To help the audience understand the origin and history of Mahjong, including how it evolved from early tiles made of cow bone and bamboo slices in ancient times through to bakelite and the recent changes in the current materials, the Art of Mahjong Craft Studio researched and collected various background information about Mahjong culture, including the precious Mahjong Museum Great Abstract Books, books written by foreign scholars on the history and art of mahjong, Mahjong collector’s magazines and sharing. Karen also paid a visit to an existing Mahjong supplier, one of the few remaining in Hong Kong, to discover the hidden Hong Kong story.
A number of precious sets of Mahjong tiles are displayed throughout four areas. They include: vintage hand-carved tiles made of cow bone during the 1920s, Japan-made bamboo-back tiles in the 1970s, Hong Kong-made (hand-polished) tiles no longer in production, as well as many interesting tiles of different materials from different generations, and lots of photographs showing unique ancient Mahjong designs and precious hand-carved Mahjong exhibits produced by a handful of craftsman, including Master Ricky Cheung from the brand of Karen Aruba Art.
