Events

28 Sep 2024 - 9 Feb 2025

Gallery I, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Since the Art Museum was established in 1971, it has received a generous donation of over 1,800 Chinese seals from the Bei Shan Tang. With their rich diversity and significant academic and artistic value, these seals have elevated the Art Museum to a paramount position globally among university museums with collections of this kind. Showcasing about 400 precious artefacts, this exhibition will chronicle the evolution of seals from the Warring States period (475-221 BCE) to the modern era, demonstrating their diverse formats and historical development. The exhibition will be segmented into eight thematic sections, covering formats and materials, usage, official seals, private seals, common seals, religious seals, pattern seals and seals by literati artists. This holistic approach will offer a comprehensive presentation of the formats, scripts, historical evolution and artistic characteristics of Chinese seals.

Highlights include bronze seal “Zuohen Zheng Mu” (Warring States period, Qi state), clay seal impression “Yongzhoumu Yinzhang” (Xin dynasty), bronze seal “Xiangyinchen Yin” (Qin state and dynasty), bronze seal “Da Jia Siyin” (Han dynasty) and stone seal “Dingfen Xueshu” by the artist Huang Shiling (1849-1908).