Might and Magnificence: Ceremonial Arms and Armour across Cultures

Preface and Acknowledgement

The innovative exhibition ‘Might and Magnificence: Ceremonial Arms and Armour across Cultures’ and its catalogue, as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations
of the City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), features nearly 200 ceremonial weapons and armour items 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 objects come from esteemed private and local public collections, including rare and significant loans from the renowned Mengdiexuan Collection and R&J Collection. This is the first time such a sizeable gathering of ceremonial arms and armour has been displayed in Hong Kong. The exhibition runs from 5 November, 2024, to 23 February, 2025 at the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, CityUHK.

This exhibition exemplifies how art, science, and technology converge through the outstanding collaborations at the City University of Hong Kong. It perfectly aligns
with the mission of the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, enabling the visitors to explore these ceremonial pieces in innovative ways and understand their historical and cultural significance in different dimensions. This catalogue follows the layout of the exhibition, with essays interspersed among caption panels, section introductions, and individual exhibits, and explores the theme in four main sections in a systemic way. We hope the complex sense of the diverse roles and types of armour and weapons, from symbols of status to objects of religious worship, across different cultures and regions, is successfully conveyed in the exhibition as well as the catalogue.

We are deeply grateful to the lenders to the exhibition, especially Ms. Betty Lo and Mr. Kenneth Chu, owners of the Mengdiexuan Collection. Their generous contributions, comprising over 80 percent of the works of art, have been instrumental in defining the scale and scope of this exhibition. The research and exhibition project could not have been realised without their unwavering confidence, support, and participation with great trust in our expertise. The couple worked tirelessly with us, from curation and scholarly research to the direction of photography and exhibition design.

We are profoundly grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Chao for graciously lending four exceptionally rare Chinese imperial official paintings from the Pavilion of Purple
Splendour, commissioned by the emperor Qianlong and never before publicly exhibited. Additionally, we are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Chao, along with their
daughter, Ms. Ronna Chao, whose Bei Xian Foundation has generously supported this exhibition as the sole Art-Tech Sponsor, matching the University Grants Committee’s Research Matching Grant Scheme to fund the production of the art technology and new media components.

We extend our great thanks to the Advisory Committee Chairman, Mr. Hing Chao, who not only lent us his Japanese and Chinese collection but also served as exhibition advisor, providing invaluable comments throughout the preparation of the exhibition. Our gratitude also goes to our other lenders, including Ms. Teresa Coleman; Mr. Stephen Selby; Mr. Richard Kendell, CEO of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum; and Ms. Lynn Fung, Founder of the Liang Yi Museum. Their contributions were indispensable to this exhibition.

Heartfelt thanks go to Ms. Kathy Chan, Associate Vice President (Development and Alumni Relations), for her leadership and guidance throughout the preparation of the exhibition. Special appreciation is extended to the Advisory Committee of the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery, including Mrs. Indra Banga, Honorary
Chairperson, Mr. Hing Chao, Chairperson, and members Ms. Desiree Au, Ms. Cecilia Cheung, Mr. Maurice Lee, B.B.S., J.P., Dr. Denise Lo, and Ms. Pauline Ngai, as well as the exhibition working group members, Prof. Ching May Bo and Prof. Lam Miu Ling; all are also deeply thanked for their continuous support and advice. Credits are due to the CityUHK Advisory and Supporting Team, including Ms. Alice Chan, Associate Director, and Ms. Ashley Lau, Development Manager, Development Office; and Ms. Emily Chan, Development Manager, Office of the President, for their kind advice and continuous support. The Gallery staff, Ms. Yik Chow and Mr. Li San Kit, are especially commended for their significant contributions to the preparation, marketing, and related programming of the exhibition. Finally, we extend our sincere gratitude to all CityUHK colleagues and students who contributed to the success of the exhibition.

Special thanks goes to extraordinary interdepartmental collaboration at CityUHK, which is uncommon in Hong Kong and the world. With this invaluable teamwork, visitors to the exhibition were able to experience the remarkable integration of art, science, and technology of ceremonial arms and armour through a mesmerising immersive experience, interactive media, the metaverse, moving images, the application of algorithms, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) on selected weapons, and Multispectral Imaging (MSI) on military portrait paintings. These technological approaches offered multidisciplinary perspectives for visitors to explore. To achieve this, we particularly thank Prof. Howard Leung, Department of Computer Science; Prof. Fu-Rong Chen and Mr. Takfu Hung, Time-resolved Aberration Corrected Environmental Electron Microscope Center (TRACE); Prof. Astrid Harth, Department of Chinese and History; Prof. Lam Miu Ling, School of Creative Media; and Prof. Brian Chi Wing Kot and Dr. Tabris Yik To Chung, Aquatic Animal Virtopsy Lab.

Many people have contributed to the successful realisation of this exhibition and catalogue. We would like extend our heartfelt thanks to exhibition advisors and the contributors of the catalogue: Ms. Francesca Levey, Arms and Armour Conservator, Royal Collection Trust; Dr. Katherine Anne Paul, The Virginia and William M.
Spencer III Curator of Asian Art, Birmingham Museum of Art; Mr. Peter Dekker, Mr. Gong Jian; as well as the following CityUHK faculty and researchers, Prof. Astrid
Harth, Prof. Lam Miu Ling, and Prof. Fu-Rong Chen, Mr. Takfu Hung, and Prof. Howard Leung. We would also like to thank the English and Chinese copyeditors, Ms. Deanna Lee and Mr. Yau Hok Wa, and the translator Ms. Dorothy Cheung.

Last but not least, the curators would like to thank other individuals, whose help and support made significant contributions to the exhibition, including Ms. Yifawn
Lee, Mr. Daniel Kwok, Ms. Winnie So, Mr. Robin Markbrieter, Ms. Crystal So, and Mr. Mavin Ma. To all the above, once again, grateful thanks.


Dr. Libby Lai-Pik Chan
Director of the Indra and Harry Banga Gallery,
City University of Hong Kong

Dr. Rachel Parikh
Deputy Director of the Dunhuang Foundation, and
The Marguerite S. Hoffman and Thomas W. Lentz
Curator of Islamic Art of the Dallas Museum of Art