When it comes to the colors of ancient artifacts, do you think of dull gray and mottled colors? In fact, people in ancient times pursued aesthetics in color, even giving poetic names to each color, such as “fei hong” (crimson), “fang bai” (ivory), “rong yun” (velvet cloud), “qing que tou dai” (bluebird feather), “cang yan luo zhao” (blue smoke falling sunset), and other beautiful names. Since ancient times, China has classified colors into five categories: blue, red, yellow, white, and black, known as the “Five Correct Colors,” each color containing the aesthetic and wisdom of the East that has been passed down for thousands of years.
The Hong Kong Museum of Art is currently holding an exhibition titled “In Search of Colors: The Aesthetic of Museum Collections,” featuring 5 ancient emperors and ministers: Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Huizong of Song, Emperor Yongle of Ming Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty, and Minister Lang Tingji, each representing a color. They serve as color KOLs, leading the audience to explore a series of cultural stories and step into the colorful world of ancient artifacts!
The exhibition showcases over 300 Chinese cultural relics from the Hong Kong Museum of Art, including ceramics, lacquerware, embroidery, glass, jade, and more. The exhibition will introduce each color’s representative figure and how they influenced the colors of contemporary artifacts. For example, in the Qing Dynasty, the representative color of Emperor Qianlong, “yellow,” is highlighted in the “Imperial Ritual Objects of the Qing Dynasty” which categorizes yellow into different grades to show the status of different royal members. The purer the yellow, the higher the status of the user. The museum has also selected modern art pieces from its collection to be displayed alongside, connecting colors from ancient times to the present.
In order to make the exhibit introductions more vivid, the museum has specially designed electronic screens in the form of Instagram layouts in each color zone to introduce the exhibits. They have also created an “Augmented Reality” (AR) Instagram filter. Simply scan the QR code in front of the exhibit with your phone to simulate wearing these “Bright Yellow Ground Embroidered Dragon Robe with Twelve Symbols of Imperial Authority”, “Jadeite Inlaid Gemstone and Pearl Butterfly and Flower Hairpin”, and “Ivory Carved Figures Folding Fan” that have a history of hundreds of years.
In addition to cultural relics, the art gallery also invited local artist and illustrator Li Meixin (Messy Desk) to transform the 3rd floor lobby into Messy Desk City. The artist specially created different cute characters for this exhibition, taking everyone on a journey across Victoria Harbour, through time and space, to explore the Chinese charm in colors. In addition, musician Wan Xing created a music piece “Linglong” for this exhibition. When you visit the exhibition, you might as well use your eyes and ears to enjoy this creatively inspiring exhibition!
“Colors of Antiquities: The Aesthetic of Museum Collections”
Date: From now until March 30, 2022
Location: Chinese Antiquities Gallery, 3rd Floor, Hong Kong Museum of Art
Time: Monday to Wednesday, Friday: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm; Saturday, Sunday, and Public Holidays: 10:00 am to 7:00 pm; Christmas Eve and Lunar New Year’s Eve: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm; Thursday (except Public Holidays), Lunar New Year’s Day and the day after
Learn more: Hong Kong Museum of Art
