Dallas Museum of Art To PresentSplendors of China’s Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor QianlongLandmark Exhibition Features Works Never Seen Outside of ChinaThe Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) presents what is considered to be one of the most important and historical art exhibitions from China to tour the United States, Splendors of China’s Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong, which will be open until May 29, 2005.
Dr. Anne Bromberg, The Cecil and Ida Green Curator of Ancient and South Asian Art of the Dallas Museum of Art, will be the content specialist for the presentation in Dallas. Splendors of China’s Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong and its national tour were developed by The Field Museum, Chicago, in cooperation with the Palace Museum, Beijing. The exhibition was curated by Chuimei Ho, Ph.D. and Bennet Bronson, Ph.D. and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. “The Dallas Museum of Art is extremely pleased and honored to be able to offer this extraordinary view of China’s richest and most culturally prolific period,” said John R. Lane, The Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art. “This is an unprecedented opportunity for people from Dallas and beyond to experience the dazzling, beautiful and culturally important objects that represent the best of a great civilization.”
The 10,000-square foot Splendors of China’s Forbidden City exhibition features a series of carefully crafted environments based on actual palace settings. Visitors can view the elaborate gold-lacquered Dragon Throne from which the emperor ruled; the desk he worked at, the table where he dined, and the private chamber of one of the emperor’s wives. Objects on view never before seen outside China include the emperor’s funeral throne and spirit tablet, a monolithic carved jade boulder, the 5-foot high gold stupa commissioned by Qianlong to commemorate his mother, and eight paintings by the great Jesuit court artist, Giuseppe Castiglione, including portraits of Qianlong and his first wife and empress, Xiaoxian. The exhibition also explores the private world of Qianlong and will include artifacts reflecting his refined taste, including beautiful jade carvings he commissioned and the essays he wrote about them; a selection of the 10,000 snuff bottles he collected; lacquer ware and ceramics demonstrating a variety of innovative techniques, which he encouraged; examples of his own calligraphy work; and some of the more than 44,000 poems he wrote. Cost of admission to Splendors of China’s Forbidden City is $16 for adults, $14 for senior citizens, children 12 and older and students with current school identification, and $10 for children ages 6 to 11. DMA members and children under 6 are free. Admission includes an audio tour. Tickets are available online at www.Ticketmaster.com and at all Ticketmaster outlets. The number to charge tickets by phone is 214/373-8000. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more; contact groupsales@DallasMuseumofArt.org or 214/922-1222. About the Dallas Museum of ArtThe 23,000 works of art in the Museum’s encyclopedic collections span 5,000 years of history and represent all media with renowned strengths in the arts of the ancient Americas, Africa, Indonesia, and South Asia; European and American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; and American and international contemporary art. The Dallas Museum of Art is the anchor of the Dallas Arts District and serves as the cultural magnet for the city with diverse programming ranging from exhibitions and lectures to concerts, literary readings, dramatic and dance presentations, and a full spectrum of programs designed to engage people of all ages with the power and excitement of art. Edited by Madelyn Miller If you do get to China: Where to stay BEIJING CHINA WORLD HOTEL SHANGRI-LA GREAT GUIDEBOOKS: Traveler's China Companion BEIJING Chinanow.com Beijing Lonely Planet Beijing Cadogan Beijing Beijing Pocket Guide SHANGHAI Culture Shock Shanghai at your Door Knopf Mapguides Shanghai Lonely Planet Shanghai NICE TO KNOW: |
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As one of only two U.S. venues for this landmark show, the Dallas Museum of Art brought more than 400 national treasures and artifacts from 18th-century imperial China to the Southwest and the region. Splendors of China’s Forbidden City offers a dramatic examination of the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Most items have never before been seen in the United States, and many have never traveled outside the walls of the Forbidden City Palace Museum in Beijing.
Emperor Qianlong (cheeyen-loong) ruled for 60 years (1736–1795), during China’s last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty. His reign was longer than any other emperor in Chinese history apart from his grandfather, Kangxi. The emperor is best known to art historians as a collector who amassed the largest collection of art known up to that point in China. His passion for collecting extended to paintings, porcelain, bronzes, jades, writing implements, and rare books. Qianlong is credited with pacifying the warring territories of western China, fostering innovation in the arts, and commissioning a comprehensive edition of all existing Chinese literature.