An exhibition featuring 45 paintings and calligraphy masterpieces, a majority of them classified as “national treasures,” opened at the National Palace Museum on Wednesday.
The exhibition, titled “The Making of a National Treasure: Select Masterpieces of Painting and Calligraphy in the Museum Collection,” showcases 34 “national treasures” and 11 “significant antiquities,” as classified by the Ministry of Culture.
Among the works on display are Wang Xizhi’s (王羲之, 303-361) calligraphies Timely Clearing after Snowfall and Yuanhuan. Revered as the “sage of calligraphy,” Wang is best known for his highly artistic cursive and running scripts.
Photo: Sean Chao, Taipei Times
Another highlight of the exhibition is Calligraphy of the Four Song Masters. It consists of four works by master calligraphers of the Song Dynasty — Cai Xiang (蔡襄, 1012-1067), Su Shi (蘇軾, 1036-1101), Huang Tingjian (黃庭堅, 1045-1105) and Mi Fu (米芾, 1051-1108) — that were mounted on a single scroll by a collector in the Qing Dynasty.
The rare paintings exhibited include Pasturing Horses by famous Tang Dynasty horse painter Han Gan (韓幹) and the Tang Dynasty hanging scroll A Palace Concert, which depicts a group of ladies seated around a large table during a banquet at the imperial court.
Liu Fang-ju (劉芳如), head of the museum’s Department of Painting and Calligraphy, said the exhibited works span more than 1,000 years, and are rich and diverse in their topics.
“They include the characteristics and achievements of every period of Chinese painting and calligraphy,” she said.
The museum has the largest collection of national treasures in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Culture Yang Tzu-pao (楊子葆) said, adding that he hopes the exhibition will highlight the importance of national treasures.
The National Palace Museum plans to run the exhibition until Dec. 25, with certain works only being on display for a limited period of time, from Wednesday to Nov. 14 or from Nov. 15 to Dec. 25.
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