Category Archives: Decorative Arts

Extraordinary! Collections of decorative arts and author’s arts 3rd-20th centuries, Design Museum of Barcelona

This exhibition proposes a chronological journey, from the third to the twentieth century, among the various collections preserved in the museum, of ceramics, textiles, furniture, glass, miniatures, clocks, wallpapers and other objects. This arrangement highlights the value of collections while also allowing different relationships to be established between them. Along…

The Far-Reaching Fragrance of Tea: The Art and Culture of Tea in Asia, Southern Branch of the Taiwan National Palace Museum

The appreciation is a lifestyle, a fashion, an art, and a culture; it is a shared language of tea connoisseurs. The originated in China, and methods of tea making have undergone centuries of change, as have the equipment and the manner in which the tea has been enjoyed. In ancient…

Discover Asia in the Eyes of Jade, Southern Branch of the Taiwan National Palace Museum

Most of the Asian Jade artifacts of the National Palace Museum are from the Qing Court’s collection. Those exquisite jade artifacts not only shone with dazzling brilliance, more importantly, they spiced up the court culture with exotic cultures and diversified traditional carving techniques of jade objects. After conquering the Dzungarian…

Nature and Human in Unison, the Smart Carvings of Jade and Beautiful Stones, Taiwan National Palace Museum

Pursuing optimal equilibrium and harmony between human and nature has always been a key concept in Chinese aesthetics. When it is embodied in the art of jade carving, fitting the design to the material and its inherent property is the guiding principle. In short, the principle means that the natural…

Uncanny Ingenuity and Celestial Feats, The Carving of Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taiwan National Palace Museum

Carving is one of the oldest crafts developed by mankind. Archaeological excavations and literature sources show that early primitive societies had already learned to make utilitarian or decorative objects out of materials readily available in nature, such as jade, stone, bamboo, wood, ivory, horn, and bone. Different materials, comprised of…

Sharing Treasures, A Special Exhibition of Antiquities Donated Collection, Taiwan National Palace Museum

Collecting and preserving cultural relics is one of the main tasks for a museum institution. In addition to inheriting the Qing imperial collection, the National Palace Museum acquires cultural articles by two other means—purchase and donation—to enrich its collections. Among various types of acquisition, acceptance of donations is one of…

Rituals Cast in Brilliance, Masterpieces of Bronzes in the Museum Collection, Taiwan National Palace Museum

The Bronze Age of China started in the late Xia dynasty (c. early 17th century B.C.E.), lasting about 1,500 years through several dynasties from Shang to Western Zhou and Eastern Zhou. Even after the subsequent emergence of iron in Qin and Han dynasties, bronzes continued to be in use. During…