The Royal Academy of Arts in London is staging an exhibition in the UK to be dedicated to Chinese Court Art.

Entitled "China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795," the exhibition features more than 400 treasures with blockbuster potential.

The exhibition runs from this coming Saturday to April 17, 2006 at the main galleries of the Royal Academy.

The focus of the exhibition is the artistic and cultural riches of the three most powerful emperors of China's last feudal dynasty Emperor Kangxi (reign 1662-1722), Emperor Yongzheng (reign 1723-1735) and Emperor Qianlong (reign 1736-1795).

Most of the works on display are drawn from the remarkable collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Others are chosen from British public and private collections, including the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Library, according to sources at the academy.

The works include such treasures as paintings and silk scrolls, jade and bronze, porcelain and lacquer ware, precious robes, palace furnishings, scientific instruments, weapons and ceremonial armor.

"Many of these unique objects have never been shown outside China," said Liu Yanmin, spokeswoman for the Palace Museum.

The exhibition opens with formal ritual portraits of the three emperors, depicted on dragon thrones and dressed in ceremonial robes of embroidered yellow silk.

One of the highlights is the court paintings commissioned to illustrate the many aspects of royal life.

Hanging scrolls, hand scrolls and albums show imperial palaces, hunting expeditions to the north and long journeys undertaken by Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong to southern China, particularly the Yangtze River Delta.

Also on display are two scrolls depicting the emperors' birthday party celebrations and a set of six paintings illustrating their private lives.

One of the galleries will focus on the emperors' interest in Western technical expertise. It will explore the courtly relations with Jesuits, who came to China to seek converts to Christianity in the 16th and 17th centuries.

These envoys remained important members of the Qing court, both as advisors on scientific instruments and as painters that inspired Chinese court artists to emulate foreign styles.

The exhibition will include a display of magnificent paintings by the famous Jesuit court artist Lang Shining (1688-1766), who was also known by his Western name Giuseppe Castiglione, alongside examples by Chinese court artists.

"China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795" is the second major Chinese art exhibition hosted by the Royal Academy of Arts.

The first took place in 1935. It won great acclaim and remained one of the top 20 exhibitions in the history of the academy.

(China Daily November 8, 2005)