In the early 13th century, Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) unified the Mongol tribes and established the Great Mongol Empire before launching campaigns that transformed the world. His descendants conquered northern China, Central Asia, the Eastern European steppes, and Tibet, capturing Baghdad, the center of the Islamic world, in 1258. His grandson Kublai Khan (1215–1294, r. 1260–1294) adopted Chinese administrative systems, proclaimed the advent of the “Great Yuan” dynasty in 1271, and completed the conquest of the Southern Song by 1279.

This era witnessed extraordinary cultural convergence. Enhanced transportation networks enabled frequent exchange across Eurasia, while maritime trade flourished. Unlike previous Chinese dynasties that privileged Han culture, the Mongol–Yuan period brought steppe traditions, Han civilization, Tibetan Buddhism, Islam, and European Christianity into dynamic interaction. The Yangtze region and North China, previously divided under Song–Jin rule, experienced renewed integration under Yuan unification.

This exhibition centers on the national treasure portraits of Kublai Khan and his empress, accompanied by Yuan-period artifacts that reveal the era’s multicultural character. The jade carvings “Spring Waters” and “Autumn Mountains” continue Liao and Jin hunting traditions. The distinctive “gugu hat” in the imperial consort portrait was the hallmark headdress of Mongol aristocratic women, while the Nasich gold brocade on the collar of the red robe and the cobalt patterns on vessels with gold tracing demonstrate Islamic artistic influence. The use of imported cobalt opened new possibilities in ceramic history.