Virtual Director’s Showcase: A Lost Civilization, a Landmark Exhibition, and New Wonders

A Bronze Age civilization lost for more than 3,000 years was found at Sanxingdui in China’s southwestern Sichuan province in the summer of 1986. Among the most extraordinary finds were two underground pits filled with elephant tusks and a rich array of bronze sculptures, including a 13-foot-tall bronze tree and heads and masks of fantastic supernatural beings. Now, 35 years later, Sanxingdui has shocked the world again with the news that six more pits filled with spectacular bronzes and other precious artifacts were discovered in 2019 and are currently being excavated. 

At this virtual event, The Barbara Bass Bakar Director and CEO Dr. Jay Xu will tell us about this new excavation and its recent finds. He will also discuss some of the amazing works that were found there in 1986, which were introduced to U.S. audiences in Xu’s landmark 2001 exhibition Treasures from a Lost Civilization: Ancient Chinese Art from Sichuan at the Seattle Art Museum. He will be joined by Mimi Gates, director emerita of the Seattle Art Museum, who shares her experiences of working with Xu on the exhibition and securing the partnership of the Chinese government.

6:05 PM Welcome
6:10 PM Program
7 PM Q&A

Jade Circle and Nexus members, please refer to your email invitation to register. Not a Jade Circle Gold or Nexus member? Contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] to find out more.

Image: Artifacts from the excavation site at Sanxingdui.