53 groups of treasured painted enamels from CUHK go on display in the UK for the first time, tracing East-West artistic innovation

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 26 October 2026 – The Art Museum of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and The Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge have unveiled the historic joint exhibition "An Enamel Revolution: China and the World", running from 20 October 2026 to 21 February 2027 in the United Kingdom.

Supported by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, this landmark project marks the first collaborative exhibition between the two world-renowned university museums, featuring 53 groups of treasured painted enamels from CUHK on display in the UK for the first time.

Tracing East-West knowledge exchange and artistic innovation

This collaborative exhibition features 89 exceptional works and sets of works, including 53 treasured painted enamels from the CUHK Art Museum being shown in the UK for the first time and 36 from The Fitzwilliam Museum. It explores the development of painted enamel in China, a field that has attracted growing scholarly attention in recent years.

Beginning with the transfer of painted enamel technology from Europe to China in the late 17th century, the exhibition traces the emergence of hybrid artistic traditions that developed through interactions between China and the wider world. It offers new perspectives on Chinese painted enamel through the lenses of cross-cultural exchange, artistic innovation and global trade, revealing how Chinese craftsmen working in the imperial workshops of Beijing and the commercial workshops of Canton (today's Guangzhou) adapted and transformed the painted enamel technique to decorate objects made of porcelain, glass, silver and copper.

Celebrating shared values and collegiate heritage
An opening ceremony was held at The Fitzwilliam Museum on 19 October 2026, officiated by Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, CUHK's Vice-Chancellor and President, and Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, alongside Professor Anthony Chan Tak-cheung, CUHK's Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Alumni/Community Engagement and Institutional Advancement); Dr Luke Syson, Director of The Fitzwilliam Museum; Professor Josh Yiu Chun-chong, Director of the CUHK Art Museum; Dr Joyce Chou, Research Associate of the CUHK Art Museum; Professor Dame Jessica Rawson, former Warden of Merton College and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford; and other distinguished international scholars.

Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Lo said: "As a Cantabrigian who graduated in the 1980s and as the current Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, I am delighted to witness and officiate this historic union between two institutions very dear to my heart. While CUHK has a much younger history than Cambridge, both universities share a commitment to the pursuit of academic excellence, collegiate education and public engagement. CUHK's founding mission is to combine tradition with modernity and to bring together China and the West. I am glad to see that our two university museums are collaborating to promote art history through this exhibition involving a cross-disciplinary investigation across space and time. The exhibition, An Enamel Revolution: China and the World, traces a knowledge transfer from one part of the world to another. It is a history that tells us how art has transcended national borders and cultural divides to foster mutual respect and admiration. It holds truly important lessons for us in the world today, where global challenges need to be overcome by collective action, open exchange and mutual commitment."

Prior to the opening ceremony, Dr Chou, the curator of this special exhibition, delivered a keynote lecture entitled "Trading Beauty: From Europe to China, from Canton to the World – Qing Dynasty Canton Enamels" at Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge. The lecture was followed by a panel conversation with Dr James Lin, Senior Curator of Chinese Art at The Fitzwilliam Museum; Professor Henning von Mirbach, Assistant Professor of Early Modern Chinese Art in the Department of History of Art, University of Cambridge; and Professor Rawson, who moderated the discussion.

Cross-cultural mastery and early globalisation
Building upon the CUHK Art Museum's acclaimed exhibition "Sparkle and Charm: Canton Enamels of the Qing Dynasty" from 2022 to 2023, which subsequently toured Shenzhen, Tianjin, Shanghai and Wuhan in the Chinese Mainland, the joint exhibition at The Fitzwilliam Museum curates a selection of these masterpieces from the CUHK Art Museum's collection and brings them to an international audience alongside key selections from The Fitzwilliam.

The dazzling painted enamels seen in this exhibition illustrate how materials, technologies, artistic knowledge and ideas moved across geographical boundaries. They reveal how innovations travelled between East and West, how artistic traditions were adapted and transformed through cross-cultural encounters, and how new products were created, traded, and consumed within an increasingly interconnected world. The development of painted enamel in China was made possible by imperial patronage, the introduction of techniques by European missionaries and the exceptional skills of artisans working in Jingdezhen, Beijing and Canton. Together, they played vital roles in shaping one of the most remarkable examples of artistic exchange and early globalisation in the 18th century.

Structured into two sections, "The Making of Canton Enamel" and "Canton Enamel for the Global Market", exhibition highlights include a Qing Qianlong period enamel jar with an ice-plum pattern, a covered bowl and saucer depicting Western mythological scenes in framed panels, an elephant-handled zun vase with flowers, fruits and insects, and a pair of drinking cups in the form of lotus flowers.

Exhibition details


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About the Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Established in 1971, the Art Museum of CUHK is a museum dedicated to education, research, and exhibitions. Through its collections, exhibitions, publications, outreach, and educational programmes, the Museum aims to enrich the cultural experiences of the community and help realise the goals of the University. With the inauguration of Lo Kwee Seong Pavilion in 2025, an extension of the Art Museum and a new landmark on campus, we will continue to enhance the integration of art-making, curating, and teaching, while diversifying and enriching the museum experience for a broader audience.

About The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge

The Fitzwilliam Museum is home to one of the world's most remarkable university art collections. We care for works of art and material culture primarily from Europe, North Africa and Asia that connect people across cultures and time. Since 1816 we've been a place for learning and discovery. Today, we use art, objects, spaces and experiences to inspire curiosity, reflection and creativity-—opening up the past to transform our futures. As an internationally recognised centre for research and conservation, we work with partners across the world to explore how collections can be better understood, cared for and shared.

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