China National Silk Museum opens Hungarian Esterházy Treasury exhibition in Hangzhou

HANGZHOU, China, July 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — On June 27, 2023, Dr. Ji Xiaofen, Director of the China National Silk Museum, and Ms. Anna Bognár, representative of the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest together with other guests co-launched a new exhibition — Silk Robes for Princes – Luxury Silks and Velvets from Hungary’s Esterházy Treasury — running from June 27 to August 21, 2023 in Hangzhou, jointly curated by the China National Silk Museum and the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest.

The exhibition is divided into three sections: “Men’s garments”, “Horse apparel, horse tack and weapons” and “Home furnishings”, presenting 34 sets/pieces of silk costumes, bed covers, Persian tapestry, Ottoman Turkish horse accessories, jeweled ceremonial sabers, and ceremonial maces. These collections are from the Esterházy family, a noble Hungarian family of the 16th-17th centuries, and have been on show at the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest for the last century. Thirteen of these ceremonial garments, worn by male members of the Esterházy family, or magnificent silk garments revered as ancestral relics, were tailored from the most expensive silks, velvets and lace produced in Italy, Spain and Turkey, and decorated with pearls, turquoise and other jewels crafted by the court goldsmiths.

Apart from the delicate cultural relics from Hungary, the exhibition is also equipped with a “Magic Wall”, which allows the visitors to interactively view more details of objects and other pieces of the Hungarian museum.

Through this exhibition, the Chinese audience can gain a deeper understanding of the love that the 16th and 17th century Hungarian aristocracy had for silk, jewelry and a decadent lifestyle. Although silk originates from China, the beauty and exquisite craftsmanship of silk can be widely seen along the Silk Road and thus appreciated and shared by Eastern and Western cultures alike.

During the opening ceremony, China National Silk Museum also held the press conference for the 2023 Silk Road Week which is going to be launched on July 12 with the theme of “The Silk Roads: Long Roads, Mutual Goals”. This year the guest country will be Hungary, so as well as the silk exhibition, China National Silk Museum will also bring a silk culture and costume exhibition to Hungary in October. After the opening ceremony, Mr. Zhang Chengming, Deputy Director of the China National Silk Museum, and the coordinator of the exhibition, gave a guided tour of the exhibition to the attending media.