Introduction
In 1950, a group of cultural artifacts that had crossed the sea arrived at newly constructed storage facilities in the foothills of Beigou, marking the beginning of a new chapter in their preservation and transmission.
On September 11, Gallery 304 of the First Exhibition Building at the Northern Branch of the National Palace Museum will open a special exhibition introducing a long-overlooked group of objects in the Museum’s collection, collectively known as the “Jiangxi Crates.” Taking as its point of departure 182 artifacts transferred in 1950 by the Temporary Office of the Jiangxi Provincial Government, the exhibition traces the histories of these objects and the journeys that brought them to Taiwan.
This remarkable story not only reflects the social and political transformations of Taiwan in the 1950s, but also serves as a microcosm of the movement of cultural materials in the postwar era. Through the histories of these objects, visitors are invited to reconsider the complex processes of displacement, preservation, and collecting that have shaped the Museum’s collections.