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Kew and British Museum combine to cultivate China in the heart of London
03/05/08
Kew and British Museum combine to cultivate China in the heart of London
In a unique partnership, the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have conjured up a stunning China landscape in the forecourt of the British Museum this summer. The landscape celebrates the two institutions' shared vision to strengthen cultural understanding and support biodiversity conservation across the world. The experts at Kew have selected and provided the plants and design, the British Museum has provided curatorial expertise and the location. The landscape follows on from the successful Africa Garden created in 2005, and future collaborative projects are planned.
Inspired by the collections of both Kew and the British Museum, the landscape reveals some of the connections between China’s natural habitat and its culture. Trees, shrubs and flowers are both cultural symbols and resources, used for building materials, food, drink, clothing and medicine. The landscape is a celebration of natural beauty and the bounty it provides. Visitors are able to wander around the fragrant trails of wisteria (Wisteria sinensis), admire the beautiful White Mulberry (Morus alba) and historic handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata), whilst also absorbing a strong conservation and sustainability message.
Most of the plants selected by the experts at Kew are native to the mountains of Sichuan province in south-west China and have been chosen for both their natural beauty and for the active role they play in China’s cultural identity. The landscape features an example of a maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba), the only surviving member of the ancient group of plants which was widespread at the same time as the dinosaurs, 180-200 million years ago. They have only been saved from extinction through cultivation and today provide a range of medicinal benefits; they are used for treating chronic coughs and asthma and leaf extracts are used to treat circulatory problems and memory loss.
Conservation is a strong theme in the landscape. The handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata) is beautiful but also vulnerable in the wild; in 1899, an amateur British botanist in China alerted Kew to the alarming impact that the charcoal industry was having on the forests of Yunnan province, home of the handkerchief tree. Although now widespread in cultivation as an ornamental, thanks to botanists and horticulturalists worldwide, the handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata) continues to be classified as a rare tree in the wild.
Visitors are also able to learn about the economic properties of plants in this beautiful landscape. Bamboo (notably Phyllostachys aurea and P. nigra) is one of the fastest-growing plants on earth and treated bamboo is strong and lightweight. In China it is used to make everything from chopsticks, hats and musical instruments to houses, bridges and scaffolding. Its fibres are used for paper, fabric and medicine. The young shoots are edible, the sap is made into sweet wine and the leaves are used as food wrappers. Bamboo features in Chinese culture as a symbol of integrity and outstanding character, it bends in the wind but never breaks. A lacquer tree (Rhus verniciflua) is also on display. These are cultivated for their sap, which is used to make a durable coating called lacquer. Lacquer can be polished to a high gloss, and the sap can be coloured by adding the mineral cinnabar or carbon black to make red and black. The seeds and leaves are used in Chinese medicine to treat internal parasites and to stop bleeding
China is famous for its classical scholar’s gardens – picturesque places suited for social gatherings and silent contemplation. This tradition is reflected in the landscape by the inclusion of a trellis, a scholar’s rock that symbolically evokes the power of a mountain, and a rock inscribed with calligraphy - because no Chinese landscape is complete without a touch of poetry. The landscape also directs visitors to the Museum’s Chinese collections, where it is possible to see some of the plants used to make objects (lacquer and bamboo) or to see them as art motifs (chrysanthemums, willow trees and peonies) depicted on a range of ceramic objects. A huge contemporary rock sculpture by the artist Zhan Wang, on display in the Great Court, complements the garden alongside the temporary exhibition ‘Fascination with Nature’ in room 91, featuring wonderful examples of Chinese nature paintings.
After the closure of the landscape on 26th October, Camden Council will relocate many of the plants to Brunswick Square and Kew Gardens as a lasting legacy of the China Landscape. The Landscape is in association with CHINA NOW.
In a unique partnership, the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have conjured up a stunning China landscape in the forecourt of the British Museum this summer. The landscape celebrates the two institutions' shared vision to strengthen cultural understanding and support biodiversity conservation across the world. The experts at Kew have selected and provided the plants and design, the British Museum has provided curatorial expertise and the location. The landscape follows on from the successful Africa Garden created in 2005, and future collaborative projects are planned.
Inspired by the collections of both Kew and the British Museum, the landscape reveals some of the connections between China’s natural habitat and its culture. Trees, shrubs and flowers are both cultural symbols and resources, used for building materials, food, drink, clothing and medicine. The landscape is a celebration of natural beauty and the bounty it provides. Visitors are able to wander around the fragrant trails of wisteria (Wisteria sinensis), admire the beautiful White Mulberry (Morus alba) and historic handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata), whilst also absorbing a strong conservation and sustainability message.
Most of the plants selected by the experts at Kew are native to the mountains of Sichuan province in south-west China and have been chosen for both their natural beauty and for the active role they play in China’s cultural identity. The landscape features an example of a maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba), the only surviving member of the ancient group of plants which was widespread at the same time as the dinosaurs, 180-200 million years ago. They have only been saved from extinction through cultivation and today provide a range of medicinal benefits; they are used for treating chronic coughs and asthma and leaf extracts are used to treat circulatory problems and memory loss.
Conservation is a strong theme in the landscape. The handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata) is beautiful but also vulnerable in the wild; in 1899, an amateur British botanist in China alerted Kew to the alarming impact that the charcoal industry was having on the forests of Yunnan province, home of the handkerchief tree. Although now widespread in cultivation as an ornamental, thanks to botanists and horticulturalists worldwide, the handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata) continues to be classified as a rare tree in the wild.
Visitors are also able to learn about the economic properties of plants in this beautiful landscape. Bamboo (notably Phyllostachys aurea and P. nigra) is one of the fastest-growing plants on earth and treated bamboo is strong and lightweight. In China it is used to make everything from chopsticks, hats and musical instruments to houses, bridges and scaffolding. Its fibres are used for paper, fabric and medicine. The young shoots are edible, the sap is made into sweet wine and the leaves are used as food wrappers. Bamboo features in Chinese culture as a symbol of integrity and outstanding character, it bends in the wind but never breaks. A lacquer tree (Rhus verniciflua) is also on display. These are cultivated for their sap, which is used to make a durable coating called lacquer. Lacquer can be polished to a high gloss, and the sap can be coloured by adding the mineral cinnabar or carbon black to make red and black. The seeds and leaves are used in Chinese medicine to treat internal parasites and to stop bleeding
China is famous for its classical scholar’s gardens – picturesque places suited for social gatherings and silent contemplation. This tradition is reflected in the landscape by the inclusion of a trellis, a scholar’s rock that symbolically evokes the power of a mountain, and a rock inscribed with calligraphy - because no Chinese landscape is complete without a touch of poetry. The landscape also directs visitors to the Museum’s Chinese collections, where it is possible to see some of the plants used to make objects (lacquer and bamboo) or to see them as art motifs (chrysanthemums, willow trees and peonies) depicted on a range of ceramic objects. A huge contemporary rock sculpture by the artist Zhan Wang, on display in the Great Court, complements the garden alongside the temporary exhibition ‘Fascination with Nature’ in room 91, featuring wonderful examples of Chinese nature paintings.
After the closure of the landscape on 26th October, Camden Council will relocate many of the plants to Brunswick Square and Kew Gardens as a lasting legacy of the China Landscape. The Landscape is in association with CHINA NOW.
