This is because gold has always taken second place to jade, pearl and porcelain in the Chinese concept of beauty in making art objects.
老子「五色令人目盲」之說，更使得中國人在藝術鑑賞上，偏愛玉的溫潤、珠的圓熟和瓷的細膩。至於浮光耀眼的金，一向被視作庸俗之物。因此，故宮所留存的少數金器，多被歸入「雜項」，不像玉器、銅器、瓷器… … 等，被視為藝術珍品。