Chinese Art

An associated pair of Chinese doucai "lotus and chrysanthemum" jars from the Qing Dynasty

Jars Found at Thrift Store Turn Out to Be Treasures From the Qing Dynasty

Bought for just $25, the 18th-century ceramics could fetch more than $60,000 at auction

Ai Weiwei's Water Lilies #1 will be on view starting April 7.

Ai Weiwei Unveils Recreation of Monet's 'Water Lilies' Made Entirely of Legos

In a new exhibition, the renowned Chinese artist explores beauty, technology and growing up in exile

An X-ray of the Dancing Horse earthenware sculpture, which dates to 608 to 907 C.E. during China's Tang dynasty

Art Meets Science

Chemistry Reveals the History of an Ancient Dancing Horse Sculpture

The artwork dates to China's Tang dynasty, when horses were a symbol of prosperity

The artwork’s last owner purchased it for just a few hundred pounds. 

Cool Finds

A Vase Kept in an Ordinary Kitchen Turned Out to Be a Qing-Dynasty Artwork Worth Millions

The rare, blue-and-gold vessel was crafted in 18th-century China

The International African American Museum is slated to open in late 2022 in Charleston's Gadsden's Wharf.

The Most Anticipated Museum Openings of 2022

Scheduled to open this year are new institutions dedicated to African American history, electronic music and Nordic art

The Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan is an art museum housed in a former factory of train parts and farm equipment.

Six Art Galleries in Unexpected Places

Around the world, factories, distilleries and bunkers have second lives as art venues

Ai Weiwei's Whitewash (1995–2000), pictured here in the M+ museum's newly opened galleries, features 126 Neolithic clay jars unearthed in China.

Major Contemporary Art Museum Debuts in Hong Kong Amid Censorship Concerns

M+ promises to be a leading cultural destination, but China's new national security law threatens its curatorial freedom

Bronze mirrors like the one pictured here were luxury items in Han dynasty China. Researchers recently discovered a trove of 80 ancient mirrors at a cemetery in Shaanxi Province.

Cool Finds

Trove of 2,000-Year-Old Bronze Mirrors Found in Ancient Chinese Cemetery

The well-preserved artifacts bear inscriptions such as "Eternal Joy," "Family Wealth" and "Long Memory"

Fragment of a gold mask unearthed at Sanxingdui, an archaeological site in southwest China

3,000-Year-Old Gold Mask, Silk Linked to Enigmatic Civilization Found in China

The state of Shu left behind few written records. A trove of 500 newly excavated objects may offer insights on the mysterious kingdom

Just six comparable Ming dynasty bowls are known to survive today.

Cool Finds

Porcelain Bowl Bought at Yard Sale for $35 Could Sell at Auction for $500,000

The blue-and-white vessel is a rare Ming dynasty dish dated to the early 15th century

The stolen items' owner estimates their value at around $645 million.

A Stolen Mao Zedong Scroll Was Found Cut in Half

Prior to the defacement, the nine-foot-long calligraphy work was valued at an estimated $300 million

A Dutch art dealer realized the vase's significance after appraising an elderly European woman's collection.

Cool Finds

Rare Chinese Vase Found in Pet-Filled Home Sells for $9 Million

The 18th-century artifact was made in a style specific to the Qianlong dynasty

Empress Dowager Cixi by Katharine A. Carl, 1903

New Scholarship Is Revealing the Private Lives of China’s Empresses

Lavish paintings, sumptuous court robes, objets d’art tell the stories of Empress Cixi and four other of the most powerful Qing dynasty women

Conservation of the Juanqinzhai moon gate in Qianlong Garden was completed in 2016.

Architect Annabelle Selldorf Will Design New Interpretation Center for China’s Forbidden City

The restored Qianlong Garden complex, a sprawling oasis of four courtyards and 27 pavilions, is set to open to the public for the first time in 2020

Louis Cha aka Jin Yong

Trending Today

Louis Cha, "Master" of Kung-Fu Novels, Has Died at 94

Under the pen-name Jin Yong, the writer published 14 seminal books that defined the entire wuxia genre and sold more than 300 million copies

The Top Ten Most Important Ancient Documents Lost to History

Either due to conquest or simply the ravages of time, these founding papers of civilizations around the world will remain mysteries forever

In the late Bronze Age, ca. 500-450 BCE, bells were made in sets that rang different notes according to size.

Freer|Sackler: Reopens

A Rare Collection of Bronze Age Chinese Bells Tells a Story of Ancient Innovation

These rarely played ancient bells are newly analyzed with their acoustics remastered and digitized for a new exhibition at the Sackler Gallery

Zhang Zeduan, "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"

This Taiwanese Museum Just Digitized Its Massive Collection of Chinese Art

70,000 images are available for download via the National Palace Museum's website

An oracle bone description

Trending Today

Museum Offers $15,000 Per Character to Decipher Oracle Bone Script

The inscriptions offer detailed information about the Shang Dynasty, but researchers need help to read them

A painting depicting a tribute giraffe and a handler sent to China in the 15th century.

The Peculiar Story of Giraffes in 1400s China

During China's short-lived golden age of exploration, two giraffes came to the imperial court

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