 to Guagua Field Stop.
The largest porcelain vase known to come from the guan yao (imperial kiln) of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) is part of a large-scale ceramic exhibition underway through December 31.
The vase -- a national treasure from the Palace Museum in Beijing - stands 34.5 centimeters high. It is valued at 80 million yuan (US$11.9 million) and was delivered by chartered plane.
It is the star of the exhibition of more than 330 ceramic pieces at the Southern Song Imperial Kiln Museum at the western foot of Tortoise Hill in Hangzhou near the south shore of West Lake.
The vase has before only exhibited once outside the Palace Museum - in 1999 when Macau was returned to the People's Republic of China.
Hangzhou, known as Lin'an at that time, was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.
The "Exhibition of Selected Ceramics of the Southern Song Dynasty" opened last Friday. It is the museum's largest-ever visiting show.
China has a long tradition of porcelain making, and one of the high points was the Song Dynasty (960-1279), when the guan yao was operating.
Works from the kiln were intended for the imperial court, either for daily use or decorative and ritual purposes.
Guan yao ceramics have been much admired and reproduced over the years.
The displayed exhibits also come from the National Museum of China - 22 pieces are rated national first-class cultural relics, and 39 are second-rank.
Another highlight from the Palace Museum is the Song Imperial Kiln Shallow Bowl with Foliated Rim. It belonged to Emperor Qianlong (1735-1795) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), who was also a collector and literati.
To express his appreciation for the work of art, the emperor wrote a poem which a craftsman later engraved on the bottom.
Other highlights include 13 ceramics retrieved from the Nanhai No. 1 Merchant Ship that sank in the South China Sea around 800 years ago. These are on loan from the National Museum of China in Beijing.
The ceramics are gorgeous, well preserved and appear new since they were buried in silt and sand from seawater erosion.
A "resurrection" bottle on loan from the Jiangxi Museum features a dragon and tiger entwined around the neck and clouds fluttering at the "shoulders," reflecting the wish to ascend to heaven after death.
To learn more about the Southern Song Dynasty, visitors can view a permanent exhibition of the dynasty's history and culture. The museum also offers a series of lectures on the culture of the dynasty.
Exhibitions
Yue Kiln
Date: October 23-December 31
Marine Archeology
Date: November 13-December 31
Court Ceramics of Southern Song Dynasty
Date: November 27-December 31
Address: 60 Nanfu Rd
Open: 8:30am-4:20pm (closed on Mondays, opens on holidays)
How to get there: Take buses No. 809 and Y3 to Guagua Field Stop.
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