Exhibition: China's hidden century

In a global first, the resilience and innovation of 19th-century China is revealed in a major new exhibition.

This is the first exhibition to focus on individual groups of people in 19th-century China. Visitors will experience the visual richness of this era through the material culture of multiple sections of society – the court, the military, artists and writers, farmers and city-dwellers, globalised communities of merchants, scientists and diplomats, reformers and revolutionaries. The show consists of 300 objects, half from the British Museum, half borrowed from 30 different British and international lenders, with most being publicly displayed for the first time.

The show is underpinned by conservation and refurbishment of remarkable items never before placed on public display. Surviving objects from the 19th century – such as a water-proof straw cape made for a street worker, farmer or fisherman – offer fresh, direct insights into the textures of everyday life. Conservators have painstakingly brushed individual strands of straw and humidified each stalk to bring the garment back to its original shape; the piece and its restoration highlight the exceptional craftsmanship that flourished across all levels of late imperial Chinese society.

The exhibition is the result of a four-year research project supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, led by the British Museum and London University. The show was made possible thanks to the collaboration of over 100 scholars from 14 countries.