NPM treasures set for US tour in 2016

2015/10/05

More than 150 imperial Chinese artworks from National Palace Museum will exhibit next year in San Francisco and Houston, according to the Taipei City-based facility Sept. 30.

Staged June 17 to Sept. 18 at Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, “Emperors’ Treasures: Chinese Art from the National Palace Museum of Taipei” is a centerpiece of the California institution’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

In return, AAM will provide artworks from its collections for display at NPM Southern Branch in 2017.

An NPM official said the facility’s U.S. exhibition includes bronze pieces, calligraphy, ceramics, documents, enamelware, jade, lacquerware, paintings, textiles and vases created between the 12th and early 19th centuries under the reign of nine rulers.

“It allows for a better understanding of imperial China’s cultural development, as well as the contribution of the emperors to artistic achievement,” the official said.

Several of the highlights are a Ru-ware vase from Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); one of only two surviving blue-and-white Ming dynasty (1368-1644) vases depicting West Asian performers; and the “White Falcon” painting by Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione.

In particular, “Meat-shaped Stone,” one of NPM’s signature pieces, and a calligraphic work by Emperor Huizong of Song will make their U.S. debut, along with other rare treasures.

After the San Francisco event, the exhibition moves to Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts from Oct. 23 to Jan. 22, 2017.

The San Francisco and Houston showings are the fourth time for NPM artworks to travel to the U.S., following visits in 1961, 1991 and 1996. Its pieces have also been exhibited in Austria, France, Germany and Japan.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=237252&ctNode=2194&mp=9)