On Friday, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands opened the exhibition, “Forbidden Porcelain – Exclusively for the Emperor” at the Museum Prinsenhof Delft. Her Majesty was given a tour of the museum alongside the Director of Museum, Janelle Moerman.
The exhibition presents porcelain from the Chinese Ming Dynasty; the items were created especially for the emperors of China during this period. The Ming Dynasty lasted from 1368-1644. Each of the designs was carefully selected for the Emperor; those that were not chosen to be presented were destroyed. The porcelain items were discovered and available to be on display thanks to archaeological excavations.
According to the Royal House of the Netherlands, “The exhibition responds to the taste, but also on the religious or political messages they have to convey the emperors with their porcelain.”
Chinese and Dutch artists in Delft and Jingdezhen created porcelain objects on the occasion of the exhibit to also be on display. The artists were on hand Friday, and Her Majesty had the opportunity to speak to each of them. She also was given flowers to place in the Delft Blue Tulip Vase.
The exhibit is open until 9 June in Delft.
On the same day, Queen Máxima was in Eindhoven during the evening where she opened the new headquarters of StudyPortal in the Bell Building at Strijp-S. StudyPortal is an online educational programme that gives students from all over the world the chance to learn in nine portals of both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. It was founded in 2007, and now has locations in the United States, Romania, Australia and the United Kingdom. Individuals of 35 different nationalities make up a team of more than 140 people.
According to the Royal House, “The mission of Study Portals make it transparent and accessible learning opportunities globally through an international online study platform. This will encourage other students StudyPortals and informed choices to make about a study – or part thereof – abroad. From the principle that students worldwide to find and compare all options, services StudyPortals are free for both students and universities.”
There are 2,500 universities participating in over 60 nations. Her Majesty met co-founder and director, Edwin van Rest and was given a tour of the office where she spoke to some of the employees about their work with the company. She met students using the StudyPortals.
