Ming dynasty finds the stars of ‘Royal Taste’ at USC Pacific Asia Museum

The might of the Ming dynasty will be on display at the USC Pacific Asia Museum beginning Feb. 26 in the exhibition “Royal Taste: The Art of Princely Courts in 15th Century China.” The traveling show features recent archaeological finds and a variety of lavish decorative arts including jewelry, devotional statues, textiles and porcelain, many of which are being displayed in the United States for the first time.

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The new finds were excavated from royal tombs, which harbor significant clues about the ways nobility lived in imperial China from 1368 to 1644, when Ming emperors awarded fiefs to more than 60 princes in different provinces.

The exhibition at the Pasadena museum is divided into three sections: one featuring objects made of gold, silver and jade, a second filled with items related to the lifestyles of the nobility, and another devoted to religious articles with ties to Tibetan Buddhism and Daoism.