The Jade Armour of Immortality – Treasures of Han period China (Móra Ferenc Museum)
A special exhibition is taking place at the Móra Ferenc Museum. The exhibition “The Jade Armour of Immortality – Treasures of Han period China” presents original ancient Chinese artefacts illustrating everyday life, burial customs, rulers and the nomadic peoples who lived on the borders of China. The highlight of the exhibition is the royal jade burial suit, made from 1,460 pieces of jade pieces sewn together with gold threads.
A new international exhibition has opened at the Móra Ferenc Museum in the summer of 2023. The exhibition “The Jade Armour of Immortality – Treasures of Han period China” takes visitors on an adventure through ancient China, featuring original ancient Chinese artefacts from Shanghai, thanks to a museum collaboration with the People’s Republic of China, as well as special objects from the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Asiatic Arts.
The artefacts include special utilitarian objects and decorations, amulets and unique funerary objects. Perhaps the most striking piece in the collection is the royal jade burial suit: a magnificent display of a total of 1,460 jade pieces, sewn together with gold thread.
In addition, many fascinating objects from the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Asiatic Arts are presented in Szeged. These include beautiful ornaments of beads, belt, bridle and clothes, Hun-period cauldrons and an original brick from the Great Wall of China.
In front of the exhibition a giant digital touch screen, the Magic Wall awaits visitors who can get acquainted with the objects and curiosities of ancient China in an exciting way.
The exhibition is open until 31 December 2023.
Collaborating partners: Shanghai Museum, Xuzhou Museum, Chengdu Institute of Archaeology, Ferenc Hopp Museum of Asiatic Arts, Magic Wall (BRISC – Back & Rosta Information Security Consulting Ltd.)
Terracotta Army – Immortal Guards of China’s First Emperor (Móra Ferenc Museum)
The international exhibition presents the world of ancient China through exciting objects and stories. The exhibition consists of two main parts: the first, featuring the Terracotta Army, opened on 26 May, and the second, with around 130 original objects borrowed from the Shanghai Museum, the Xuzhou Museum, the Chengdu Institute of Archaeology and the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Asiatic Arts, opened on the Night of Museums on 24 June. The Terracotta Army exhibition aims is to give visitors a first-hand experience of the history of these extraordinary soldiers made of clay.
The exhibition features nearly 50 terracotta soldiers made of materials and dimensions that are true to the originals. Visitors can also learn about the age of the emperors in Ancient China, the history of the terracotta army, and the exhibition includes an interactive part for children as well.
The show is open until 31 December 2023.
Collaborating partner: GOVIN s.r.o. (Czech Republic)
“Hetedhét Hungarikon” (Fekete Ház gallery)
A very special exhibition is on display at the Fekete Ház gallery in Szeged from 10 May to 31 December 2023: the “Hetedhét Hungarikon” presents personal effects of iconic personalities, which have been re-used by contemporary artists to create works of art. In addition to Hungarian legends, the personal belongings of international celebrities such as John Lennon, Tony Curtis and Niki Lauda are also on display.
Iconic figures include actors, sportsmen, writers, musicians, artists and important historical figures. Visitors can see, for example, the wristwatch of prime minister Imre Nagy, the typewriter of prime minister Mátyás Rákosi, a piece of the Berlin Wall, and a section of the barbed wire from the Iron Curtain. Film director István Szabó’s clapperboard, actress Katalin Karády’s teaspoons, Oscar-winning director László Nemes Jeles’ bow tie which he wore at the Academy Awards ceremony, and Nobel-winning writer Imre Kertész’s hat are also on display – all revisited as artworks.
In addition, the exhibition presents singer-songwriter Tamás Cseh’s tape recorder, actor Péter Geszti’s lyrics sheet, author István Örkény’s pocket watch, and author Péter Esterházy’s glasses in a renewed way. Also on display are the relics of astronaut Bertalan Farkas, Olympic swimmer László Cseh’s goggles, water polo player Tibor Benedek’s cape, and fighter László Papp’s boxing gloves. The whistle used in the legendary “6-3” football match (Match of the Century – England v Hungary, 1953) is also on display, as well as the shoes of Ferenc Puskás, and the football jersey of Gyula Grosics.
The range of objects that have been transformed into artworks and come from the collection of Tamás Kárpáti is therefore extremely wide and exciting.
The exhibition is open until 31 December 2023.
Franciscan mission to China (Fekete Ház gallery)
In the Fekete Ház Gallery there is an exhibition about the Franciscan mission in China, showing a selection of objects collected during the mission: beautiful paintings, porcelain, various utensils and ornaments.
The exhibition “Franciscan Mission in China” is the third in a series of exhibitions on the history of China in Szeged. The exhibition takes the visitors back to the first half of the 20th century, when the Hungarian Franciscans took over a mission centre in the Chinese province of Hunan in 1929. The missionary work was hampered by the storms of history, until finally, after Mao Tse-tung came to power in 1952, all Hungarian Franciscans were expelled from China.
The mission was started by seven Franciscans, who spent a year learning the language and then compiled a 2,000-word Hungarian-Chinese dictionary. They also ran a hospital, an orphanage, a school and an institute for the training of religious teachers. In the course of their work, they collected a variety of utensils and ornaments, which they exhibited in Hungary.
The exhibition opening in the Black House will feature a selection of objects from this Chinese mission – a collection currently held by the Franciscans of Szeged. Visitors will be able to see porcelain objects, Chinese footwear, musical instruments, abacus and other interesting utensils. The most beautiful pieces in the exhibition are undoubtedly the paintings of the leading figure of Christian Chinese painting, Lukács Chen.
The exhibition is open from 28 July to 31 December 2023.
