Alain.R.

Truong

 Exhibitions

The MET presents 'Age of Empires:

Chinese Art of the Qin and Han
Dynasties (221 B.C.–A.D. 220)'
 08 avril 2017 à 16:24  Alain Truong 0

Kneeling Archer (detail), Qin dynasty (221–206

B.C.). Earthenware, H. 491⁄16 in. (122 cm). Excavated in 1977,
pit no. 2, mausoleum complex of Qin Shihuangdi (d. 210 B.C.),
Lintong, Shaanxi Province. Photo: Courtesy Qin Shihuangdi
Mausoleum Site Museum, Lintong

“When you see your face reflected here, this mirror will dispel all
harms and woes. May the Central Kingdom [China] be peaceful
and secure, and prosper for generations and generations to come,
by following the great law that governs all.”—excerpt from an
inscription written on the back of a mirror on view in the exhibition

NEW YORK - A major international loan exhibition featuring more

than 160 ancient Chinese works of art—including renowned
terracotta army warriors—will go on view at The Metropolitan
Museum of Art beginning April 3. Synthesizing new in-depth
research and archaeological discoveries of the last 50 years, the
landmark exhibition Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and
Han Dynasties (221 B.C.– A.D. 220) will explore the
unprecedented role of art in creating a new and lasting Chinese
cultural identity. The works in the exhibition—extremely rare
ceramics, metalwork, textiles, sculpture, painting, calligraphy, and
architectural models—are drawn exclusively from 32 museums and
archaeological institutions in the People’s Republic of China, and a
majority of the works have never before been seen in the West.
The exhibition will also examine ancient China’s relationship with
the outside world.

The exhibition is made possible by China Merchants Bank.

Additional support is provided by the Joseph Hotung Fund, the Ing

Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, Agnes Hsu-Tang and
Oscar L. Tang in honor of Zhixin Jason Sun, the E. Rhodes and
Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, the Estate of Brooke Astor, K11
Art Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art,

stated: “It is a great pleasure for us to present this magnificent
assemblage of treasures from China. A project of such scale and
scope could not be realized without the strong support and
cooperation of lending organizations and their staffs. As the largest
and most important display of Chinese art to be held in the United
States in 2017, the exhibition establishes a new milestone in U.S.-
China cultural exchange.”

“This exhibition is the culmination of our long history of

collaboration with China that began in 1980,” said Maxwell, K.
Hearn, Douglas Dillon Chairman of The Met’s Department of Asian
Art. “We thank especially China’s State Council, Ministry of Culture
and State Administration of Cultural Heritage, as well as both the U.
S. Department of State and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for
their steadfast support and guidance.”

Jason Sun, Brooke Russell Astor Curator of Chinese Art in The

Met’s Department of Asian Art, stated: “The Han Empire represents
the ‘classical’ era of Chinese civilization, coinciding in importance
and in time with Greco-Roman civilization in the West. Like the
Roman Empire, the Han state brought together people of diverse
backgrounds under a centralized government that fostered a new
‘Chinese’ identity. Even today, most Chinese refer to themselves as
the ‘Han people’—the single largest ethnic group in the world.
Thanks to new scholarship as well as the extraordinary artifacts
unearthed by archaeologists in the past 50 years, this exhibition
offers many new art-historical, cultural, and political insights. I’m
delighted that Age of Empires can introduce this largely unknown
era of Chinese civilization to our global audience.”

About the Qin and Han Dynasties

The unification of China by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206
B.C.) and the centuries-long Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220)
fundamentally reshaped art and culture and established political
paradigms and intellectual institutions that guided dynastic rulership
for the next 2,000 years. They have continued to be influential to
the present day.

Introducing an era of political stability and prosperity across an area

much larger than that of the Roman Empire at its peak, the Han
dynasty bound together its empire through a network of roads and
a centralized administrative system that promulgated a unified legal
code and standardized currency, weights and measures, and, most
importantly, a consistent written language. These changes—first
introduced under the Qin—fostered a “golden age” in art,
architecture, technology, and literature while introducing lasting
changes to society, the economy, religion, and political thought.

Works in the Exhibition

Section 1: Qin Dynasty

Transformational advances in art and culture accomplished during
the Qin and Han dynasties are vividly conveyed throughout the
exhibition. Most remarkable is the sudden appearance of
monumental figural art as revealed by excavations at the
mausoleum of the first Qin emperor (d. 210 B.C.), which unearthed
a life-size army of 7,000 terracotta warriors.

The exhibition opens with a spectacular group of these warriors,

some of the real weapons with which they were armed, and
replicas of two half-life-size bronze chariot teams that together
demonstrate the dynasty’s formidable military power. Even more
striking is the recently discovered semi-nude performer whose
anatomical accuracy, unprecedented in Chinese art, brings to mind
Greco-Roman sculpture first introduced into Asia by Alexander the
Great.

Kneeling Archer, Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Earthenware, H.

491⁄16 in. (122 cm). Excavated in 1977, pit no. 2, mausoleum
complex of Qin Shihuangdi (d. 210 B.C.), Lintong, Shaanxi
Province. Photo: Courtesy Qin Shihuangdi Mausoleum Site
Museum, Lintong

Chariot Model (Modern Replica after Qin Originals), Qin

dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Bronze with pigments, H. 59 in. (150
cm), Collection of Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site
Museum. Photo: Courtesy Qin Shihuangdi Mausoleum Site
Museum, Lintong

Chariot Model (Modern Replica after Qin Originals), Qin

dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Bronze with pigments, H. 27 1/2 in.
(69.9 cm), Collection of Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum
Site Museum. Photo: Courtesy Qin Shihuangdi Mausoleum Site
Museum, Lintong

Unarmored General, Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Earthenware,

H. 77 15/16 in. (198 cm). Excavated from Pit no. 1 of Qin
Mausoleum, Lintong, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 1978. Photo: Courtesy Qin
Shihuangdi Mausoleum Site Museum, Lintong

Standing Archer, Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Earthenware, H.

70 in. (177.8 cm). Excavated from Pit 1 of the Qin Mausoleum,
Lintong, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 1974. Photo: Courtesy Qin Shihuangdi
Mausoleum Site Museum, Lintong

Horse, Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Earthenware, H. 66 in.

(167.6 cm). Excavated from Pit 1 of Qin Mausoleum, Lintong,
Xi’an, Shaanxi, 1977. Photo: Courtesy Qin Shihuangdi Mausoleum
Site Museum, Lintong

Civil Official, Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Earthenware, H. 83

5/8 in. (212.4 cm). Excavated from Pit K0006 of Qin
Mausoleum, Lintong, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 2000. Photo: Courtesy Qin
Shihuangdi Mausoleum Site Museum, Lintong

Armored Infantryman, Qin dynasty (221–206

B.C.). Earthenware, H. 78 1/8 in. (298.4 cm). Excavated from Pit
no. 1 of Qin Mausoleum, Lintong, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 1978. Photo:
Courtesy Qin Shihuangdi Mausoleum Site Museum, Lintong

Model Armor, Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Limestone, H. 39 in.

(99 cm). Excavated from the Mausoleum of the First Emperor
of Qin, 1999. Photo: Courtesy Qin Shihuangdi Mausoleum Site
Museum, Lintong

Model Helmet, Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Limestone, H. 14

15/16 in. (38 cm). Excavated from Pit K9801 at the Mausoleum
of the First Emperor of Qin, 1998. Photo: Courtesy Qin
Shihuangdi Mausoleum Site Museum, Lintong

Inscriptions from the Stele of Mount Yi (front). Date of stele:

Song dynasty (960–1279). Calligraphy after Xu Xuan (916–
991). Ink on paper, 60 x 31¼ in. (152.4 x 79.4 cm). The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Seymour and Rogers
Fund, 1977 (1977.375.7a, b). Photo: Courtesy The Metropolitan
Museum of Art

Strongman, Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Earthenware, H. 61 3/4

in. (156.8 cm); W. at shoulders 29 1/2 in. (74.9 cm); W. at waist
20 1/2 in. (52.2 cm); Wt. 456.4 lb. (207 kg). Photo: Courtesy The
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Goose, Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.). Bronze, H. 11 7/16 in. (29

cm); W. 9 7/16 in. (24 cm); L. 21 5/8 in. (55 cm); Wt. 52.9 lb. (24
kg). Excavated from Pit K0007 of the Qin Mausoleum, Shaanxi,
2000. Photo: Courtesy Qin Shihuangdi Mausoleum Site Museum,
Lintong

Kneeling Warrior, China or Central Asia, 5th–3rd century

BC. Bronze, H. 15 3/4 in. (40 cm); W. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm); D. 6 7/8
in. (17.5 cm). Excavated from tomb at 71st League, Xinyuan
County, Xinjiang, 1983. Photo: Courtesy Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Region Museum

Pair of Finials in the Shape of Mythical Beasts, Qin dynasty

(221–206 B.C.). Gilt bronze inlaid with glass, each 10⅝ x 3½ x
1⅛ in. (27 x 9 x 3 cm). Unearthed in 1972, the Second Brick
Factory site, northern suburb of Xi’an, Shaanxi
Province. Photo: Courtesy Xi’an Museum

Stem Cup, Qin (221–206 B.C.)–Western Han (206 B.C.–A.D. 9)

dynasty. Jade (nephrite), H. 5 11/16 in. (14.5 cm). Excavated
from the site of Epang Palace, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 1976. Photo:
Courtesy Xi’an Museum

Section 2: Han Dynasty, Part 1

The Han dynasty’s consolidation of the Qin empire and the
extraordinary era of prosperity that this ushered in is the focus of
the exhibition’s second section. With a vast territory to rule, Han
emperors maintained a centralized administration and shared
authority with relatives and former allies. The power and wealth
enjoyed by the Han elite are vividly conveyed by an array of ornate
ritual vessels, sets of musical instruments, refined lacquerware,
and colorful silk textiles. A striking example of the Han love of
spectacle and exoticism is conveyed by a meticulously rendered
sculpture of a rhinoceros that was clearly modeled on a living
animal offered as tribute for the royal menagerie.

Head Ornament, Warring States period (475–221 B.C.). Gold,

turquoise, and carnelian, Diam. ⅛–¼ in. (0.3–0.6
cm). Excavated in 2008–9, tomb no. 16, Majiayuan,
Zhangjiachuan, Gansu Province. Photo: Courtesy Gansu
Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Lanzhou