The most famous piece in the collection of Taiwan’s National Palace Museum, the Jadeite Cabbage with Insects, has returned to Taiwan to the delight of visitors to the museum.
The famous cabbage was in Japan for a special exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum. It was the first time that the Jadeite Cabbage was exhibited abroad. The piece was only on display in Tokyo for two weeks, but drew more than 150,000 visitors.
Escorted by staff from the National Palace Museum and the Tokyo National Museum, the Jadeite Cabbage arrived in Taiwan safe and sound on Wednesday evening.
An official with the National Palace Museum, Chang Li-tuan, said on Friday that the precious cabbage is in very good condition.
"[The Jadeite Cabbage] stayed in storage for 24 hours before the customs officials arrived here to unpack it, in accordance with the methods of ancient artifact preservation," said Chang.
"We and the Tokyo National Museum staff inspected the piece together, and all of us heaved a sigh of relief. The Jadeite Cabbage is in the same state as it was before it was sent abroad. Everything’s the same; nothing has changed," she said.
Another star piece in the collection of the National Palace Museum, the Meat-Shaped Stone, will be exhibited at the Kyushu National Museum in southern Japan starting Oct. 7.