HKU Museum and Art Gallery – serie

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.

Ikat Textiles of Timor offers an in-depth overview of regional textile styles from both West and East Timor, while also contributing significant new insights into their design traditions. In academic literature, the ikated men’s wraps from Timor have long been described as symmetrical. However, Dr Peter ten Hoopen’s examination of early examples from museums and private collections reveals that, historically, two thirds of these textiles were actually asymmetrical. This discovery challenges an academic consensus that has persisted since 1912, and highlights a previously overlooked level of creative ingenuity—inviting greater admiration for the women who wove these complex designs.Today’s ikat weavers on Timor, like many foreign scholars before them, seem unaware that asymmetry was once a dominant design principle. Many continue to assert that perfect symmetry has always been the tradition. Yet the historical textiles tell a different story. Ten Hoopen’s groundbreaking findings justify his focus on early specimens, which often display a greater degree of design sophistication than their contemporary counterparts.It is striking that earlier researchers failed to recognise or report the prevalence of asymmetry in Timorese textiles. In early pieces, asymmetry is not only present but often dominant. This oversight reflects a broader pattern of neglect: textiles have historically been marginalised in Southeast Asian material culture studies, overshadowed by architecture, sculpture, weaponry, and jewellery. The author hopes that his historical investigations help correct this imbalance by demonstrating that these textiles embody far more artistic ingenuity, intellectual depth, and craftswomanship than previously acknowledged.

Zhao Hai Tien’s creative explorations are characterized by the diversity of media in her work—from airbrush on glass and acrylic on canvas to calligraphic experiments, large-scale public murals and oil paintings. Her practice blends technical precision with expressive freedom and spiritual influences. Over more than three decades of Buddhist and Taoist study—and twenty-four years under the guidance of a respected qigong master—Hai Tien’s work has shifted from contemplative, figurative compositions to liberated, spiritually resonant expressions that capture the flow of energy and inner awareness in vibrant, form-defying strokes. Her first solo show, Recent Works of Hai Tien, opened at the Alliance Française in Hong Kong (1972), launching a sustained presence in the local art scene, and leading to solo exhibitions in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Berlin. Her work was also presented in prestigious group exhibitions across Asia, including the First Hong Kong Biennale (1971). Her most notable public artwork is Recreation of Being, a twenty-meter mosaic mural installed in Hong Kong’s Fortress Hill MTR station. The work offers a meditation on existence and rebirth, interwoven with themes of shared human compassion and embedded within the rhythms of daily life.This publication offers a comprehensive overview of Hai Tien’s artistic journey. From her early New York-inflected abstractions to her later meditative, calligraphic and cosmic visual language, she has consistently infused her practice with vitality and resilience—an enduring testament to her inquiry into identity, spirituality and the cosmos. Now in her eighties, Hai Tien continues to paint with unwavering dedication, extending her artistic vision into both technological and spiritual realms.

This book is an exhibition catalogue published by The University Museum and Art Gallery of The University of Hong Kong. It includes more than 200 illustrations of Vintage menus, cabin trunks, programs, postcards, photographs, luggage labels, travel guides and brochures, together with other miscellaneous items associated with recreational activities. It gives readers a glimpse of Hong Kong's pre-war colonial past, using travel as a theme, to present impressions of Hong Kong as it would appear to European and American visitors arriving by ocean liner of what it was like to be in the city a century ago.