Hong Kong Palace Museum to display eight new Year of the Dragon items

The Hong Kong Palace Museum announced on Monday that they will display a new collection related to the Year of the Dragon for the upcoming Lunar New Year.

As the Year of the Dragon arrives, the Hong Kong Palace Museum announced that they will display eight items related to the Year of the Dragon, spanning the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

One displayed item was a piece of art painted back in 1724 that showed the Yongzheng Emperor sitting and lecturing the officials at the Guozijian Academy.

The museum will also showcase jade seals, symbolizing the emperor's supreme power, often engraved with dragon patterns or shapes. Among them, the square jade seals of the Chong De period of the Qing Dynasty are larger than ordinary jade seals and are used to issue imperial edicts, with full-time officials responsible for guarding the seal.

The seal is carved from jade, and the button on the upper half is a dragon design, symbolizing the emperor's status.

In addition, the exhibits include a ceramic blue and white dragon-pierced flat kettle made during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, imitating West Asian vessels. 

The dragon pattern on the pot body is a typical decorative pattern on Ming Dynasty porcelain, and the image is very lifelike.

There are also different colors of porcelain bowls, representing the harem hierarchy during the Qing Dynasty, etc.

The museum will also release souvenirs related to the Lunar New Year, such as gourd-shaped pillows, night lights, and a thermos featuring dragon and phoenix art.