Published : 2024-11-26
A new exhibition is coming in the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) this December!
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations and the China-France Year of Cultural and Tourism Exchanges, the Hong Kong Palace Museum is launching a new special exhibition "The Forbidden City and The Palace of Versailles", featuring nearly 150 precious artifacts from these two world heritage sites.
Here are more exhibition information!
Masterpieces from China and France in 4 major sections
The Hong Kong Palace Museum will launch a new special exhibition "The Forbidden City and The Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries" from December 18 to May 4, 2025.
The exhibition features four major sections, each focusing on key figures and spaces of the Forbidden City and Versailles, science and diplomacy exchanges, craftsmanship and innovation, as well as the exchange of arts and ideas between the two palaces.
During the exhibition, nearly 150 treasures from the Palace Museum and the Palace of Versailles will be showcased, including 9 first-grade national treasures from the Palace Museum, and some precious collections from the Palace of Versailles, covering large court portraits, porcelain, glassware, textiles, and other exquisite crafts, as well as books, medicines, scientific instruments, and more, unveiling the little-known stories within two distinctly different courts.
Read more: The mystery of the "central axis" of the Forbidden City
So, which are the key exhibits?
Firstly, there is the "Chrysanthemum pot" from the Palace Museum collection.
The pattern on this artifact is of a very traditional Chinese style, hence it was long believed to be a utensil tributed to the Qing court from Guangdong. However, research has found that this vase was actually made in France.
Additionally, there is the "flower and bird patterned silver pot" from the collection of the Palace of Versailles. This artifact was originally made in Guangdong and was later presented as a diplomatic gift by the Siamese (now Thai) envoy to Louis XIV, becoming one of the treasures of the French courts.
In addition to highlighting important artifacts that showcase the profound exchanges between China and France, this exhibition will also use multimedia installations to recreate the rare handwritten letter from Louis XIV to Kangxi in 1688, an important witness to the exchanges between the courts of China and France.
The HKPM is also going to launch various experiential activities on the theme of cultural exchanges between China and France in the 17th and 18th centuries.
These activities include public lectures, interactive theatres, workshops, forums, and academic seminars. For more details, please refer to the museum's official website.
Exhibition Information
"The Forbidden City and The Palace of Versailles" Special Exhibition
Venue: Exhibition Hall 9, Hong Kong Palace Museum
Date: December 18, 2024, to May 4, 2025
Ticket Price: HKD 150 (adult), HKD 75 (concession); those who purchase a full museum pass can also visit the special exhibition in Hall 8 on the same day "The Origins of Chinese Civilisation".
