2014
Canada
The Foundation supported The Forbidden City: Inside the Court of China’s Emperors, an exhibition premiered at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), followed by a second stop at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Curated by the ROM, with exquisite works on loan from the Palace Museum in Beijing, the exhibition provided insights and understanding of Chinese history and culture through the lens of Beijing’s Forbidden City. Paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, textiles, decorative objects, and architecture together reflected human stories, the workings of government, the pomp and ceremony of palace life, and the personal lives of China’s emperors. Most of the objects on display had never before been seen outside China. In viewing these imperial treasures, museum visitors learned about the history of China’s last dynasties, including the Forbidden City’s governance, relationship with the West, and its closing in 1911.
