THE “Awaken: Royal Jewelry Arts From Renaissance to the 20th Century” exhibition held at the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning has been extended for eight weeks to July 19 due to high demand.

First opened Dec. 22, 2019, the exhibition was halted in late January due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. After a hiatus of two months, it reopened its doors March 24 and has since quickly become one of the most popular exhibitions in the city.

Featuring royal jewelry dating back to as early as the Renaissance period from the 14th to the 16th century, the 3,000-square-meter exhibition room displays more than 160 marvelous jewelry pieces that were once owned by royal family members in Europe and Asia.

Among the exhibits, some naturally attract visitors’ eyes with their glamour. For instance, the oval-shape brooch inlaid with a 30-carat sapphire whose color and glitz reminds you of sunshine cast on the sea in a sunny day, and the bracelet featuring a 65-carat Colombian emerald carved into the shape of Medusa, whose melancholy look seduces you into gazing upon her, forgetting all the warnings in tales that anyone doing so will be turned into stone.

For others, more noteworthy than their appearance are the stories behind the art. The créme de la créme of the exhibition, an intricately carved golden leaf, was originally part of the crown Napoleon Bonaparte wore on his coronation in 1804. After the emperor was exiled, the restored Bourbons, fearing that he would come back, ordered a mint to melt the crown, a symbol of Napoleon’s power, into a golden ball. Only two golden leaves on the crown were fortunate enough to survive to today — one is currently displayed in the Chateau de Fontainebleau in Paris, and the other here in the exhibition.

Mesmerized by the beauty of the exhibits, quite a few visitors choose to come for a second or third time. According to Alex Fan, curator of the exhibition, there is a visitor who has been to the exhibition for six times. Some art lovers even fly from other cities to Shenzhen just to see the exhibition.

To express appreciation to Shenzhen for showing such keen interest in and having offered substantial support for the exhibition, the curating team organized several special events in May. On the National Day to Help the Disabled which fell on May 17 this year, the team collaborated with the local radio program Voice of Southern Guangdong to offer free of charge a guided tour to citizens with physical disabilities. On May 23, the exhibition extended its opening hours to include a guided night tour, the first night tour the museum had ever held. The 300 seats were fully booked within just 10 minutes.

To benefit more people who are interested in the exhibition but could not watch it on-site, on May 18, the International Museum Day, the curating team collaborated with Baidu to roll out an online exhibition featuring highlighted exhibits of the offline exhibition. A documentary of the exhibition titled “Imagination” was also released on Haokan Video, the video channel of Baidu. The total views of the serial-form documentary surpassed 40 million within a week.

Whether you are a jewelry lover, art lover, history enthusiast or simply looking for somewhere to go for a weekend day, the “Awaken” exhibition will not disappoint you. Be prepared to be dazzled by some real art pieces whose breathtaking beauty stands the test of time.

Time: 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Tuesdays to Sundays

Tickets: 99 yuan

Visitors are required to present a valid ID card upon entry. (Yu Yuanfan)