RRP: HKD $300; softcover, 210 pages – TAASA Review December 2019

In the first half of 2019 the Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong held an exhibition of rare ritual vessels introduced for use in grand state ceremonies in the reign of the Qianlong emperor (1736-1796).

Many visitors to Beijing who have visited the Temple of Heaven would be aware of the performance of sumptuous rituals there from the early Ming until the last Qing emperor abdicated in 1912.

The exhibition includes pieces from Qianlong’s reign that were used in ceremonies at sites such as this, as well as a ritual court robe worn by the Qianlong emperor. The exhibition was made possible by recent donations of objects from two private collections, bringing together for the first time 46 porcelain ritual pieces, complemented by a smaller number of related bronze and lacquer sacrificial vessels...