Guided Viewing: “Might and Magnificence: Ceremonial Arms and Armour across Cultures” with collectors Ms Betty Lo and Mr Kenneth Chu and the co-curators Dr Rachel Parikh and Dr Libby Chan at the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, CityU.

The HKU Museum Society is delighted to present a guided viewing “Might and Magnificence: Ceremonial Arms and Armour across Cultures”. As part of the CityUHK’s 30th anniversary celebrations, the exhibition is co-curated by Dr Rachel Parikh, Deputy Director of the Dunhuang Foundation, and Dr Libby Chan, Director of the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery. It features nearly 200 ceremonial weapons and armours that span various cultures, countries, religions, and histories, revealing the true essence of ceremonial arms and armour—not merely as functional weapons, but also as profound symbols of cultural and social identity. 
 
The new exhibits come from esteemed private and local public collections, including rare and significant loans from the renowned Mengdiexuan Collection and R&J Collection. Mengdiexuan is a private collection in Hong Kong, founded by Ms. Betty Lo and her husband Mr. Kenneth Chu, renowned for its collections of ancient Chinese gold ornaments, nomadic art, scholars’ objects, Himalayan & Mongolian art and Oriental jeweled weapon. Over the 30-plus years, Mengdiexuan has shown its collections in a number of solo exhibitions in the US, the UK, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the China Mainland.
 
In 2022, Mengdiexuan donated a total of 946 pieces of ancient Chinese gold ornaments, the whole collection of the Radiant Legacy exhibition, to the newly opened Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM), the first donation for HKPM and its founding collection. Earlier in 2010, Mengdiexuan had donated their whole collection of Liao Dynasty textiles, totalling 70 pieces/sets to the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou.