Forbidden City: About the Exhibition

Splendors of China’s Forbidden City: the Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong
March 12—September 12, 2004

Splendors of China’s Forbidden City: the Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong brings nearly 400 treasured artifacts from the Palace Museum in Beijing to the United States to tell the story of one of China’s most famous emperors, the remarkable Qianlong, who ruled from 1736 to 1795.

This unprecedented, 10,000 square-foot exhibition presents a dazzling array of historic objects—many of which have never been seen outside of China—in carefully recreated settings. Visitors can experience a recreated throne room, a banquet setting, an imperial wife’s chamber, and the private study of the emperor. Brief video presentations, a scale model of the Forbidden City, theatrical lighting techniques, and authentic music complement the presentation of the objects.

Featured are rare works in jade, cloisonné, and ceramic; imperial dragon robes of silk; armor and weapons used by Qianlong; golden religious statuary; and a selection of some of the most important and famous paintings produced during the Qing dynasty. Splendors of China’s Forbidden City uses these objects to break new ground, exploring themes such as the role of women in the palace, the issue of Manchu ethnicity, and the diversity of religions in China in the eighteenth century.

Splendors of China’s Forbidden City: the Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong will be on view in the newly expanded Sidney R. and Addie Yates Exhibition Center at The Field Museum from March 12 to September 12, 2004. Following its Field Museum debut, the exhibition will travel to the Dallas Museum of Art, where it will be on display from November 21, 2004 to May 29, 2005.

Take a walk through the highlights of the exhibition.

photos courtesy of Palace Museum, Beijing