Date: Saturday 13 December 2025
Registration: 10:45 – 11:00am
Guided viewing: 11:00am – 12:00pm
Place: Gallery 6, Hong Kong Palace Museum
The Oriental Ceramic Society is delighted to announce an exclusive guided viewing of the special exhibition “A History of China in Silk: The Chris Hall Collection at the Hong Kong Palace Museum” at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, with collector Chris Hall.
As a highly sought-after luxury good silk is as precious as gold, and was a form of currency that facilitated vibrant exchanges between China and many parts of the world along the trade routes known as the Silk Roads. Silk has made unique contributions to world art: it has been widely used as a support for Chinese paintings and calligraphic works, as a canvas for artistic experiments in colour and decoration, and as a fabric for clothing.
In 2024, Chris Hall promised his collection to the Hong Kong Palace Museum over a period of ten years. This exhibition is a survey of the history of silk in China from the perspectives of technological advancement and artistic achievement. It features over one hundred spectacular textiles from the Neolithic period up to the early 20th century. The exhibition is organised in five sections, presented in chronological order, that together weave a rich and colourful tapestry of China, its society, its clothing culture, and its interactions with the world.
Chris Hall has built one of the largest and most comprehensive private collections of Chinese textiles in the world. An accountant by profession, he began collecting textiles seriously in the 1980s. He is the past President of the now-defunct Textile Society and a former President of the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong. His collection of nearly 3000 works spans almost 2,500 years from the Warring States period (475–221BC) to the 21st century and includes rank badges, dragon robes, Buddhist and Daoist textiles, shoes and other textile related items.
Please note that all visitors will receive individual ticket for entry to the Special Exhibition. Pre-registration is required. Drop-ins will not be entertained.
* The prices include entry ticket to the museum and ticketholders can visit other exhibitions after the tour.
** Please note that guided tour reservation will be closed on 10 December 2025 at 23:59.