18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Qatar Tribune
QM and HKPM unveil ‘Wonders of Imperial Carpets' exhibition
Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar Museums (QM) and the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) celebrated the opening of 'Wonders of Imperial Carpets: Masterpieces from the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha', a landmark exhibition exploring the artistic and cultural connections between Islamic and Chinese civilisations. On view from June 18 to October 6, 2025 at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, Gallery 9, the exhibition is the first in Hong Kong to present such a comprehensive study of Islamic imperial carpets and the broader artistic exchanges that have taken place across regions for centuries.
The opening ceremony was attended by dignitaries and special guests from Qatar and Hong Kong, including Leo Kung, chairman of the HKPM Board; Sheikha Noora Khalifa Al-Thani, consul general of the State of Qatar in Hong Kong; Shaika Nasser Al-Nassr, director of the Museum of Islamic Art; Saeed Uddin, chairman of The Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong; Betty Fung, chief executive officer of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority; and Dr Louis Ng, museum director of the HKPM.
Jointly organised by the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) and the HKPM, the exhibition brings together 90 extraordinary objects, including carpets, manuscripts, ceramics, metalwork, and jades, primarily drawn from the collections of MIA, with significant loans from the Palace Museum in Beijing and the HKPM. Wonders of Imperial Carpets traces the cross-cultural exchanges that flourished across the Safavid dynasty, Mughal dynasty, Ottoman dynasty and China between the 16th and 18th centuries, shaped by diplomacy, migration, and global trade networks.
The exhibition is a legacy project of Qatar's Years of Culture initiative and one of the first major outcomes of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Qatar Museums and HKPM during the inaugural Hong Kong International Cultural Summit in 2024. It also represents the debut of many of these artefacts outside of Qatar.
Through this landmark collaboration, MIA reaffirms its mission to preserve, study, and share the splendour of Islamic art across time and geography. Wonders of Imperial Carpets offers a rare opportunity to experience the artistic excellence of Islamic dynasties and to reflect on the deep historical connections between cultures. By bringing these masterpieces to new audiences, MIA continues to nurture cross-cultural understanding and highlight the enduring relevance of Islamic artistic heritage on the global stage.
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