Masks of Mystery

Discovered in China in 1986, the bronze figures and masks on display in this exhibition date back to the ancient Shu Kingdom of the Bronze Age. Although their exaggerated features with huge eyes and strongly curled nostrils are human in inspiration, they show an imagination that had never before been found in early Chinese art. These masks indicate a mature and sophisticated society existing away from the heartland of the then ruling force, the Shang dynasty.