National Palace Museum (NPM) masterpieces, including the famed “meat-shaped stone” are to be exhibited in Sydney for the first time starting next month, Australian Office Taipei Representative Gary Cowan announced yesterday.
Cowan made the announcement at a ceremony in Taipei celebrating Australia’s national day, which falls on Saturday, as he recounted achievements in bilateral relations since he took up the post in January last year.
“From February, the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney will host ‘Heaven and Earth in Chinese Art,’ a collection of some of the most treasured pieces in the NPM’s collection,” Cowan said.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
In return, the National Museum of Australia is to send some of Australia’s national treasures, including a collection of bark painting masterpieces by Aboriginal artists, to the NPM later this year, he said.
The Art Gallery of New South Wales’ Web site says that the exhibition, which is to open on Feb. 2 and run through May 5, features 87 items ranging from paintings, calligraphy, illustrated books and bronzes, to ceramics and jade, including the banded jasper in the shape of a piece of braised pork belly from the Qing Dynasty.
“As we share our treasures, we create trust, we create cooperation and we create a better future for ourselves,” Cowan said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that the exchange of exhibitions is an important event that could facilitate mutual understanding and friendship between Taiwan and Australia, which is home to 18,000 Taiwanese students and 16,000 Taiwanese participating in Australia’s working holiday program.
Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in 2016, bilateral ties have grown stronger, as evidenced by a nearly 18 percent growth in trade and a 24-fold increase in Taiwanese investment in Australia in 2017, Wu said.
The two nations have also seen closer cooperation in the areas of education, science, agriculture and tourism, Wu added.
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