MIAMI BEACH, FL - (January 25, 2007) – It is with great privilege that the Bass Museum of Art presents The Private Jade Collection of Her Imperial Highness Princess Thi-Nga of Vietnam. This exciting, landmark exhibition reveals the profound cultural heritage and legacy of the Imperial Family of Vietnam who have long been great patrons of the arts. This rare collection of magnificent carved ceremonial objects will be exhibited first in Miami Beach and then travel both nationally and internationally.

The exhibition is under the auspices of The Princess Thi-Nga Foundation and is dedicated to the memory of the Princess’ great-great great grandfather, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Gia Long, founder of Vietnam and the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). Emperor Gia Long built the Imperial City in Hue, Vietnam which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The works selected for the Bass Museum exhibition reflect the time period of his Dynasty.

During Imperial time in China and Vietnam, jade or “Stone of Heaven” was considered to be the most precious stone—far more valuable beyond diamonds and gold. It was considered to embody qualities of nobility, perfection, constancy, immortality, purity, integrity and wisdom—and serve as a symbolic link between man and the spiritual world.

“Collecting—not only jade—has been my family’s passion, it is a privilege to share our cultural heritage and legacy with this community” says the H.I.H. Princess Thi-Nga. Members of the Imperial Family of Vietnam have been great patrons of the arts. The Nguyen family began ruling in 1468. Vietnam became an Empire comprising Laos and Cambodia under H.I.M. Emperor Gia Long in 1802 and remained under Nguyen rule until 1945 when it became the Republic of Vietnam.

While H.I.H. Princess Thi-Nga’s jade collection numbers more than five hundred objects, the Bass Museum’s exhibition particularly emphasized from the Qing era, The Golden Age of Jade carving. As the exhibition is dedicated H.I.M. Emperor Gia Long, the selection of objects featured in this exhibition also reflect the “Golden Era” of the Nguyen Dynasty, from 1802 to 1945.

"We are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to view this private collection in Miami Beach for the first time," commented Mayor David Dermer." The exhibition reflects the Bass Museum's commitment to enhancing the cultural landscape of our City, and Princess Thi-Nga's passion for the arts which is greatly contributing to this effort."

The Private Jade Collection of Her Imperial Highness Princess Thi-Nga of Vietnam will be on view at the Bass Museum of Art through April 29, 2007, and will travel nationally and internationally.

The exhibition has been made possible by the Princess Thi-Nga Foundation and is Co-Sponsored by The Setai.

Sunday, February 11 - 2:00PM
Film Screening: Indochine, 1992 (153 minutes)
In this Oscar-winning tale of passion and revolution in colonial Vietnam, Catherine Deneuve stars as Eliane Devries, the seemingly repressed owner of a prosperous rubber plantation in French Indochina. When her adopted Indochinese daughter innocently falls in love with Eliane’s secret lover, the scandalous lovers’ triangle threatens to destroy their entire family. A sensual story of unbridled passion set against the violence of the bloody Communist uprising, Indochine is a historically accurate, moving epic of love and war. In French and Vietnamese with English Subtitles. Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film.

Sunday, March 11 - 3:00 – 5:00PM
Imperial Tea Ceremony
Join Her Imperial Highness Princess Thi-Nga for a fine tea sampling and introduction to the rituals of an Imperial Court Tea Ceremony. This event will also include a private presentation of the Imperial Jade Collection by H.I.H. Princess Thi-Nga.