MEDIA ADVISORY

Peabody Place Museum and Gallery Opens to Media and Public on October 15, Featuring the Acclaimed Belz Collection of Chinese Art

Memphis, Tenn. (October 4, 1998) -- The Peabody Place Museum and Gallery's exquisite Chinese art treasures from the Manchu Dynasty will be unveiled for the media and public during an opening press conference at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, October 15, in the Pembroke Building (119 Main Street). The press conference will open the Peabody Place Museum and Gallery.
    Beginning October 15, the museum will be open to the public 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; noon to 5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.
    The museum features extraordinary works of Chinese art from the private collection of Jack and Marilyn Belz. Mr. Belz is chairman and chief executive officer of Belz Enterprises, a leading innovator in real estate development with interests throughout the South and much of the country.
    The museum features one of the most extensive collections in the country from the artistic legacy of the Manchu's Qing (Ch'ing) Dynasty, which reigned from 1644 to the revolution of 1911. Artists of the last great ancient Chinese dynasty created some of the most beautiful treasures in the world. After the Manchu Dynasty's fall, many of these creations were scattered and lost. Rare examples of this artistry in jade, other precious stones, ivory, porcelain and cloisonné along with furnishings, fabrics, scrolls and other artistic objects will be displayed in the Peabody Place Museum and Gallery.
    Two of the most magnificent pieces are the Temple Shizi Guardian Lions or "Foo Dogs." The cloisonné "Foo Dogs" tower almost six feet tall and once stood watch over the Forbidden City in Beijing.
    For more information on the October 15 press conference and the museum, please contact Melinda Medlin or Meredith Boyd, 901.527.8000.

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