Rare Chinese ceramics on display at Asian Civilisations Museum

 

The newly opened gallery, which occupies 333 sq m of the museum's top floor, offers a quick survey of Chinese ceramics.

 

It features more than 300 objects made of baked clay - ranging from simple cups and pots that date as far back as 5000BC to exquisite porcelain vessels and ornamental objects from as recent as the 18th century.

 

Many of these objects, which include recent acquisitions, have either never been displayed in the museum before or have not been in public view for some time.

 

The crown jewel of the show is the collection of Dehua porcelain - white porcelain from Dehua county in Fujian province - that is displayed on the third floor of the museum's three-storey Kwek Hong Png wing, named after the late property czar.

 

The first two floors of the natural light-filled wing, which highlights treasures from China, were unveiled last year. They were completed under the first phase of the museum's ongoing S$25-million (US$18.21 million) revamp.

 

Dehua porcelain is well-known around the world for its distinctive white glaze and fine clay - allowing for delicate workmanship and highly expressive forms.

 

The section on Dehua porcelain features the museum's fine collection of Dehua ware, which grew out of an important donation of more than 120 pieces by collectors Frank and Pamela Hickley.

 

Dehua porcelain was especially popular in the 16th and 17th centuries due to flourishing trade between Fujian and the rest of the world. It was exported to Asia and Europe and it found a zealous collector in August the Strong (1670 to 1733), king of Poland and elector of Saxony, who owned more than 1,200 pieces of it.

 

It was also Dehua porcelain that inspired European potters to make copies of them before they were able to successfully produce porcelain in the 1700s.

 

Besides Dehua ware, the exhibition, which flows in a largely chronological order, includes sections on clay objects for burial and porcelain made for the imperial court.

 

The museum's director, Dr Alan Chong, says: "At the end of the day, what we're trying to communicate is that these things have an eternal beauty.

 

"These are things that can be appreciated over thousands of years and they are objects that still appeal to us today. It goes to show that ceramics is a tradition that keeps going and is very important."