Hong Kong Heritage Museum
Gold cup encrusted with carnelian with tiger handle
Ca. 6th century
Excavated from a tomb at Boma in Zhaosu County, Ilikasak, Xinjiang Ugyur Autonomous Region in 1997
Ili Kasak Autonomous Prefecture Museum
"This cup, now damaged, was originally ovoid in shape. It has an all-over lozenge pattern, each enclosing an oval agate in a socket; some insets are missing. Four florets pressed with a mould adorn the base. The handle is in the form of a tiger, the incised striations suggesting stripes. The vitality of the beast enhances the glitter of the gold and the sumptuousness of the ruby."
Known as the "Western Regions" in ancient times, Xinjiang was once a communications hub between East and West, a melting pot where Chinese, Indian, Greek and Arabian cultures met and mixed. In the 2nd century BC, the imperial court of the Han dynasty sent Zhang Qian as an ambassador to visit the Western Regions, establishing China's link with that region and on to other places as far away as the coastal areas of the Mediterranean.
The Silk Road stood centre stage at that time in world history. Traversing Xinjiang, it was actively developed in the Han and Tang eras and soon became a communications network made up of several routes. Passing through various oasis statelets and across the vast expanse of the desert, it connected the routes of nomads and traders and facilitated exchanges among the major civilisations of the period. Bringing with them the products, skills, languages, customs and religious beliefs of their homelands, the traders, migrants and priests who travelled along the Silk Road helped create a rich and diverse cultural landscape in the Western Regions. It is this stunning heritage that this exhibition aims to showcase.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department is grateful to the Xinjiang Cultural Heritage Bureau for its strong support in loaning to us 115 sets of invaluable treasures collected from various museums, archaeological institutions and cultural departments in Xinjiang. Including rarely seen gold ornaments, bronze wares, wooden slips with Kharosthi script, textile products, funerary items of Zoroastrianism as well as relics of Manichaeism and Buddhism, they reveal to us the diverse cultural developments of the Western Regions in the period from the Bronze Age to the 14th century. In addition, visitors will be able to see at close range the well-preserved ancient Xinjiang mummies and a wooden corpse, exhibits that uncover the mystery of the region's ancient burial practices.
With its distinctive climatic conditions, Xinjiang is one of the regions where the underground heritage has been best preserved. The legacies of Xinjiang, in particular the ancient corpses, are seldom lent out for display, as venues must meet stringent requirements regarding temperature and humidity. The exhibition is not to be missed.