Signing Ceremony of the Promised Gifts of Chinese Textile from Mr Chris Hall to the Hong Kong Palace Museum

Mr. CHRIS HALL

He was born on 12 March 1952 and after leaving the College went to Pembroke College, Cambridge, which gave the land on which the College was built. After leaving university he qualified as a chartered accountant in London and in 1978 went to live in Hong Kong where he lives to this day.

He wrote most of the catalogue entries in the book "Heavens' Embroidered Cloths - One Thousand Years of Chinese Textiles". This was the catalogue of a Chinese textile exhibition, which he organised at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 1995. It was the first major exhibition of Chinese textiles to take place anywhere in the world and included pieces from collections all over the world including the Liaoning Museum, which has the best collection of Chinese textiles in mainland China, his own collection and a major US collection.

He has recently received the Heritage Award from the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore. In June 2006 he visited the College and gave a talk on Chinese Textiles. Not content with amassing, over many years, one of the best collections of Chinese textiles in the World.

In December 2024 he decided to donate his entire Chinese Silk Collection to the Hong Kong Palace Museum. It is valued in the donation agreement at over US$60 million.
Below is the speech given by the Director of the Museum during the signing ceremony.

Speech by Dr. Louis NG, Director of Hong Kong Palace Museum at the Signing Ceremony of the Promised Gifts of Chinese Textile from Mr Chris Hall to the Hong Kong Palace Museum on 18 December 2024

Mr. Chris Hall (Chinese Textile Collector and Expert), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning! I am delighted to have you here with us at the signing ceremony for the Deed for the promised gifts of Chinese textile from the esteemed art collector Mr. Chris Hall to the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

The Chris Hall Collection at the Hong Kong Palace Museum consists of nearly 3,000 works from the Warring States period to the 20th century. It is among the world’s most comprehensive and important collections of historical Chinese textile. The transformative promised gifts have particular strengths in early textiles, the Silk Roads related materials, Ming and Qing rank badges, as well as religious and vernacular textiles. Accompanied by extensive research materials, this Collection will form a key resource for the study of Chinese textiles locally, nationally, and globally .

The Museum is profoundly grateful to the distinguished art collector Mr. Chris Hall for his deep commitment to research and access as well as his extraordinary generosity in offering the Collection to the museum. It is expected that in 2034 the Chris Hall Collection at the Hong Kong Palace Museum will be donated to the Museum. Starting from 2024, the HKPM plans to transfer the Collection to the museum’s premise, making HKPM the repository of one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of historical Chinese textile. This Collection will play an important role in advancing the vision and mission of HKPM with a commitment to the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture.

As the home for this significant collection Chris Hall, we look forward to a set of ambitious and impactful programmes in research, exhibition, publication, documentation and conservation. In celebration of the promised gifts, we are planning a major exhibition featuring the Chris Hall Collection at the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Scheduled to open in September 2025, this exhibition, as one of the largest survey exhibitions on the history of Chinese textile art will highlight the comprehensiveness and significance of the collection and Mr Chris Hall’s systematic collecting approach. We have also planned to travel this stunning collection to major museums in the mainland and overseas. The Museum will also lead the documentation and digitisation projects for the Collection.

The significant promised gifts also provide the foundation and critical resource for the Museum’s strategic collaboration with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to establish “The Hong Kong Palace Museum – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Joint Chinese Textile Centre”. Combining the unparalleled resources and interdisciplinary expertise of researchers, professors, and curators and other specialists from PolyU and the HKPM, the Centre is poised to become a leader in Chinese historical textile research, education, publication, and creative application. With the aim of advancing and transforming the understanding of Chinese textile and its artistic, cultural, historical, and technological significance in Hong Kong and around the globe, the Centre will help encourage collaboration across disciplines and generate new knowledge in Chinese historical textile research.

In closing, let’s put our hands together to offer Chris our deepest appreciation .