As one of the four ancient civilizations in human history, ancient India was a land of mythology. Religion and philosophy were extremely developed. For this reason, the bronzes of ancient India were always regarded as the symbols of myth, the idols of religion, and the metaphors of philosophy.

Bronze making has a history dating back to the period of the Indus Civilization, about 2500-1500 BC. During the 9th-6th century BC, Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism flourished in succession, providing a permanent theme for Indian bronzes and other art forms in Indian culture. Its golden age was during Indian medieval period (the 7th-13th century AD).

A total of 80 invaluable unearthed bronzes will be displayed. Most of them belonged to the ancient Pala Dynasty (750-1150) in north India and the Chola Dynasty (846-1279) in south India.

Some15 excavated bronzes are evidence of time-honored cultural exchanges between India and China.

Around 632 in the Tang Dynasty, the famous Chinese monk Hieun Tsang (602-664) studied in the Nalanda monastery for five years. In the year 645, he returned east to Chang'an (now Xi'an) with 657 sets of sutras, and seven Buddha figures, which were later taken to Tibet.

The exhibits featured in the event are from the collection of the Indian Museum in Calcutta and the State Museum of Orissa, which will provide a window for people here to look into not only the appearances of the bronzes but also their remarkable cultural history.

Time/date: 9 am-5 pm, February 14-March 17

Location: 9A Fuxing Lu

Tel: 6857-3281

(Beijing Review January 21, 2003)