From 2 December 2025, the Kunsthistorisches Museum will present the special exhibition Chinese Art from the Forbidden City in the Gold Cabinet of the Kunstkammer. Curated jointly by the Palace Museum and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the exhibition brings together 76 outstanding masterpieces that offer insight into the aesthetics of Chinese court life in the eighteenth century. Through artistic expressions of power, culture, and ideals of life, the exhibition highlights both parallels and differences between East and West in comparable historical periods.
 

Most of the works on view—including imperial jade carvings and precious porcelain objects—will be shown in Europe for the first time. At the heart of the exhibition is a finely crafted ruyi scepter made of gilded bronze with triple jade inlay, exemplifying the extraordinary virtuosity of Chinese filigree work while symbolizing “good fortune and blessing.” Under this guiding motif, the exhibition also marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Austria in 2026.
 

Centered on the theme Harmony in Diversity, the exhibition presents the virtuosity of eighteenth-century Chinese court art and craftsmanship. Objects made from precious materials such as jade, porcelain, lacquer, enamel, and clocks illustrate the aesthetic philosophy of the imperial court, where scholarly art, decorative objects, and functional works served to convey ideals and values through material form.