The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown presents Unearthed. Recent Archaeological Discoveries from Northern China, an exhibition on view June 16, 2012 – October 21, 2012.
Civilian Official and Military Officer, Tang Dynasty. Gansu Provincial Museum, Lanzhou
The exhibition features objects recently excavated from sites in the Shanxi and Gansu provinces and never before seen outside of China, including a full-size stone sarcophagus discovered intact in 2004. Unearthed leads the Institute’s interrelated summer exhibition program of four exhibitions, including three presentations in Williamstown and one in New York.
The exhibitions are part of the Institute’s current cultural exchange initiative with China, and were inspired by a scientific expedition to Northern China undertaken by the Institute’s founder in 1908 to document the region’s terrain, ecology, and meteorological conditions. In 2008, the Clark initiated a series of cultural exchange programs through China’s Ministry of Culture to connect Sterling Clark’s pioneering work in China with contemporary audiences. It is through these efforts that special permission has been granted to allow these rare archaeological objects to travel to America for exhibition at the Clark. The 2012 exhibitions also commemorate the 100th anniversary of the publication of Through Shên-kan: The Account of the Clark Expedition in North China, 1908–9, written by Sterling Clark and naturalist Arthur deCarle Sowerby to document the events and findings recorded by their expeditionary team during the 17-month trek across the remote regions of Northern China.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
225 South Street, Williamstown, MA 01267
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www.clarkart.edu/museum