Visitors in the Chinese Jade gallery in Room 33b

Room 33b

Chinese jade

About 5000 BC – present
The Selwyn and Ellie Alleyne Gallery

Visiting the gallery

Opening times

Daily: 10.00–17.00 (Fridays: 20.30)
See full opening hours

Gallery audio guides

Listen on the Audio app, available on the App Store and Google Play.

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Find Room 33b

In China, jade has been a material of the highest value since ancient times, prized for its beauty and magical properties.

The objects on display in this exquisite gallery show the history of the exotic stone. Translucent yet tough, jade was worked into ornaments, ceremonial weapons and ritual objects by Chinese craftspeople.

Most of the jades on display are on loan from the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung and show different types of workmanship. They range from long, smooth Neolithic blades to later plaques, ornaments, dragons, human sculptures and intricate 18th-century pendants. The refurbished gallery also includes new acquisitions of contemporary jades, to bring the story up to the present.

Highlights

  • Large cong of opaque dark olive green jade with brownish and russet inclusions with a soft gloss finish.

    Jade cong

  • Matched pair of jade 'S' dragons with raised scroll pattern.

    Matched pair of dragon pendants

  • A jade brush pot decorated with nature motifs

    Jade brushpot

  • Jade sculpture of landscape, depicting contemporary concrete houses and more traditional bridges and a boat in silhouette.

    Autumn in Suzhou by Yang Xi

Accessibility

  • A large print guide is available.
  • Some objects in this collection feature on the British Sign Language guide handset, available from the Audio guide Desk in the Great Court.
  • View sensory map.

Visit Accessibility at the Museum for more information.

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