The Museum of Anthropology will mark the conclusion of the APEC conference with an exhibit of ancient Chinese art from one of the world's finest private collections.
The exhibit, entitled Recalling the Past: A Selection of Early Chinese Art from the Victor Shaw Collection, spans 4,500 years from the Neolithic through the Han, Tang and Song dynasties. It opens Wednesday, Dec. 3.
The Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in MOA's Great Hall on Nov. 25. The art exhibition is one of a number of university-supported APEC initiatives that will benefit students, teaching and scholarly research at UBC.
As well as inspiring a series of legacies, the APEC meeting is expected to strengthen UBC's position as Canada's pre-eminent institution for higher learning in Asia Pacific affairs and to reinforce the university's links with Asia and other APEC economies.
The MOA exhibit features objects in jade, bronze, ceramic, gold and silver and other materials that are all remarkable for the exceptional quality of their manufacture and design.
These objects reveal aspects of ancient Chinese civilization -- notions of ritual, changing decorative motifs, the formation of national unity during the Han, the importance of the Tang and the justified fame both within China and around the world of Chinese ceramics.
Exhibit highlights include bi discs and other ritual objects from the Neolithic to the Han period.
Other human and animal figurines, ornaments and ceramics show the changing social, religious and technological influences on early Chinese art.