The University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong is delighted to present Japanese Jewels: Imperial Silver Bonbonnières, an exhibition of precious boxes that illustrate a well-documented tradition in Japan, which rose to prominence during the Meiji era and became formalised in imperial ceremonies. These containers, often made from pure silver and adorned with gold inlays and enamel, regularly display motifs that symbolise auspicious elements such as longevity, prosperity, and harmony. The story of Japanese imperial bonbonnières is a story of both creation and reception—of the master artisans who made them and the carefully selected recipients who received them. Makers like Kobayashi, Miyamoto, or Muramatsu upheld court traditions through exacting craftsmanship, while recipients, from nobles to foreign envoys, engaged in a socially meaningful system of imperial recognition.

Stylistically, Japanese silver bonbonnières exemplify artefacts shaped by encounters with European court practices, refined through technical and aesthetic adaptation, and ultimately transformed into powerful symbols of modern Japanese sovereignty. They demonstrate how a foreign object type, reinterpreted through national traditions of craftsmanship and ceremonial use, became an enduring component of Japan’s imperial identity. Their evolution from Meiji modernisation to Reiwa minimalism tells a larger story about the material culture of power, the visual language of the Japanese court, and the role of objects in mediating historical memory. Though modest in scale, the bonbonnière encapsulates the convergence of courtly patronage, artisanal expertise, symbolic visual culture, and ritual within modern Japanese history.

All silver boxes on display are part of the Nancy and Robin Markbreiter Collection. This exhibition has been made possible through their generous support and the patronage of the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong.

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香港大學美術博物館榮幸呈獻「銀匣瑰寶：日本御製糖果盒」展覽，展出一系列珍貴銀匣，展現自明治時代興起並在皇室典禮中御用的獨特日本文化。御製糖果盒多以純銀製成，配以金嵌和琺瑯裝飾，常見有象徵長壽、富貴、和諧等吉祥圖案。這些日本御製糖果盒承載著創作與禮節的故事——由匠人精心製作，再由皇室精選頒贈予特定人士。製作者如小林、宮本、村松等，憑精湛技藝延續宮廷傳統。而收禮者包括貴族與外國使節，則透過獲贈御製糖果盒參與具有社會意義的皇室禮贈制度。

從風格上看，日本御製糖果盒受歐洲宮廷文化所影響，然後經過技術與美學上的調適，最終轉化為象徵現代日本皇權的有力符號。此外，它們展示了外國器物，如何透過本國傳統工藝與禮儀用途的重新演繹，成為日本皇室身份的元素。糖果盒的演變，從明治時代的現代化到令和時代的極簡主義，告訴我們有關物質文化、日本宮廷的視覺語言，以及器物在歷史記憶的角色這樣一個更宏觀的故事。雖然體積細小，糖果盒卻是結合現代日本歷史中宮廷贊助、匠人技藝、象徵性視覺文化與禮儀意義的文化載體。

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展出的所有糖果盒均為 Nancy 和 Robin Markbreiter 伉儷私人收藏的一部分。此次展覽得以順利舉行，承蒙收藏家及日本國駐香港總領事館的慷慨支持。