The ancient cultures of China and Egypt are being compared and contrasted in a museum exhibition in Berlin.
At the Neues Museum, the show “China and Egypt: Cradles of the World” features some 250 treasures from the two ancient cultures spanning a period of 4,500 BC to the early 4th century AD. The exhibition, comprising some 250 display objects, runs through December 3.
“The direct comparison of the ancient high cultures shows visitors how both societies had a decisive and enduring impact on the development of human history,” the museum said in a statement.
“Despite their enormous distance, both cultures developed similar structures, which are still recognizable today.”
The show is organised according to five themes - writing, forms of government, religious beliefs, funeral traditions, and daily life.
The exhibition, which the museum describes as an “extraordinary experiment,” was organised together with the Shanghai Museum, which has loaned many of the display items.
There are also items from the Xuzhou Museum in eastern China, including a 2,000-year-old burial robe made of jade for a deceased Chinese nobleman. This is displayed alongside a richly painted mummy case from Ancient Egypt.
“In some areas, Chinese and Egyptian art and culture reveal surprising correlations, in others interesting tensions emerge,” the Neues Museum said about the exhibition. — dpa
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