An exhibition of Chinese treasures opened in Paris at the Petit Palais on November 3rd 2000. Due to last until January 28th 2001, this exhibition, titled «China: the Glory of Emperors» offers 170 masterpieces to be admired by the public. These objects, vases, sculptures, ceramics, masks or jewels, span a period from the Bronze age until the 12th Century.
The life-size statues of military men guarding imperial tombs are obviously the stars of this event. They however do not give an idea of their massive presence on the spots where they were found. Still, they give a good clue of the skills of the artists who made them, notwithstanding the fact that many more tombs have not yet been uncovered in China.
Visitors will gasp at the sight of a magnificent gilt-bronze horse from the Qin (221-210) period or a goose from the Han dynasty, which followed that of the Tang (618-907). Many of the pieces exhibited in Paris were found in archaeological campaigns carried out after 1973.