Having lived in Hong Kong as a university student, it’s always a thrill when I get to visit Hong Kong again! After years of development, it’s exciting to finally see Hong Kong’s newest museums in the West Kowloon Cultural District. Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) is possibly my favourite museum in Hong Kong right now, with its beautiful permanent galleries and excellent exhibitions I’ve seen so far. To start off 2025, I visited HKPM’s special exhibition The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Despite the lengthy title, I’m convinced this may be my favourite exhibition of the year and one that will linger in my mind for a long time…

HKPM is the Hong Kong ‘branch’ of the Palace Museum located in the Forbidden Palace in Beijing, China. So it already boasts a stunning display of artworks and artefacts in the galleries. This exhibition is, to me, extra special as HKPM collaborated with Château de Versailles to bring almost 150 artefacts together from both collections to explore how China and France mutually inspired and influence each other during the 17th and 18th centuries. Cross-cultural interactions between China and Europe, especially during the eighteenth century, is exactly the line of research that I’m getting more and more interested in these days!

Setting the Scene: The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles

The opening video piece, titled Symphony of Time and Space: The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles, immerses you in the architectural spaces of the Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles. I loved the shots where details from both palaces are juxtaposed against each other.

In the centre of the gallery is the display of the elaborate key used to open the main door of the Royal Chapel of Versailles. It’s shown alongside the Qing emperor’s seal and a jade book recording Qianlong Emperor’s Ten Great Campaigns.

Louis in Versailles

The first artwork we encounter in the exhibition is the famous portrait of Louis XIV — an excellent choice! The original Portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacinthe Rigaud was made in 1701, which now resides in the Musée du Louvre. The image of the Sun King was so popular that Rigaud made numerous copies, like this one shown here. I still remember my professor in my first-year art history class enthusiastically telling us that Louis XIV wanted to show off his regal legs… because he was known to be a great dancer! I was so excited to see this painting and I struck my best dancing pose, hahaha!

I was very taken by the fine rendering of Louis XV’s clothing and regalia in Drouais’ portrait. Another example of a beautiful portrait of a Louis.

The Qing Emperors

As the exhibition covers the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the artefacts on show cover a few generations of Louis’s and Qing emperors. In France, we begin with the Sun King Louis XIV (r. 1643–1715), his great-grandson Louis XV (r. 1715–1774), and finally Louis XV’s grandson Louis XVI (r. 1774–1792). Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were guillotined in 1793, but this exhibition doesn’t touch on the grisly revolution in France at the end of the eighteenth century.

In contrast, this period saw the ‘golden age’ of the Qing dynasty. The three most powerful emperors of their time: Kangxi Emperor 康熙帝 (r. 1662–1722), his son Yongzheng Emperor 雍正帝 (r. 1723–1735), and the Yongzheng Emperor’s son Qianlong Emperor 乾隆帝 (r. 1735–1796).

My favourite Chinese portrait was of the Yongzheng Emperor. In this hanging scroll Yongzheng Emperor holds a ruyi (如意). The ceremonial sceptre is so named to symbolise good fortune, but also acts as a means to display sovereignty. I also couldn’t help but notice his sharp, pointy nails…? Qianlong Emperor also grew long nails — as you can see below, alongside the exquisite details of his court attire. The dragon motifs, of course, represent the emperor.

Everyday Life

The next section of the exhibition focused on the everyday objects that populated both of the royal residences. Some objects were made in France and given to the Chinese court, and vice versa. Most of these objects in this section were scientific instruments, reflecting the scientific exchanges between China and France (particularly in Europe’s Age of Enlightenment) during this period.

The interest in science also meant the proliferation of these wonderful and strange-looking clocks in the Chinese courts! These are ‘musical automation clocks’ as elements of the clock, such as the green palm trees in the clock pictured above, would turn and rotate while music played. It’s like how wind-up music toys work, but in fancy, ornately decorated gold clocks that also tell the time.

Porcelain Trianon and Madame de Montespan

I loved learning about Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, more commonly known as Madame de Montespan. A formidable woman known for her beauty and wit, she officially became Louis XIV’s mistress in 1674. Madame de Montespan ousted the preceding woman for the role before she was eventually ousted herself… This portrait depicts Madame de Montespan when she was around 23 years old, a few years before she worked her way into Louis XIV’s affections.

Louis XIV had the Porcelain Trianon (Trianon de Porcelaine) built near Versailles in 1670 for Madame de Montespan. What was special about the site was how it was decorated to resemble the blue-and-white porcelain that originated from China. The blue and white tiles used to decorate the pavilions of the residence were however made of faience (earthenware), as Europeans had yet to discover the ‘secret’ step in the process of creating porcelain. By 1687, the Trianon de Porcelaine was demolished. The building was simply too costly to maintain. At the same time, Madame de Montespan had fallen out of favour with Louis XIV.

Porcelain in France

In the 1760s, the good people of Sèvres Manufactory in France finally cracked the code in making porcelain: the incorporation of kaolin clay in the recipe. The French could now make porcelain vases of their own (instead of relying on Chinese imports). Although inspired by Chinese designs, the pair of vases pictured above still look very European to me with the style of the cartouche and the lion head handles.

It was common for gold mounts to be added to Chinese porcelain vases in French collections. The Ge porcelain is distinctive for its crackled glaze — so unique and beautiful. This perfume fountain belonged to Louis XV and was kept in his wardrobe!

Madame de Pompadour

From 1745 to 1751, Madame de Pompadour was the official mistress of Louis XV. After stepping down from her role, she became Louis XV’s confidante and political advisor, and continued to be highly influential in the French court. I remember learning so much about her portraits in French art history classes. She commissioned various portraits by leading French artists of the day, as a means to secure power in her public position.

Drouais’ Portrait of Madame Pompadour appears to be related to the larger-scale Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame, 1763–4, in the collection of the National Gallery, London. Madame de Pompadour is depicted in the same bonnet and dress with the striped ribbons and flower pattern. In Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame, Drouais expands the image to show Madame de Pompadour working at a tapestry in her salon at her apartment in Versailles.

Made in France

This exquisite Chrysanthemum pot was commissioned by imperial order in Beijing. Previously thought to have made in Guangdong, the pot was in actuality made in France and later shipped to Beijing. The enameller Joseph Coteau had convincingly painted flowers on the pot’s body in a ‘Chinese style’. On the bottom of the pot is Qianlong Emperor’s collection mark「乾隆年制」and — as recently discovered by the Palace Museum — Joseph Coteau’s signature ‘Couteau’ on the edge.

Similarly, this ewer with stylised lotus scroll was made in France and then sent to Beijing. It was a part of Qianlong Emperor’s collection, with his collection mark「乾隆年制」indicated on the bottom.

French and Chinese Aesthetics

This case of the lobed flower basket with peonies is a very interesting one! In 1775, Qianlong Emperor ordered replicas to be made of ten pieces of enamelware from the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods. Craftsmen in Guangdong and France were tasked to re-create the same flower basket, but there are slight differences. I prefer the more saturated blue colour of the French basket (pictured right), and the painting style of the flowers and leafs. On the other hand, I like the paler yellow on the exterior of the Guangdong basket. The Guangdong basket also appears more functional with the rectangular handle and the slight inward curve of the rim of the basket.

Portraits of Marie and Marie

Queen Marie Leszczyńska, wife of Louis XV, was a fan of Chinese culture and decor. She contributed to the making of the painting The Nanjing Market (below), reproduced from a Dutch illustration. The painting hung in the Chinese Chamber in Queen Marie’s private suite in the Palace of Versailles. Such scenes made by European travellers depicted everyday Chinese landscapes, but usually were error-prone or conjured imaginary pictures of China. The Nanjing Market pictures a row of shops with curved roofs and tall poles between them… It’s a strange and lively picture!

Marie Adélaïde was the daughter of Louis XV and Queen Marie. She is depicted in another gorgeous portrait by Nattier, where she holds a closed fan. The folding fan was a male accessory in China during this period. Interestingly, inspired by Chinese culture, the fan became a part of women’s fashion in the French court instead.

Crossing Cultures: China and France

A painted porcelain portrait! This portrait was based on the Jesuit Giuseppe Panzi’s original painting, who had served at the Qing imperial court. It’s a rare and fascinating depiction of a Chinese emperor through a European’s eyes and artistic style.

I enjoyed this interactive panel, which offered a contrasting view of Chinese and French portrait styles by comparing individual facial features between the Portrait of the Qianlong Emperor on porcelain plaque and other Chinese portraits.

During the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, it was popular to incorporate images of European figures on decorative objects (as seen above). In parallel, eighteenth-century French art and aesthetics also included various scenes of Chinese figures — in the craze for chinoiserie. Clearly, both cultures were fascinated by the other. I still find these images of Europeans by Chinese craftsmen and those of the Chinese by European craftsmen mutually strange, though!

Final Work: Voltaire

The exhibition concludes with a Portrait of Voltaire. A key figure of the French Enlightenment, the writer and philosopher held a high regard for China.

I’m not very familiar with Voltaire’s work, but I shall leave you reader with two of my favourite quotes from him:

Let us read, and let us dance—two amusements that will never do any harm to the world.

Dictionnaire philosophique (1764) ‘Liberty of the Press’

Doubt is not a pleasant condition. But certainty is an absurd one.

Letter to Frederick the Great, 28 November 1770

The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries ultimately focuses on the positive interactions between China and France during these years. Indeed, not everyone agreed with Voltaire in his admiration of China. That being said, I found it very refreshing to learn more about the sincere exchanges largely made between the two royal courts. The exhibition featured so many beautiful artworks, porcelain, and other decorative objects which was such a treat to see. I really hope to see more exhibitions featuring cross-cultural exchanges in the future!