Ming treasures at the British Museum

Ming treasures at the British Museum – in pictures

A forthcoming show at the British Museum, London will include precious Ming era artefacts leaving China for the first time. Ming: 50 Years That Changed China runs from 18 Sept to 5 Jan

• The Ming empire strikes back: Tim Adams previews the exhibition

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• The Observer, Sunday 24 August 2014

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Shandong ‘dragon robe’ of Zhu Tan, Prince Huang of Lu at Yanzhou, who died aged 19. Silk, c.1389. © Shandong Museum

A group of blue-and-white porcelain wine vessels, 1403-24. © Sir Percival David Collection/ Trustees of the British Museum

A detail from Amusements in the Xuande Emperor’s Palace, showing the emperor watching his eunuchs playing a game of keepy-uppy. Handscroll, ink and colours on silk. Xuande period, 1426–35. Anonymous. The Palace Museum, Beijing © The Palace Museum

Cloisonné enamel jar and cover with dragons. Xuande era, 1426-35. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Carved red lacquer on wood core. Yongle era, 1403-24, South China. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Crown. Leather, woven bamboo, lacquer and semiprecious stones. c.1380. Excavated from the tomb of Zhu Tan 1370-89. Photograph: Krause, Johansen © Shandong Museum

Paper money. Ink on paper. Issued in 1375. British Museum. Donated by Emily Georgina Hingley © The Trustees of the British Museum

Head ornament. Gold. About 1400-50. Nanjing or Beijing. © Trustees of the British Museum

‘Tribute giraffe with attendant’. Hanging scroll, ink and colours on silk. Dated 1414. Donated by John T. Dorrance. © Philadelphia Museum of Art

Sword and scabbard with inscription. Iron, gold, silver, wood and leather. Yongle era about 1420, Beijing. © Royal Armouries

Portrait of Yang Hong (1381-1451). Ming dynasty, Jingtai reign, ca. 1451. © Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC