The British Museum's mysterious Room 95 houses the most beautiful Chinese porcelain

In the British Museum, apart from the well-known Gallery 33 (China Gallery), there is also a mysterious "Room 95" where the most beautiful Chinese porcelain is hidden. Room 95 is on the third floor of the British Museum, right next to the "China Gallery." Although the gallery is not large, it houses many Chinese porcelain treasures—this place is also known as the "Chinese Porcelain Gallery." It features the world-famous blue and white cloud dragon pattern elephant ear vase from the Zhizheng eleventh year, as well as the Song dynasty Ru ware, which is praised as having the beauty of 'the sky clearing after rain with clouds parting.' There are also pieces like the Ming dynasty Chenghua Doucai chicken cup, which once sold for 280 million Hong Kong dollars, and Qing dynasty imperial enamel porcelain treasures... In total, there are more than 1,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain treasures, with a complete range of categories and extremely high craftsmanship, which is breathtaking. This room, which can be called a collection of 'half of the history of Chinese ceramics,' almost all of the cultural relics come from the collection of one person—Sir Percival David. Therefore, Room 95 is also known as the "David Vases Gallery." Born in 1892 in Mumbai, India, David came from a wealthy family that owned trading companies, textile mills, and even banks. After seeing a Chinese porcelain vase at a friend's house, David became fascinated with these art treasures from the East. In 1914, David began to frequently purchase Chinese porcelain from companies dealing in Chinese cultural relics in London. To further his studies, he taught himself Chinese and systematically studied the Chinese language, culture, and history, and he was quite accomplished. Ten years later, in 1924, the last emperor was expelled from the Forbidden City, and that year, David came to China, by which time he had already made a name for himself in the collecting world. After the establishment of the Palace Museum in 1925, David also participated in the design of the court art treasure exhibition held in the Forbidden City. By 1927, when the Salt Bank was preparing to sell the Qing dynasty's last imperial family's pawned treasures, David seized the opportunity. After several negotiations, he acquired more than 40 pieces of porcelain—most of which came from the famous Song dynasty kilns. Because of these more than 40 treasures, David, who was already somewhat famous, became a sensation in the collecting world, and he continued to widely purchase porcelain collections throughout China, building his vast collection of Chinese porcelain. At the entrance of Room 95, in the display case, is one of David's most precious porcelain collections—a Song dynasty Ru ware porcelain. According to records, there are less than 70 pieces of Song dynasty Ru ware that have been documented, which is the least surviving type among the five famous kilns of the Song dynasty "Guan Ru Ge Ding Jun." The Palace Museum in Taipei, which has the most, has only 21 pieces, but there are 7 pieces in this display case, including a Qianlong imperial inscribed Ru ware bowl, a carved fish pattern wash, a sunflower mouth cup stand, a three-legged box-style furnace, a narcissus basin, a shallow dish, a bottle of various shapes, both in quantity and quality, which are astonishing. In 1953, David donated all his collections to the University of London and established the "Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art." David passed away in 1964. By 2007, due to the pressure of operating costs, the University of London transferred all the collections to the British Museum, starting a long-term "loan exhibition," which is the origin of Room 95's "Chinese Porcelain Gallery."