Sponsored by the Times and the Sunday Times in association with the Royal Academy and the Great Britain/China Committee, this exhibition brought to London the remarkable discoveries made by Chinese archaeologists excavating ancient tombs throughout China- unique artefacts such as a jade suit once worn by a prince and princess of the Han Dynasty; and a remarkable bronze representation of a flying horse. They were of immense interest, rare quality of form and spanned 600,000 years of China's past. The exhibition was the first one held outside China in which the greater part of China's cultural history was illustrated wholly by documented material, mostly from controlled excavations. Particulars of provenance and associations were known in every case. The twelve sections began with the Palaeolithic period, on which some important new evidence had become available. The fourteenth century AD marked the final period: it was a time when Europe, in the person of Marco Polo, first made direct contact with China. The masterpieces included in all the divisions of exhibits betokened the high achievement of Chinese artists and craftsmen. The exhibition was notably rich in examples of early bronzes and it illustrated what daily life was like, the history of warfare and the progress of technology in bronze casting and ceramic glazing. From the 10th century onwards, porcelains predominated among grave gifts. The study of ceramics, well established in the West since the beginning of the present century, gained immeasurably in the years leading up to 1973 from documented pieces like those that feature in the later sections of the exhibition. After the 14th Century, archaeological research [in 1973] offered less than other sources to the study of artistic and social history. The exhibition terminated at the end of the Yuan dynasty in 1368. All but two of the 12 sections of the exhibition corresponded to successive historical periods.
Foreword by Lord Trevelyan. An exhibition of archaeological finds of the People's Republic of China held at the Royal Academy, London from 29 September 1973 to 23 January 1974. Exhibition objects extensively illustrated. Discussion of early archaeology in China. Chronology. Historical summary. Chapter on China in the Asian context. Maps. Select Bibliography. 22 color plates.
Sponsored by the Times and the Sunday Times in association with the Royal Academy and the Great Britain/China Committee, this exhibition brought to London the remarkable discoveries made by Chinese archaeologists excavating ancient tombs throughout China- unique artefacts such as a jade suit once worn by a prince and princess of the Han Dynasty; and a remarkable bronze representation of a flying horse. They were of immense interest, rare quality of form and spanned 600,000 years of China's past. The exhibition was the first one held outside China in which the greater part of China's cultural history was illustrated wholly by documented material, mostly from controlled excavations. Particulars of provenance and associations were known in every case. The twelve sections began with the Palaeolithic period, on which some important new evidence had become available. The fourteenth century AD marked the final period: it was a time when Europe, in the person of Marco Polo, first made direct contact with China. The masterpieces included in all the divisions of exhibits betokened the high achievement of Chinese artists and craftsmen. The exhibition was notably rich in examples of early bronzes and it illustrated what daily life was like, the history of warfare and the progress of technology in bronze casting and ceramic glazing. From the 10th century onwards, porcelains predominated among grave gifts. The study of ceramics, well established in the West since the beginning of the present century, gained immeasurably in the years leading up to 1973 from documented pieces like those that feature in the later sections of the exhibition. After the 14th Century, archaeological research [in 1973] offered less than other sources to the study of artistic and social history. The exhibition terminated at the end of the Yuan dynasty in 1368. All but two of the 12 sections of the exhibition corresponded to successive historical periods.
Foreword by Lord Trevelyan. An exhibition of archaeological finds of the People's Republic of China held at the Royal Academy, London from 29 September 1973 to 23 January 1974. Exhibition objects extensively illustrated. Discussion of early archaeology in China. Chronology. Historical summary. Chapter on China in the Asian context. Maps. Select Bibliography. 22 color plates.
