This weekend, Singapore's Peranakan Museum opened a four-month exhibition of one of the most significant archaeological finds of the twenty-first century.
Until the end of April, visitors have the opportunity to travel back as far as 1400 years to see some beautiful sculptures from the zenith of Chinese Buddhist art.
Thirteen years ago, when construction workers in the Chinese town of Qingzhou were preparing to build a school sports field, they unearthed an astounding cache of over four hundred limestone sculptures carefully buried, seemingly as part of a ritual.
Archaeologists estimate that the sculptures - most of them deliberately damaged - had lain undisturbed for centuries, something which is strangely fortunate for they now provide both a record of artistic attainment and a history of religious suppression.
The museum is exhibiting thirty-five of the best preserved pieces from 16th January to 26th April, 2009.
You can find the full story on-line in The Asian Art Newspaper - which was launched in November 1997 as a vehicle for collectors, dealers, museums and galleries.CLICK HERE.
1 comment:
It's incomprehensible that people were producing stuff like this so long ago. What a great find.
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