Rare Han Dynasty Exhibition Opens in Szeged
A rarely exhibited piece of full-body jade armor used in the burial of emperors outside of China is currently on display at the Móra Ferenc Museum in Szeged. The armor is part of an exhibition on the Han Dynasty, which showcases the finest pieces of archaeological material from that period.
The exhibition is a collaboration of Chinese public collections and features artifacts lent by the Shanghai Museum, an important center of Chinese culture with a collection of one million pieces. Curator Gu Xiance, deputy head of the art department of the Shanghai Museum, spoke at a press conference about the significance of the exhibition.
Chiu Venhua, deputy head of the collection at the Xinzhou Museum, highlighted one of the most interesting objects in the exhibition: a full-body funerary armor made of polished jade. This armor was exclusively used for the burial of the highest ranking officials.
Another intriguing piece in the exhibition is a ceramic mask that depicts Middle Eastern or Eastern European features, rather than a Chinese man. This mask serves as evidence of the cultural exchanges that China had with the Middle East and Europe during the Han Dynasty.
The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through four themes, exploring everyday life, objects of domination, belief in the afterlife, and the relationship between ancient China and the outside world. The final section of the exhibition focuses on the development of the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty and features artifacts from the Asian Huns and other people living on China’s borders.
The curator emphasizes that the jade funerary armor is the most important item in the section on belief in the afterlife. Only around 20 of these armors have been found during excavations and they are rarely exhibited outside of China. The armor, made of the special mineral jade, was placed in the deceased’s body to prevent the soul from leaving.
The exhibition opens on the Night of Museums and offers a unique opportunity for visitors to learn about the Han Dynasty and its significance in Chinese art and history.
