Photo: Courtesy of National Museum of China

Featuring a total of 279 artifacts rooted in ancient Greece, the exhibition The Countless Aspects of Beauty in Ancient Art opened in Beijing on Tuesday. The Greek show in China seems a perfect match, since on site, Despoina Ignatiadou, deputy director at the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum, told the Global Times that she has noted how "beauty" has "profound traditions in both the two ancient civilizations."

The show was co-organized by the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum and National Museum of China. Some may assume that as a joint exhibition, it may display artifacts from both countries. 

However, all the artifacts come from Greece. Curator Zhu Xiaoyun told the Global Times that this was an intentional arrangement since there are details hidden in the show that allow visitors to discover "China and Greece share diverse beauty tastes that surpass our cultural differences." 

A small gold carving is the exhibition's highlight. The gold statue is just a few centimeters long, so it may seem small, but it holds intricate details showing East-West artistic intertextuality. 

A piece of gold chain-net head jewel discovered from Greece Photo: Courtesy of National Museum of China

The piece depicts a woman with a bird standing on her head. It was designed with an accentuated pubic triangle, which was originally used in Asian designs. 

The piece is one of the examples revealing how graceful Greek art was open to embracing different cultural traditions. This respect for "diversity and cultural convergence" was also held by ancient Chinese people, Ding Ning, an art historian told the Global Times. 

"This exhibition allows me to witness the inclusiveness that a civilization with deep historical heritage should embody," a visitor at the exhibition told the Global Times. 

Holding The Countless Aspects of Beauty in Ancient Art has taken tremendous effort.  Zhu said that the National Museum of China even removed and re-installed a door to allow a sculpture to be brought into the exhibition hall. The Greek Museum also assigned several specialists from each of its department to China to set up the exhibition. 

Such dedication makes one wonder why cross-cultural exchanges are so important.

This question was answered at the exhibit by Ignatiadou. She told the Global Times that joint exhibitions are one of the "major ways to allow the public of both countries to understand each other's cultures." She also noted that besides the current exhibition, the Greek museum has also launched projects with the Sanxingdui Museum in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. 

"In the future, we also have a plan for people-to-people exchanges. For this I mean, we want to launch training programs that invite Chinese museum experts to Greece," the deputy director emphasized. 

The art event is a milestone for China-Greece cultural collaboration in 2024. It has been attended by Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni. At the opening, she expressed that the exhibition's objective goes beyond "showcasing the achievements of ancient Greece," but also encourages dialogue and future collaborations between the East and West. Other than the art gala in 2024, China and Greece have co-launched programs in classic literature, film and also stage plays. 

Incorporating treasures such as gold wares, frescos and sculptures dating from the Late Neolithic period to the 1st century BC, the exhibition is scheduled to end on June 2025.