Evening presentation by Jenny So, Professor of Fine Arts, Chinese University of Hong Kong

The wearing of personal ornaments is a custom practiced by all peoples and cultures from the earliest civilizations to the present day. The use of gold as a precious material for this custom, however, has a much longer history among certain civilizations than others. Using gold jewelry and personal ornaments in the Susan L. Beningson Collection as a starting point, this lecture will explore the traditional designs, roles, meanings and legacies of gold ornaments in different cultural contexts of ancient East and South Asia.

Professor Jenny So joined the Department of Fine Arts at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2001. An art historian specializing in ancient Chinese bronzes and jades, Professor So lectures on the history of Chinese jades, Chinese bronzes and methodology in art historical studies. She also supervises M. Phil. and Ph.D. students. Professor So is also Director of the Institute of Chinese Studies. Professor So was previously Senior Curator of Chinese Art at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.  She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1982.