Ming: The Golden Empire
Ming: The Golden Empire
Editor: Kevin McLoughlin
National Museums of Scotland NMS Enterprises Ltd.
ISBN 13: 978 1 905267 90 3
Pages: 143
Illustrations 147 color
Hardcover
* Here are treasures of the fabled Forbidden City
*Modern China is said to have started with this dynasty (1368-1644).
Beijing’s Forbidden City was the epicenter of the famed Ming Dynasty. What the world was not allowed to see -– the exquisite luxury items and rare objects housed inside are here. Sumptuous textiles, gold and jades, and rare examples of elaborately enmalled cloisonné reveal the opulence and tastes of the Imperial Court. The iconic blue and white porcelain, for which the Ming are famous, paintings from the early Ming showing the City’s symbolic grandeur; furniture, musical instruments, Buddhist artefacts and items of personal adornment bring to life the elegant tastes and concerns of this gilded age.
Included are Chinese National Treasures and numerous original artefacts from the Nanjing Museum, many not viewed by Westerners or in print previously. The period brought important social transformation as a thriving consumer culture sparked the production of visual art and handicraft forms.
Editor Kevin McLoughlin has been Principal Curator, East and Central Asia, National Museums Scotland