Collection of Ceramics
The art of ceramics was perhaps the most important expression of Chinese art. Nothing is as famous as Chinese ceramics. While objects of bronze, jade, and even paintings were reserved for the privileged, ceramics were the domain of all peoples, and it spread throughout the world.
Porcelain is one of the greatest discoveries of the Chinese people. Over seven thousand years ago, the artisans of various ethnic Chinese groups were already able to produce colorful pottery, functional and attractive in appearance. Since then, they continued to produced pottery of all kinds, which have a high artistic level, and well-defined style, typically Chinese.
Both the ceramics and its production were later brought outside China, thus making the production of ceramics, one of the great gifts that this society has given to the world.
Bronze Collection
As we come to know the bronze artifacts that China has produced over thousands of years, we come to know the soul, the sense of mystery, the standards of beauty and the desire to transcend time.
Collection of Paintings
The gift of simplicity is often found in Chinese paintings, but it is so rich in meaning that it can be identified with profound philosophical, moral, social and even ascetic principles. Most of the time the artist was a philosopher, a wise person who possessed the noblest way to interpret and express the mystery of nature. For this reason, the Chinese regarded the art of painting as "the perfection of knowledge."
The museum has more than 100 paintings, rubbings and inscriptions, and only a few are displayed, because of space and conservation reasons.
Popular Religion
Alongside the religious beliefs and practices taught by the great religions (Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism), China has always seen expressions of "popular religiosity" with a large assortment of customs, deities, or god-like historical figures.
The museum's collection documents various images of popular iconography, such as the Guanyin: in a porcelain statue, it is shown with the characteristic lotus flower; one wooden statue depicts the Guanyin as the "bestower of children"; another as the Guanyin "with basket of fish".
Guangdi (or Guanyu), venerated by the Taoist tradition, is another example of an image of popular religion.
Coins and Charms
Of the over 5.000 coins, the “Rossi Scalzi collection” is exhibited at the Museum, held in an elegant, ingenious, hand-painted wood container built in China.
Among the thousands of Chinese coins that the Xaverians have collected in the early decades of the 1900, there were others, which came to be classified as "good luck charms", which had the power to control hostile forces, and allow us to buy luck and success.
