Hong Kong Palace Museum | HKPM Special Exhibition Talk Series: Design and Techniques of Chinese Ancient Gold 

Gold is unique in many of its characteristics: it is malleable, resistant to most acids, dazzlingly bright, and valuable. Over thousands of years, Chinese goldsmiths gradually developed a set of techniques to adapt to these qualities, such as hammering, soldering, and mercury gilding. The evolution of gold techniques is also key to understanding the design and style of ancient gold or gilded artefacts, especially from a macro-historical perspective. The appearance of the artefacts is not only related to fashion, but also the result of different gold-making techniques. This talk will explore the relationship between techniques and design of Chinese gold ornaments through the ages, utilising exhibits from the Hong Kong Palace Museum’s special exhibition “Radiance: Ancient Gold from the Hong Kong Palace Museum Collection and the Mengdiexuan Collection”.

This talk accompanies the special exhibition “Radiance: Ancient Gold from the Hong Kong Palace Museum Collection and the Mengdiexuan Collection” in Gallery 9, on view from 22 February through 25 September 2023 at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. As the biggest exhibition in Hong Kong in recent years that highlights the artistic and technical achievements of gold in ancient China, it showcases more than 200 sets of gold objects, with the oldest dating back to the 18th century BCE. Many of them are shown to the public for the first time.

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