China. Birth of an Empire

The exhibition presents the civilizations of China from the Zhou dynasty, the last dynasty prior to Imperial China from 1045-221 bC, to the two imperial dynasties of Qin (221-206 bC) and Western Han (206 bC-23 AD). It is curated by Lionello Lanciotti and Maurizio Scarpari, and organzied with the support of the University of Ca Foscari in Venice. The Zhou, Qin and Western Han dynasties are illustrated through a large canvas spanning the ten centuries during which the Chinese Empire was moulded and consolidated. Its refined culture and far-reaching administrative structure would preserve it for twenty-one centuries. The exhibition is comprised of 320 objects, some of which have never left China before. These include 21 sculptures from the Terracotta Army of the First Emperor: an army composed of thousands of life size warriors, horses and chariots, discovered around the Lintong Mausoleum close to the ancient Imperial Capital.