National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) on St Kilda Road at Melbourne will farewell their stunning exhibition about the Qianlong Emperor with a special event catered for by well-known chef Victor Liong, from Melbourne’s renowned Lee Ho Fook Chinese restaurant. Your ticket price includes admission to the exhibition, A Golden Age of China: Qianlong Emperor, 1736 – 1795, which offers an insight into the story of China’s foremost art collector.
Qianlong Emperor was a man of letters, a calligrapher, poet and was devoted to art and architecture; his name was associated with works of literary importance and he had thirty six thousand volumes from imperial and private collections copied and assembled in a vast encyclopaedia. He corresponded with Louis XV and was a collector of French clocks.
If you haven’t yet viewed this exhibition you are missing something very special indeed. 120 works from Beijing’s Palace Museum’s collection includes glorious objects of jade and gold, dragon-embroidered silk court robes, scrolls and silk paintings by Italian Jesuit Priest Giuseppe Castiglione who lived at the court of three Chinese Emperors Kangxi (1662-1722), Yongzheng (1723-1735 and Qianlong (1736-95).
Qianlong was fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and the longest lived in Chinese history. During his reign pottery production became completely industrialised. The Emperor set the scene himself, attracting Italian and French painters for the court and the European style palace known as the Yuan Ming-yuan built inside the compound of the Summer Palace.
Candles, chopsticks and etiquette are integral to a Chinese Banquet which is all about abundance. It’s a ritual much celebrated in China, as well as in many other parts of the world. Be sure to book your tickets for the Chinese celebratory banquet to be held in the Great Hall at NGV International on Sunday 21st June. Enjoy wonderful food in a unique atmosphere. Phone Peter Rowland Catering: (03) 9825 0000
