Hexagonal vases decorated with flowers and halberds, gold filigree, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). PETER VIEM KWOK’S DONG BO ZHAI COLLECTION (COLLECTED IN XI’AN QUJIANG MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS) After the art of porcelain, which the Guimet Museum put in the spotlight, in June, as part of the China 2024 program, celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, place for goldsmithing. “Bling-bling!” », Comments, in an amused tone, the president of the Parisian establishment, Yannick Lintz. Thanks to a loan from the Qujiang Museum of Fine Arts, in Xi’an, east-central China, the National Museum of Asian Arts on Place Iéna, in Paris, presents an extraordinary collection of objects and jewelry gold from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It was formed by the Chinese businessman and patron of Vietnamese origin Peter Vien Kwok, founder in 2012 of the Xi’an establishment and, in addition to his investments in art, owner of six castles in Bordeaux. The number of pieces presented is quite small (121 objects and jewelry, mainly dating from the 16th century and made by the imperial goldsmith’s office), but the collection is no less exceptional. Some of the gold pieces from the Ming era were melted down in the following centuries in order to accompany fashions with new creations. The objects found on the art market were saved from destruction by the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and, discovered during archaeological excavations uncovering princely or imperial tombs, they were offered as diplomatic gifts or looted during wars.
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