Chinese gongbi silk painting
Watch the recreation of a figure from a Chinese painting in the gongbi style
China
The V&A has one of the most comprehensive and important collections of Chinese art outside East Asia, with pieces dating from 3000 BC to the present day.
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The V&A acquired its first group of Chinese objects in 1852 and today the collection amounts to approximately 18,000 objects, with examples from all branches of Chinese art including ceramics, jade, metalwork, lacquer, textiles, furniture, sculpture, ivory, bamboo, rhinoceros horn, glass, paintings, manuscripts and prints. The collection is particularly strong in the applied arts of later dynastic China, after AD 1500.
Collection highlights
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Tomb guardian, 700 – 750, China -
Eight geese box, 18th century, China -
Teapot, 1700 – 20, Yixing, China -
Daoist robe, 1650 – 1700, China -
Moon, chair, designed by Shao Fan, 2004, Beijing, China -
Pendant, about 1100 – 1000 BC, China -
Neo-Guan, vase, by Li Jianshen, 2012, Jingdezhen, China -
Vessel, 1200 – 1100 BC, China -
Man on ox cart, earthernware model, 5 – 220, China -
Throne, 1736 – 95, China -
Painting, 1870 – 90, China -
Flask, 1403 – 24, Jingdezhen, China
Features
Chinese wallpapers and the chinoiserie style
The introduction of Chinese wallpapers in the 17th century sparked a fashion that lasted a century
Dealing and dealers: the East Asia collection
The lunar zodiac
Discover the lunar zodiac animals in art and design from our East Asian collections
Blanc de Chine – white porcelain from China
A centuries-old Chinese porcelain tradition reinvented by contemporary designers
Chinese blue-and-white ceramics
Discover some of the most iconic and enduring objects in the history of Chinese ceramics
Travelling to the Wonderland by Xu Bing
Celebrated Chinese artist Xu Bing created a magical installation for the John Madejski Garden, inspired by a classic Chinese fable
Header image: Background image: Daoist robe, 1650 – 1700, China (Qing Dynasty). Museum no. T.91-1928. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London