Auspicious

Drawing from three important local collections, the Chau Chak Wing Museum, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, this exhibition presents a range of symbolic motifs: from gods, immortals and mythical creatures, to sacred animals and seasonal flora, as well as allusions to classic texts, folklore, ancient cosmology and numerology.

As part of China’s broader visual and material cultures, these auspicious beings appear in decorative and fine works of art, architecture, furniture and books, in both vernacular and sacred objects. Themes of auspicious wishes connect the works across a spectrum of media, including bronze, ceramic, jade, wood, paper and glass. They are appreciated by people in all sectors of Chinese society, and abroad.

The exhibition runs until Sunday 29 May 2022.