Exhibitions Archive

Exhibition – Reframing Silk: Giacomo Caneva’s Photographs of the 1859 Expedition to China

27th Apr 2026

The exhibition Reframing Silk: Giacomo Caneva’s Photographs of the 1859 Expedition to China (Obiettivo seta: La spedizione del 1859 in Cina nelle fotografie di Giacomo Caneva) opened on February 5, 2026, at the Museum of Oriental Art in Venice. The exhibition, which displays 32 original 1859 prints of landscapes and people in Calcutta, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Huzhou, has been promoted by the Department of Asian and North African Studies and the Direzione regionale Musei nazionali Veneto and was realized with the support of the European Union, the Confucius Institute at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the MaP (Marco Polo Centre for Global Europe-Asia Connections).
The exhibition catalogue edited by Giulia Pra Floriani and Marta Boscolo Marchi is available in open access at: https://edizionicafoscari.it/en/edizioni4/libri/979-12-5742-012-3/… Read more ⤻

Qu Leilei: A Chinese Artist in Britain

15th Sep 2017
An exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford 7 Nov 2017 until 15 Apr 2018, Gallery 11, Oxford, UK Contemporary Chinese artist Qu Leilei (b. 1951) was a founding member of the avant-garde ‘Stars Group’ in the late 1970s, and immigrated to England in 1985. This exhibition shows his progression from calligraphic collage to an exploration of a new vocabulary of ink language blending lively brushwork with western technique. Visit the website for this announcement at: External Link... Linked event: Qu Leilei: The Stars and After A conference at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford Friday 24 November 2017, Headley Lecture Theatre, 10.30am 4.45pm

Exhibition: MING – Emperors, artists and Merchants in Ancient China

4th Oct 2013

Amsterdam, Netherlands
5th Oct 2013 – 2nd Feb 2014

De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam presents Ming: Emperors, Artists and Merchants in Ancient China. This exhibition tells the story of China’s Ming dynasty (1368–1644). In collaboration with the Nanjing Museum, one of China’s leading museums, De Nieuwe Kerk will host an exclusive collection of original Ming artefacts, complemented by classic delftware from the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague and a series of exquisite erotic drawings from the private collection of Ferdinand Bertholet.

Emperors, artists, and merchants

Visitors can marvel at sumptuous luxury items made exclusively for the Imperial Court, such as rare and precious yellow and green porcelain. Portraits, paintings on silk and grave goods will offer glimpses of ordinary lives in the Ming period. Also on display will be numerous examples of calligraphy and characteristic blue-and-white porcelain, formerly owned by wealthy Dutch burghers. These became coveted export items around this time. Delftware was a European response to this development; the exhibition will explore its similarities to and differences from Ming porcelain.… Read more ⤻