Posted by:
Ming Wilson

Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City (2011)

The 12 zodiac animals at the V&A

This year Chinese New Year Day falls on 3rd February. Celebrations usually go on a little longer. In ancient China the finale of festival activities was a splendid display of...

Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City (2011)

Political or inspirational

The imperial robes arrived in London on 19th November. When they came out of the crates every member of the installation team was stunned by their beauty. This was not the first...

Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City (2011)

What did a Chinese emperor do

Since working on this exhibition I have asked myself more than once: what did a Chinese emperor do to govern a country with a population of a hundred million (that was the figure...

Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City (2011)

The conservator took measurements

The object list was approved in July, by which time the design of the show cases was more or less in place. As the installation of the exhibition will happen on an unusually tight...

Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City (2011)

The object list

Both the V&A and the Palace Museum agreed that the exhibition should be on costumes and accessories. My first task as the exhibition curator was to draw up an object list. How...

Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City (2011)

The Palace Museum/V&A exchange

When I heard, back in May 2009, that an agreement on an exchange of exhibitions had been reached with the Palace Museum in Beijing I was both excited and apprehensive. There were...