Selected collection of “Ancient Chinese Art” is shown at CAFAM

TEXT：Edited (EN) by Sue DATE： 2025.2.6

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Being one of key national art museums in China, CAFA Art Museum (abbr. CAFAM) houses over 20,000 artworks, encompassing a wide range of artistic creations from ancient Chinese civilization to modern expressions. The diversified collection of CAFA Art Museum is categorized into several sections, including collection of ancient Chinese art, modern and contemporary Chinese art, and works by CAFA faculty members and alumni. CAFAM has emphasized the research and display of its collection in recent years by launching a series of exhibitions and research projects including “Modern Chinese Art” which was opened to the public in 2024.

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Constituting the foundation of Chinese aesthetics, ancient Chinese art offers insights into the cultural heritage of China while inspiring contemporary artistic creations. This exhibition showcases over 200 pieces of ancient Chinese artworks from CAFAM collection and they are divided into nine units: bronze mirrors, pictorial bricks, figurines, ceramics, religious statues, figure paintings, flower-and-bird paintings, landscape paintings and calligraphy. Covering the primary categories of ancient Chinese art, the selected display spans and reflects over two millennia of Chinese art history.

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Based on recommendations from the appraisal team organized in 2024 by CAFA’s School of Humanities, the Center for Art Archaeology and CAFAM, the selected artefacts lay particular emphasis on aesthetics, artistic interest and the ritual systems. The selection of calligraphy and paintings were primarily based on items included in Illustrated Catalogue of Ancient Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy (published by Cultural Relics Press in 1984), which were jointly appraised by the esteemed Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Authentication Team organized in 1983 (scholars including Xie Zhiliu, Qi Gong, Xu Bangda, Yang Renkai, Fu Xinian, Liu Jiu’an and Xie Chensheng). The selection interest is focused on brushwork expressions, artistic conceptions and cultural connotations.

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Organically integrated with teaching courses in digital media art research, ancient painting research, art and archaeology research, and traditional art restoration conducted at CAFA, “Ancient Chinese Art” facilitates a dialogue between ancient traditional art and modern digital art across time and space.

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