Sophie Makariou, President of Musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet, said, “From the 8th century up to the beginning of the 18th century, the Islamic world never ceased to regard China as an ideal of technical achievement and beauty, while the Islamic world supplied China with precious luxury objects in metal and glass. This unique exhibition deals with this long history of cultural interactions, of material and immaterial exchanges, and with peaceful relations between those two high-world cultures.”
Dr. Souraya Noujaim, Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management Director at Louvre Abu Dhabi, said, “This exhibition brings mythical creatures, dragon and phoenix among many others, on precious objects to life. Textiles, jades, lacquer, silks and ceramics circulated from the Middle Kingdom to the shores of the Mediterranean and inspired production of both cultures. The circulation of persons and manufactured goods through diplomatic, commercial and cultural exchanges is at the core of this exhibition. The five dramatic chapters reveal a story of mutual influences where external inputs and processes of transfer did not undermine the longevity of aesthetic expression, but on the contrary stimulated its creativity.”
Lending institutions for the ‘Dragon and Phoenix’ exhibition include: Musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet, Musée du Louvre, Shanghai Museum, Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Archives nationales, Cité de la céramique – Sèvres et Limoges, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Musée de Cluny – musée national du Moyen Âge, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Musée Jacquemart-André – Institut de France, Musée national de la Renaissance – Château d’Ecouen, Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle and Musée des Tissus de Lyon.
Cultural and Education Programming The programming for ‘Dragon and Phoenix’ is a sensory journey across the narrative of the exhibition and presents a variety of events and activities. The cultural programme will include a hand-picked selection of weekend family film screenings and kayak cinema shows, with two sessions in November and one in December. Young visitors can watch ‘The Monkey King’ and an episode of ‘The Adventures of Sinbad’ on 19 November and return to the museum on 26 November to watch a second installment of ‘The Adventures of Sinbad’ alongside the screening of ‘Bilal: A New Breed of Hero’. The saga of Sinbad continues with a final screening on 10 December and, on the same day, children will have the opportunity to explore the world of ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’. Animated ‘Tales of the World’ (shorts) will be available to watch on all three days of the film screenings. ‘The Adventures of Sinbad’ screenings will be shown as part of the kayak cinema, allowing visitors to watch the episodes while paddling around the museum.
Paddle around the museum [next page]
