An antique piece on display.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Artifacts from old Shanghai households are now on exhibition in POA Gallery and the Wulixiang Museum in Xintiandi, an upscale shopping and lifestyle hub of the city.

The exhibition comprises 310 artifacts contributed by three collectors' organizations.

The exhibits, which include jewelry boxes decorated with auspicious Chinese patterns, fine ceramics and time pieces, provide a glimpse of the exquisite lifestyle of wealthy families in Shanghai in the early 1900s.

The curator Pu Dongtao is a designer himself and is the founder of the POA design house. He expressed hope that the exhibition would shed light on contemporary designers' work.