The Met’s Global Jewellery Treasures at HKPM

Description

Jewellery is the world’s oldest art form, predating cave paintings by tens of thousands of years, serving to extend, amplify and transform the human body across cultures and eras. The exhibition probes what jewellery signifies, why we wear it and how it activates the body, revealing fundamental aspects of human experience through adornment.

Around 200 masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection span five continents and nearly 4,000 years, from the second millennium BC to the 21st century. Organised into five thematic sections, the exhibition traces the development of adornments from ancient civilisations to cutting-edge contemporary creations. Each section explores a distinct dimension of bodily adornment, offering insights into both the wearers and the cultures that shaped these diverse works of art.

Highlights include an ancient Egyptian gold sandals and toe stalls for Pharaoh Thutmose III’s wife (circa 1479–1425 BC) and a 19th-century Indian thali marriage necklace. Additional works on display are from the Hong Kong Palace Museum’s Mengdiexuan Collection, the Chris Hall Collection at the Hong Kong Palace Museum and the ILLUMINATA Collection.