Amber is a beautiful and fascinating organic material which for centuries was believed to be a gemstone. Treated like a rare mineral, amber is simply a fossilized form of resin secreted by different plants. The most famous type comes from the Baltic regions, formed from the sap of extinct conifers 100 million years ago. As it dripped down the tree, the sap often trapped insects and vertebrates, which were then preserved in the amber, offering rare clues today about the evolution of species millions of years ago.

The exhibition traces amber’s diffusion across Europe from the Baltic regions to ancient Rome, and then down the famous Silk Road to China. The earliest amber objects from the Baltic area date to the Neolithic period; thousands of years later, circa 1,000 BCE, treated amber appeared in China; by the 8th century in Italy, it was commonly included in Etruscan tombs. In China, amber continued to be prized over the succeeding centuries, fashioned into precious jewellery and personal accessories. In later medieval and early modern Europe, amber was considered a mysterious and rare material with unknown origins, used to make both private devotional objects and magnificent royal gifts. By the end of the 18th century, however, tastes had changed in both Asia and Europe, and amber’s popularity declined. However, in the Baltic countries amber remained a national treasure, still important for the decorative arts. Today amber is undergoing an aesthetic revival and is once again attracting the attention of contemporary artists.

Guide

Dr Isabelle Frank is currently Consulting Curator (and Founding Director) of the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery at City University of Hong Kong. An art historian by training (with a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Italian Renaissance art), she taught at the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts and was dean at Fordham University. She has published on Italian Renaissance and decorative art (The Theory of Decorative Art 1750-1940, Yale University Press, 2000) and has edited and contributed to exhibition catalogues for the Banga Gallery, most recently, Hunters, Warriors, Spirits. Nomadic Art in North China (2022) and Amber: Baltic Gold (2022).

Programme

Time: Meet at the ground floor lobby of Lau Ming Wai Academic Building at 3:45pm. Visit of Exhibition starts at 4:00pm.

Admission:  $100 for members, $150 for guests /non-members. Limited capacity and preregistration required. Cash payment will be collected at the beginning of the tour. Please prepare the exact amount.

Registration: Please email membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk and provide your membership number, if applicable, at the time of registration. Registration with RASHK will be closed at 12 noon on 17 March 2023 (Friday). 

**City U will collect participants’ names, email addresses and mobile numbers via RASHK for registration purpose. A QR code with be emailed to you by CityU separately for access to the campus via Festival Walk, MTR entrance. No one will be allowed in without the QR code.**