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The Body Transformed: A Global Jewellery Exhibition Opens in Hong Kong

A major exhibition at the Hong Kong Palace Museum presents The Met’s jewellery collection in Asia for the first time, tracing 4,000 years of adornment and exploring jewellery as a medium of culture, identity, and expression.

Serenade Team

16 Apr 2026 — 5 min read

Festive headdress with butterflies and flowers, China, Qing dynasty (19th century), kingfisher feathers, imitation pearls, imitation tourmalines, jade (jadeite), coral, silk, and gilded metal; The Chris Hall Collection at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, 2026.CH-HKPM.557; kingfisher feather inlay is a traditional Chinese technique using light-reflective plumes, with spring-mounted ornaments worn by Manchu women for festive occasions; © Hong Kong Palace Museum

A major new exhibition at the Hong Kong Palace Museum brings together one of the most ambitious surveys of jewellery presented in Asia in recent years. Titled Treasures of Global Jewellery from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Body Transformed, the exhibition marks the first travelling showcase of the jewellery collection of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with Hong Kong as its opening venue.

Running from 15 April to 19 October 2026, the exhibition spans nearly 4,000 years of history and five continents. It presents around 200 works from The Met’s collection alongside important loans from collections in Hong Kong, creating a wide-ranging account of how jewellery has functioned across cultures and time.

Woman’s dress and accessories, Jodi Archambault (American, Teton Sioux, b. 1969), United States, North Dakota, Hunkpapa Lakota (Teton Sioux), 2005, leather, glass and metal beads, cotton, silk, dentalium shell, metal cones, horsehair, plastic, brass bells, porcupine quills, coins; Maria DeWitt Jesup Fund, 2019, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2019.342a–m; a powerful expression of tradition and innovation, this beaded yoke dress was digitally designed and handcrafted using Lakota regalia techniques for Northern Traditional Dance powwow competitions, affirming Native identity through performance; © Jodi Archambault

Jewellery as a Universal Language

The exhibition frames jewellery as more than ornament. Across different civilisations, adornment has expressed belief, status, identity, and aesthetic sensibility. By placing works from different regions in conversation, the exhibition highlights both shared impulses and distinct cultural meanings.

For the Hong Kong Palace Museum, the project reflects its ongoing interest in international collaboration and cross-cultural dialogue. For The Met, it is an opportunity to present its collection in a new context and to invite fresh interpretations of familiar objects.

A Curatorial Structure Across the Body

The exhibition is organised into five thematic sections, each examining a different aspect of jewellery and its relationship to the human body.

The Divine Body: Gold Ornaments explores the role of jewellery in spiritual and ritual contexts. Gold appears as a material associated with the divine across multiple cultures, from ancient Egypt to the Americas and China.

Headdress ornament, Colombia, Calima (Yotoco period), 1st to 7th century, gold; Jan Mitchell and Sons Collection, gift of Jan Mitchell, 1991, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991.419.40; produced for high-status individuals, this gold ornament formed part of full-body regalia and was affixed to a headdress, with moving pendants and sun-associated material conveying sacred power and presence; © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Regal Body: Royal Jewellery focuses on objects linked to power and authority. Jewellery associated with courts and rulers is presented as a visual language of rank and prestige, with elaborate forms and symbolic motifs.

Fifteen-piece parure in leather case, France, about 1810, parure: cut steel; case: red Moroccan leather, gilt stamped; Gift of Albion Art Co. Ltd., 2020, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2020.95a–r; comprising a tiara, necklace, bracelets, lorgnette, and earrings, the set uses polished steel studs to mimic diamonds, reflecting the early 19th-century fashion for cut steel, also associated with gifts by Napoleon Bonaparte; © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Transcendent Body: Jewellery and Beliefs considers how adornment mediates between the human and the sacred. Objects in this section reflect practices of devotion, protection, and ritual across different traditions.

Ear ornaments for a deity, Nepal, 17th to 19th century, gold, coral, shell, turquoise; John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1915, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 15.95.85, 15.95.86; created by Newar goldsmiths of the Kathmandu Valley, these elaborate ornaments reflect Himalayan aesthetics through turquoise and coral, and were made to adorn Buddhist deity sculptures; © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Alluring Body: Jewellery as Art examines jewellery in relation to beauty and identity. Works by houses such as Cartier and designers including Alexander McQueen are shown alongside experimental pieces, tracing how jewellery has both reinforced and challenged established ideas of the body.

Brooch, probably Tiffany & Co. (founded 1837), United States, about 1900, emerald, diamonds, platinum; Gift of Susan Dwight Bliss, 1953, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 53.153.1; © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Resplendent Body: Materials, Techniques, and Innovation highlights craftsmanship and technical development. From traditional methods such as feather inlay to more recent approaches that blur the line between jewellery and garment, this section focuses on process and material.

Evening ensemble, Giorgio di Sant'Angelo (American, 1933–1989), Mercura NYC (founded 1975), United States, 1987–1988, metal, synthetic fiber; Gift of Martin F. Price, 1998, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1998.493.538a; blending jewellery and garment, the piece features a stretch fabric with dangling metal discs that create a shimmering, kinetic effect in motion; © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

An introductory section, The Adorned Body, brings together key objects arranged in relation to different parts of the body, emphasising how jewellery interacts with the human form.

A Dialogue of Collections

A notable aspect of the exhibition is the inclusion of works from the Mengdiexuan Collection, the Chris Hall Collection, and the ILLUMINATA Collection. These additions extend the scope of the exhibition and create a dialogue between institutional and private holdings.

Tiara with oak leaves and acorns (transformable into three brooches), circa 1840–1850, emeralds, diamonds, gold, silver; The ILLUMINATA Collection; this tiara transforms into three English oak-leaf sprays, symbolising strength and loyalty in Britain, with the motif linked to Charles II and later worn in royal contexts including associations with Queen Victoria; © The ILLUMINATA Collection

This approach reflects a broader curatorial shift towards more interconnected narratives. Instead of presenting a single linear history, the exhibition allows multiple histories and perspectives to coexist.

Exhibition Design and Visitor Experience

The exhibition also places emphasis on how jewellery is experienced. The gallery design incorporates immersive elements, including a space dedicated to gold objects and multimedia features that invite closer engagement.

Throughout the exhibition, augmented reality booths invite visitors to virtually try on three signature jewellery pieces, creating an immersive encounter with jewellery’s transformative power; © Hong Kong Palace Museum

Augmented reality stations allow visitors to virtually try on selected pieces, offering a different way of understanding scale, weight, and presence. Additional interpretive tools, including audio guides and public programmes, provide further context for the objects on display.

Jewellery Beyond Ornament

The exhibition presents jewellery as a medium that operates across art, culture, and daily life. It draws attention to how objects of adornment can carry personal, social, and symbolic meanings at the same time.

By bringing together works from different periods and regions, The Body Transformed offers a considered view of how jewellery continues to shape and reflect human experience.