Tang: art from the Silk Road capital

Horse, Excavated from the tomb of Li Zhen, Liquan County, XianYang, 1971, Zhaoling Museum. Photograph: Zhaoling Museum

Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
9 April – 10 July 2016

The Guardian  26 Oktober 2015

While London was just a small market town in the 7th century, the city of Chang’an (Xi’an) was the most advanced city in the world and the capital of the Chinese Tang Empire. One of the four great cities of ancient China, Chang’an served as the start and terminus of the silk road, which opened the world to India, Persia and the Horn of Africa, and to boundless trade and discovery.

Sands of time

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Recent archaeological findings of gold, silver, glass, ceramics, sculptures and mural paintings tell stories about this Golden Age of China. This exhibition showcases more than 130 objects from Chang’an and the province of Shaanxi. It includes a digital presentation that uses pioneering virtual-reality technology.

Type of Event: Art and design

Venue: Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery Rd
Sydney NSW 2000




From the website of the Art gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Left to right: Basket decorated with flying geese c800, 17.8 × 16.1 cm, gilded silver, Famen Temple Museum; Horse c600, 60 × 61 × 20 cm, glazed earthenware, Zhaoling Museum

Archeaological findings of gold, silver, glass, ceramics, sculptures and mural paintings from the Golden Age of China over a millennium ago.

Never before seen in Australia, this exhibition showcases some 130 spectacular objects from the Chinese province of Shaanxi, which demonstrate the high artistic achievements of the Tang dynasty (618–907). It also includes an immersive digital presentation using pioneering virtual-reality technology.

Around the 7th century, while London was just a market town of a few thousand people, a city called Chang’an rose to be the capital of the powerful and influential Tang Empire, which stretched from today’s Korea in the north, Vietnam in the south and far into Central Asia. Home of a million people, it was the biggest, most advanced city in the world. Being the start and terminus of the Silk Road, it fostered an outward-looking society with great wealth and tolerance.