This is Part I of a two-part talk, Part II is scheduled for 6th January 2022.

A sequel to Ships of the Silk Road, this is an informed and beautifully illustrated treatment of flying men

In Chinese jade. Jade figurines depicting human flight are a varied and expressive manifestation of this most prized artistic medium. Angus Forsyth, a prominent collector of Chinese jade, explores the making in the Middle Kingdom (over a 2000-year period, from the Han Dynasty onwards) of unique objects depicting figural movement through the air. He examines the depiction of apsaras (flying angels), kinnaras (man-birds), anthropomorphized bird headdress ornaments and finally garudas (humanoid birds appearing in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology). He shows how these flying figures came to be associated with veneration of the gods and specific devotional practice. Examining a variety of representative objects, none of which has been seen in print before, the author reveals that the original concept behind flying celestial beings and bird-men originated not in China but in India and the Christianized West, via the Silk Road. A distinctive characteristic of Chinese artefacts is that, in contrast to their Western angelic counterparts, they often are wingless. The book discusses small and larger jade pieces alike.

The Speaker

Angus Forsyth commenced work in private practice as a solicitor in 1971. In 1972 he joined the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch and has been a life member for many years. He began a jade collection in 1973 focussing only on nephrite jade worked in China from Neolithic Times up to the Qing Dynasty.

He was a founder member of the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong in 1974 and was its President in the two-year period from 1984 to 1986. In 1975 he acquired his first jade Bactrian Camel of a Tang Dynasty date. This was an introduction to the mystique surrounding this remarkable animal as the unique beast of burden which carried all manner of goods from East and West on an exclusive role of trade linking China in the East with Rome in the West. From the 2nd to the 8th Century A.D. the principal traffic control and management providing Bactrian Camel transport on the Silk Road was operated by the Soghdians, an Iranian tribe from the Northeast Altai Mountains who followed the Zoroastrian fire worship religion.

In 1990 Angus Forsyth contributed an article on his study of the development of human sculptural form in Hong Shan Neolithic jade working which was published in Orientations Magazine, which remains a leading article on the subject. In 1991 he contributed two chapters on Early Chinese jade to a large book on jade featuring the jade of all producer countries worldwide. In 1994 he wrote the first half on early jades of a joint publication with Brian McElney forming the catalogue of a major exhibition of both their collections at the Museum of Far Eastern Art in Bath, England.

Time: 7.00pm. Reception desk opens at 6.30pm

Admission: RASHK Members HK$100, non-Members/guests HK$150

Booking: Please email membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk in advance to register your attendance