The Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

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The Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong serves the community by collecting, preserving, researching and exhibiting a wide range of artifacts illuminating the rich arts, humanities, and cultural heritage of ancient and pre-modern China. The Art Museum promotes the excellence of both its permanent collections and loan collections of Chinese art and their use for scholarly endeavours and outreach efforts.

Collection

Starting from nothing, the entire collection now comprises over twelve thousand items. The acquisition of the late Mr. Jen Yu-wen's collection in 1973, which consisted of over one thousand items of Ming, Qing and modern Guangdong pieces, formed the core of the Art Museum's painting and calligraphy collection. Since then, gifts from generous donors have continuously augmented the holdings, including works from the Song and Yuan to modern periods. Since the inception of the Art Museum, Chinese epigraphy and rubbings have been its major objectivesin acquisition and research. The rare rubbings from the Song and Ming eras are renowned. The ceramics collection is fairly comprehensive. As for the other collections such as bronzes, jades, lacquer ware, ivories, objects for the scholar's desk and sculpture, even though the items are relatively few in number, many of them are nonetheless of outstanding quality. In particular, the Museum has representative research collections of diversified themes, including ancient seals, epigraphic specimens, rubbings, painting and calligraphy by renowned masters, wood and bamboo slips of Qin and Han times, and export ceramics. These collections have attained recognition at international level.

Teaching

As a university museum, the Art Museum plays an active role in teaching. The exhibits and collection providefirsthand material for the study of Chinese history and culture. Close ties are maintained with the Fine Arts Department, particularly in contributing to the teaching of the art history courses and in arranging special viewing sessions. Moreover, the Art Museum is the training ground in museum practice for fine arts students, at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition, it provides a venue for the fine arts graduation exhibition held every year in May and June.

Archive Library

To facilitate research work and the organization of exhibitions, the Art Museum maintains an archive library of reference books, exhibition catalogues and an archive of photographs and slides on Chinese art and archaeology through purchases, donations and exchanges with other museums.

Audio Gallery Guide

Gallery guides are free. Group visitors may book in advance for a guided tour by a museum staff member or a docent. The Art Museum also provides audio gallery guides for groups and individual visitors, with an aim to widely promote the appreciation and understanding of Chinese art.

Closed Days of the Art Museum 2017

Image Credit: The Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong