ECHOES OF THE PAST
The Buddhist Cave Temples of
Xiangtangshan
Thursday,
February 24. 10
AM
Arthur M. Sackler
Gallery
Join us at
the Sackler for light refreshments, followed by formal remarks and an
exhibition
tour.
RSVP to Amanda
Williams at publicaffairsAsia@si.edu or 202.633.0271 by Tuesday,
February 22.
MEDIA
KIT
Press
Release
Hi-res Images (Password required. Email publicaffairsAsia@si.edu)
Advance Exhibition Schedule 2011-2012
ECHOES OF THE PAST
The Buddhist Cave Temples of
Xiangtangshan
February 26-July 31, 2011|
Sackler
Majestic
sixth-century Chinese Buddhist sculpture is combined with 3-D imaging technology
in this exploration of one of the most important groups of Buddhist devotional
sites in early medieval China. Carved into the mountains of northern China, the
Buddhist cave temples of Xiangtangshan (響堂山, pronounced
"shahng-tahng-shahn") were the crowning cultural achievement of the Northern Qi
dynasty (550-77 CE). Once home to a magnificent array of sculptures--monumental
Buddhas, divine attendant figures, and crouching monsters framed by floral
motifs--the limestone caves were severely damaged in the first half of the
twentieth century, when their contents were chiseled away and offered for sale
on the international art market.
Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of
Xiangtangshan is organized by the Smart Museum of Art, University of
Chicago and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Major
funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Leon Levy
Foundation, the Smart Family Foundation, and the E. Rhodes and Leona B.
Carpenter Foundation. Additional support for the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
presentation is provided by the Cotsen Foundation for Academic Research.
The exhibition is
supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings,
conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily
reflect those of the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
|