Qatar Museums (QM), the nation’s preeminent institution for art and culture, will open Boats Floating Afar: The Maritime Trade of Ancient Chinese Ceramics at the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ). Presented as part of the legacy of the Qatar–China 2016 Year of Culture, the exhibition brings together more than 120 objects from the National Museum of China along with a small selection of objects from Qatar Museums’ collections, in a presentation that traces more than 1,000 years of Chinese ceramic production and maritime trade from the Tang to the Qing dynasties (618–1911 CE). The exhibition will be on view until 15 February 2027.
Featuring vessels, bowls, plates, and jars, Boats Floating Afar will chart developments in Chinese ceramic production alongside the maritime routes through which these works travelled. The exhibition will include Tang dynasty white-glazed and celadon wares, Southern Song and Yuan ceramics, Ming blue-and-white porcelain, and richly decorated Qing dynasty pieces, revealing changing techniques, forms, and decorative traditions as well as the influence of growing overseas markets.
Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Hamad Al-Thani, Director of NMoQ, said, “Marking ten years since the Qatar–China 2016 Year of Culture, Boats Floating Afar: The Maritime Trade of Ancient Chinese Ceramics is the latest in a series of fruitful exchanges between the National Museum of Qatar and the National Museum of China, demonstrating the depth and longevity of our partnership. This past June, the National Museum of China gave audiences in Beijing the opportunity to see the National Museum of Qatar’s exhibition On the Move. We are now proud to collaborate with the National Museum of China to present Boats Floating Afar, to introduce our audiences in Doha to a remarkable chapter in the vibrant material and maritime history of China.”
Luo Wenli, Director of the National Museum of China, said, “Since the Tang Dynasty, Chinese ceramics have traversed the seas, opening new avenues for friendly exchanges among nations. These objects not only embody the wisdom of the Chinese people but also integrate the daily lives and aesthetic sensibilities and tastes of other regions. We are delighted to share this history with the people of Qatar. Through this exhibition, Boats Floating Afar: The Maritime Trade of Ancient Chinese Ceramics, we hope to further advance exchanges and cooperation between the National Museum of China and the National Museum of Qatar. By reflecting together on the history of the Maritime Silk Road and appreciating the beauty of our respective cultures, we hope to deepen mutual understanding, enhance our friendship, and continuously consolidate and strengthen the friendly relations between our two peoples.”
Among the objects on view are ceramics from major production centres, including the kilns of Jingdezhen, Longquan, Dehua, Changsha, and Yue. Boats Floating Afar also features celadon, bluish-white, blue-and-white, and multicoloured wares, highlighting the evolution of ceramic craftsmanship and design across successive dynasties. The exhibition concludes with two installations that draw on QM’s collections and archaeological materials from Qatar. One will include objects connected to the wreck of the Cirebon, a 10th-century ship discovered in the Java Sea, Indonesia. The other will feature fragments of Chinese pottery excavated in Qatar, adding a local dimension to the wider history of maritime trade and the circulation of Chinese ceramics.
Other sections of the exhibition will also consider how Chinese porcelain reached increasingly broad international markets, presenting works produced in forms and decorative styles associated with overseas demand and commissions.
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