Beijing Daily Client | Intern reporter He Rui
On January 15, the special exhibition "Gold Attack: Mutual Learning between Early Metal Art and Civilization in Eurasia" opened at the Art Museum of Tsinghua University. The exhibition exhibits nearly 300 metal cultural relics, spanning about 4,000 years, presenting the origin, development and dissemination history of metal art in Eurasia.
Walking into the exhibition hall on the fourth floor of Tsinghua Art Expo, the lights converge on the metal utensils, reflecting a little starlight. According to the chronological and spatial order of the development of metal art, the exhibition is divided into six parts, including the first millennium BC, from the Mediterranean to the Indus River, and northern China, telling the story of metal art spanning about 4,000 years in Eurasia.
Goat-shaped to pass
A pair of earrings, gold, 9th-7th centuries BC
Goat-patterned handle cup, silver, Luristan, 9th-7th centuries BC
Among the exhibits is a beast head wine vessel, which attracts many visitors to stop and admire because of its peculiar shape. The front half of a goat's body "grows" in the front of the wine vessel, and the two forelimbs fold back, as if running on the grassland. Its hind limbs were nowhere to be seen, replaced by wine glasses shaped like sheep's horns. The exhibit is a "goat-shaped laitong", a bronze artifact from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. The word "laitong" is derived from the Greek word and is shaped like a funnel that can be used to pour divine wine, and is often used in ceremonial and sacrificial activities. The outflow hole of the wine vessel is cleverly placed between the goat's forefeet, allowing the drink to be poured into the glass.
Oxcart, copper alloy, early Sumerian dynasty, circa 2500 BC
Hadrian Gold Coin, Gold, Roman Empire, 117-138 AD
Tan Shengguang, curator of the exhibition and doctor of Chinese art history at the Institute for Advanced Study of Tsinghua University, introduced that mankind's transition from the Stone Age to the Metal Age is undoubtedly a leapfrog progress. Since then, with the continuous invention and evolution of various metal technologies, from the era of copper and stone to the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, metal art has become an important form of presentation of politics, economy, science and technology, religion and ideological culture in different stages of historical development of human civilization. "I hope that the exhibition can bring the audience a feast of metal art spanning thousands of years, presenting the differences, similarities and mutual learning trajectories of different regions and civilizations on the Eurasian continent."
Relic vessels and offerings, gold, silver, agate, ore, Gandhara, early 1st century AD
From January 15 to April 16, the exhibition will be on display in halls 12 to 13 on the fourth floor of Tsinghua Art Fair. Visitors can log on to the official website of Tsinghua Art Expo or WeChat public account to make an appointment to purchase tickets for the visit.