The Great Collection of Cultural Relics in the Palace Museum: Ming and Qing Furniture (Part 2)

Author: Zhu Jiaqi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-12-01
Features: In the 1950s-1960s, the Palace Museum reorganized and verified the cultural relics in Beijing, classifying objects previously categorized as artifacts and calligraphy/painting into the broader category of cultural relics. All items from the former Qing Imperial Collection were assigned "Gu" numbering, totaling 711,338 pieces, including over 1,200 newly discovered items from unregistered collections. As a nationallarge museum, the Palace Museum is responsible for collecting and preserving precious cultural relics scattered in society. After 1949, it enriched its collection through purchases, transfers, exchanges, and donations. Newly acquired items were assigned "Xin" numbering, and by the end of 1994, there were 222,920 such pieces. These nearly million cultural relics contain extremely rich historical materials of Chinese ethnic cultural arts. They span from the primitive society, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, through Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, the Five Dynasties and Two Song periods, Yuan, Ming, to the Qing Dynasty and modern times. Each dynasty has exquisite works, without interruption. The categories of cultural relics are comprehensive, including bronze, jade, ceramics, steles and sculptures, calligraphy and famous paintings, seals, lacquerware, enamel, silk textiles and embroidery, bamboo, wood, ivory, bone carvings, gold and silver wares, rare collectibles, clocks and watches, pearls and jade ornaments, furniture, and other historical artifacts, etc.