Evening presentation by BETTY LO, Collector
Drinks reception at 6.30pm
Presentation at 7pm
Close at 8pm

Betty Lo, a veritable collector of Chinese art, will focus on the forms and styles of traditional Mongolian jewelry and personal ornament dating from 13th century to late Qing Dynasty. The presentation will provide a historical context to explain the stylistic development and exquisite craftsmanship of Mongol ornament. To further illuminate the fine workmanship, Lo will be showing a 19th century traditional Mongolian women’s headdress composed of over 1,000 pieces of coral, beads and precious stones. Other jewelry and personal ornaments are still worn by Mongolian women and men today during important festivals and special occasions such as weddings and anniversaries. Precious heirlooms passed down from generation to generation by families of high status who were once wealthy landlords or important officials, will also be shown to demonstrate the aesthetic qualities, artistic refinement and craftsmanship of the Mongols.

Betty Lo has been a collector of Chinese art for over 30 years. Together with her husband Kenneth Chu, they have jointly assembled the Mengdiexuan Collection of Chinese antiquities, which comprises of scholar’s objects, metalwork, and most significantly ancient Chinese gold and personal ornaments. In 2010, Lo donated 70 pieces of Liao textiles from the Mengdiexuan Collection to the Chinese National Silk Museum in Hangzhou to support the museum’s research on this specific area.

Through staging symposiums and major exhibitions of ancient Chinese ornaments from the Mengdiexuan Collection, Lo has been instrumental in promoting academic exchange among international scholars on ancient Chinese gold and ornaments. Such exhibitions include “Adornment for Eternity”, a traveling exhibition to the US and London (1994-1998); “Adornment for the Body and Soul” in Hong Kong and Taiwan (1999-2000); “Adornment of the Noble Riders – personal ornaments of the Liao Dynasty” in Hangzhou (2010); as well as the latest exhibition: Radiant Legacy – Ancient Chinese Gold from the Mengdiexuan Collection at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2013. Lo is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Co-organized with