A Landmark Reunion: Fifteen Masterpieces from the 1935 Royal Academy Exhibition Return to Hong Kong
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In the autumn of 1935, London's Royal Academy of Arts became the epicentre of a cultural awakening. The International Exhibition of Chinese Art that opened its doors that year marked a watershed moment in Western appreciation of one of the world's most refined and ancient aesthetic traditions. The exhibition would reverberate through the decades, reshaping how collectors, scholars and institutions understood the breadth and sophistication of Chinese artistic achievement.
A Luminous Chapter in Collecting History
Nearly a century later, that transformative moment is being honoured through an extraordinary act of curatorial vision. Christie's Asia, in collaboration with Daniel Eskenazi, has assembled fifteen exceptional works that graced the original 1935 exhibition, presenting them together once more in a commemorative exhibition that speaks to the enduring legacy of that landmark display. These masterpieces span the full spectrum of imperial Chinese decorative arts: lacquerware of sublime intricacy, jade carved with the precision of calligraphy, enamelled objects whose lustrous surfaces seem to hold light itself.
The exhibition serves not merely as nostalgia, but as a scholarly and aesthetic reckoning with a pivotal moment when Eastern and Western worlds discovered profound common ground through the language of beauty and craftsmanship. For collectors of Chinese art, for those whose connoisseurship has been shaped by decades of study and acquisition, this gathering represents something both intimate and monumental: a chance to encounter objects whose historical weight and refined presence have only deepened with time.
Scholarship and Stewardship
Coinciding with the exhibition is the publication of '1935: The International Exhibition of Chinese Art', a comprehensive six-volume scholarly work that explores the exhibition's cultural resonance and lasting influence on how the world has come to understand and value Chinese artistic heritage. This ambitious publication demonstrates a commitment to contextual depth and archival rigour, placing the 1935 moment within its broader historical and aesthetic dimensions.
The Henderson in Hong Kong will serve as the venue for this commemorative tribute, offering discerning visitors and collectors the opportunity to stand before these objects in contemplation, to experience their presence across a fortnight in late October and early November. Such moments are rare in the collector's calendar: an alignment of historical significance, curatorial intelligence and physical proximity to works of acknowledged importance.
The exhibition runs from 22 October to 6 November, with the project supported by Christie's Art Finance. For those whose passion for Chinese art deepens with understanding its place within the broader narrative of global aesthetic exchange, this presentation offers an unparalleled opportunity to engage with a formative chapter in collecting history.
Key Facts
- Exhibition Title: The Royal Academy International Exhibition of Chinese Art 1935–36: A Commemorative Tribute
- Location: The Henderson, Hong Kong
- Dates: 22 October – 6 November
- Number of Masterpieces: 15 works from the original 1935 exhibition
- Materials Represented: Imperial lacquer, jade, enamel and other decorative arts
- Accompanying Publication: '1935: The International Exhibition of Chinese Art', six-volume scholarly work
The Simply Luxury View
This exhibition represents a meaningful scholarly and curatorial milestone: the deliberate reunion of works that collectively shaped twentieth-century Western understanding of Chinese artistic mastery. For collectors whose holdings span imperial decorative arts, it offers both historical context and aesthetic affirmation, grounding individual acquisitions within a larger narrative of connoisseurship.
The accompanying six-volume publication elevates the moment beyond a temporary display, establishing a permanent scholarly resource that will inform study and collection for decades to come. The pairing of exhibition and publication reflects a curatorial philosophy that honours both the object and the intellect required to understand it.
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