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The Great Bronze Age of China
The cultures of ancient China were a fertile environment for creativity. Bronze Age craft workers produced vessels of stunning power to pay homage to the gods, honor their ancestors, and celebrate their own accomplishments in life. The exhibit promotes public learning about the people and practices of ancient China and the relation of modern China to its past.
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Exhibit
This exhibit features images of truly breathtaking archaeological treasures in the form of bronze vessels almost 4000 years old and examples of the terra cotta army, buried 2200 years ago. Interpretative text relates how workers crafted vessels to pay homage to the gods, honor their ancestors, and celebrate their own accomplishments in life.
Panel topics include:
See panel preview
- Creation of bronzes and their recovery from tombs
- Vessels to honor Ancestors
- The Animal Mask
- Vessels for secular use
- Surface patterns
- Singular objects of stunning beauty
- Burial mound of the Emperor of Qin
- Discovery of the terra cotta army
- Warriors now and as they may have looked then
Exhibit format
Freestanding only in 12 panels (6 double-sided units), containing 28 images arranged with explanatory texts behind plexiglas. Panels measure 24” wide x 36” high and attach to wooden poles to stand 68” high .
Shipping weight (2 fiber cases): 125 lbs. 110 lbs.
Floor space required: 12’ x 5’
Supplemental materials
- A brochure illustrating discussion of the works and culture. 50 copies, free with exhibit.
- Slide-tape overview produced by Metropolitan Museum of Art, free with exhibit.
- Posters featuring an image of a sculpture of a kneeling archer, 5 free with exhibit.
Available for rental
- VHS video
- Out of the Mysterious Past
- Slide-tape program
- "China, Old and New"