Florian Knothe – författare

This publication accompanies an unprecedented exhibition highlighting four of the magnificent chinoiserie tapestries of Chinese Emperor Qianlong, woven after designs by François Boucher at the famous Beauvais manufactory from 1758–1760. The large and well-preserved textiles form part of the royal French commission by King Louis XV.

Porcelain, with its fine white body, delicately painted decoration and associations with China's culture and vast wealth, has long delighted and captivated people in the West, as well as across the whole of Asia and the Islamic world.This catalogue accompanies the exhibition Objectifying China: Ming and Qing Dynasty Ceramics and Their Stylistic Influences Abroad, held at the University Museum and Art Gallery of The University of Hong Kong. The work explores the production of Chinese porcelain and other ceramics for both export and the domestic market, and the many responses to these wares made overseas using local materials and decorative techniques.The objects are considered from a variety of perspectives: as the product of skilled artisans, valuable trade commodities, useful objects for daily life and as important evidence of cultural interaction.

Collected and Curated introduces Chinese art and material culture through the items from the permanent collection of The University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG), The University of Hong Kong. As the oldest continuously operating museum in Hong Kong, UMAG serves as a significant venue for contemporary art exhibitions, and excels at collecting, documenting and teaching about local and regional artists and art forms, while fostering ongoing and new relationships. Regarded as an essential teaching resource, UMAG has expanded its collection and programming through generous donations from patrons and artists, along with support from the University of Hong Kong and the HKU Museum Society. Since 1953, curators and educators have leveraged this assistance to expand, display and teach with a collection that highlights artefacts ranging from Neolithic cultures (ca. 6500 BCE–ca. 1900 BCE) to the early kingdoms and dynasties of imperial China (ca. 1500 BCE–1911). UMAG has also gained a reputation for its fine selection of works by artists—predominantly painters—of the 20th and early 21st century. The museum's mission is to provide artistic and cultural experiences that are accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds, fostering a greater appreciation for the arts and nurturing a strong sense of cultural values and belonging within our diverse community. In so doing, UMAG preserves and teaches both the past and present, serving as a platform for ongoing discussions about the meaning of art and its significant role in contemporary society.

This publication accompanies the University Museum's exhibition of more than 80 Icelandic paintings, sculptures and drawings from the collection of Mr Anthony J. Hardy. Historically reminiscent of the painterly traditions of the Nordic School of Scandinavia, Icelandic artists departed from the well-established parameters of northern European sea- and landscape painting during the 20th century. Although many of the best-known local painters were trained in Denmark-a larger neighbouring country with an established art school and cultural scene-they developed with time a more distinctive Icelandic style influenced by the local terrain, mythology and folklore. This retrospective of select Icelandic painters documents a century of continuous creative emancipation as well as a constant documenting engagement with the island's community, nature, beauty and vastness.

This publication accompanies the University Museum's exhibition of more than 80 Icelandic paintings, sculptures and drawings from the collection of Mr Anthony J. Hardy. Historically reminiscent of the painterly traditions of the Nordic School of Scandinavia, Icelandic artists departed from the well-established parameters of northern European sea- and landscape painting during the 20th century. Although many of the best-known local painters were trained in Denmark-a larger neighbouring country with an established art school and cultural scene-they developed with time a more distinctive Icelandic style influenced by the local terrain, mythology and folklore. This retrospective of select Icelandic painters documents a century of continuous creative emancipation as well as a constant documenting engagement with the island's community, nature, beauty and vastness.

This fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the University Museum and Art Gallery's exhibition of traditional Chinese costumes, baby carriers and silver ornaments drawn from the collection of Mei-yin Lee. The exhibition demonstrates the wealth of colours, techniques and styles found in the traditions of Chinese minority groups. Elaborately embroidered costumes and baby carriers, most of which originate with the Miao, Dong, Shui and Zhuang ethnic tribes of the southwestern Chinese provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, and Guangxi, are decorated with richly coloured, stitched and sewn ornamentations-and sometimes silver applications-indigenous to the particular culture and long-lived traditions they derive from. As some ethnic minorities lack a written script, the symbolism and colour-coding found in their textiles form a visual language that presents an important cultural and anthropological development and heritage still in practice today. Ethnic minority communities are distinguished by their cultural practices, historical traditions, languages, and clothes.The sheer variety of elaborate costumes and silver ornaments focuses this study mostly on the Miao tribes who are particularly well known for the complexity and sophistication of their weaving and embroidery, and their brocade and batik work, as well as their elaborate silver jewellery.