Painted gray pottery figure of a lady
Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618 - 907)

Long-term Exhibits

Every period of China's long historical development has its own unique qualities.  By the late Neolithic, the ancestors of the modern Chinese were already crafting ritual objects from beautiful pieces of jade.  During the Shang dynasty (16th - 11th cen. B.C.), the importance that the Shang king and his nobles placed on the practice of ritual and ceremony lead to the use of bronze for the production of ritual vessels.  In terms of the development of ceramics, the forms and glazes of porcelain have undergone an ongoing process of refinement that stretches back to the Tang (A.D. 618-907) and Sung (A.D. 960 - 1279) dynasties.

The National Palace Museum's extensive collection of artifacts is a testament to the scope of China's artistic history.  To introduce visitors to the diversity of these objects, the Museum exhibits a broad selection of artifacts through an ongoing series of longterm exhibitions.  These exhibits include: Chinese Jades, Ritual Bronze Vessels of the Shinju and Chou Dynasties, Ceramics from the Han to the Five Dynasties, Porcelain from the Sung to Ching Dynasties, Buddhist Sculpture Through the Dynasties, Carvings from the Ming and Ching Dynasties, and Miniature Curio Cabinets.