The exhibition focuses on the crucial economic and cultural role played by silk in China as it was traded along the Silk Road, providing an overview of the development of sericulture (silk cultivation) from the Han dynasty through the 20th century. In addition, a third of the exhibition focuses on the European reaction to Chinese silk, a luxurious and desirable item, which Italy and then France were each able to produce on its own, including approximately 50-60 examples from Europe and other countries. With approximately 150 samples of silk clothing, accessories, and furnishings from China, India, Italy and France, this exhibition provides a rare overview of centuries of Chinese silk making and its crucial cultural role. Just as important, the exhibition reveals how European silk makers adapted the Chinese methods of production and artistic styles in ways that then influenced Chinese fabrication itself in the 20th century. The exhibition ends by showing silk’s continuing appeal today, with contemporary high-fashion silk creations from China and Europe.

Venue address: Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, 18/F, Lau Ming Wai Academic Building, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong

The Indra and Harry Banga Gallery of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) proudly presents its latest exhibition “The Grand Gathering of the Century: Zodiac Heads from the Yuanmingyuan and Important Treasures”, from 4 July to 31 October, 2023.

Co-organised by City University of Hong Kong, China Tourism Group Corporation Limited [China Travel Service (Holdings) Hong Kong Limited], and China Poly Group Corporation Limited, this major national treasure exhibition, to be held in the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, of CityU, will showcase East–West cultural exchanges and art technology via an immersive experience.

The exhibition spotlights a set of highly valued national treasures, including four zodiac heads—tiger, pig, ox and monkey—from the Yuanmingyuan (The Old Summer Palace) of the Qing imperial court, which were lost for over a century, and other treasures dating back to Early China and the development of Chinese culture. The 12 bronze zodiac heads of the Haiyantang (Hall of Calm Seas) could spout water at certain times of the day.

The exhibition is divided into two phases. In Phase I (4 July to 31 August), four original zodiac heads will be displayed. In Phase II (5 September to 31 October), in collaboration with the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, the full set of 12 zodiac head sculptures will be displayed.

The Gallery will also collaborate with the Poly Art Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Art, The University Museum and Art Gallery of The University of Hong Kong, the Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, among others, to showcase other important treasures, like ancient Chinese bronzes. This section will introduce the functions of early bronze vessels and trace the long history of rituals and ceremonies in China.

Phase 1: 4 July to 31 August 2023 (closed on Mondays)
Phase 2: 5 September to 31 October 2023 (closed on Mondays)

Free, prior online registration is required

Venue address: 18/F, Lau Ming Wai Academic Building, City University of Hong Kong

The Indra and Harry Banga Gallery of the City University of Hong Kong (“CityU”) presents the new exhibition Amber: Baltic Gold from December 15, 2022 through April 11, 2023.

Amber is widely known as a beautiful material, formed by fossilization of resin secreted by different plants. It sometimes also preserves insects and vertebrates, offering rare clues about the evolution of species millions of years ago. Amber also carries significant cultural meaning; over the centuries and across different cultures, it has been seen as a scarce and mysterious material, possessing medicinal and even magical properties. The most famous type of amber comes from the Baltic region (Baltic Amber). Already 3,000 years ago amber was highly valued, and quickly began to be traded across southern Europe and into Asia. In medieval and early modern Europe workshops developed focused exclusively on carving amber. The wars of religion between Protestants and Catholics in the sixteenth century exacerbated the competition for amber. However, its production and commercialization in the Baltic regions were tightly controlled by a German semi-religious, semi-military association, which forbade locals from harvesting and selling it. This association made a fortune by supplying amber made into devotional objects as well as into sumptuous art pieces for the royal courts of Europe. In Asia, amber entered China along the Silk Road. The Qidan court of the Liao dynasty had a special love of amber, and their taste influenced that of later the Ming and Qing noblemen. Amber was so precious that only the emperor and his family were allowed to wear it. The precious amber treasures from these two dynasties must have originally been royal possessions.

The Indra and Harry Banga Gallery joins hands with the National History Museum of Latvia; the Latvian National Museum of Art; Association Tresors de Ferveur; the Fondation Fourviere–Musee d’art religieux; the Mengdiexuan Collection; the Liang Yi Museum; and other private collectors, designers and artists to present 240 impressive amber artworks. Enriched with visual and audio presentations and cinematic installations, the exhibition reveals the remarkable role played by amber over the last 3,000 years in areas ranging from culture and art to politics and religion.

Gallery address: Indra and Harry Banga Gallery
18/F, Lau Ming Wai Academic Building,
City University of Hong Kong
Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong