Empire Along the Great Wall

In the first half of the twentieth century, serious efforts began in Hungary to collect objects related to the Asiatic Huns, who were among the peoples that once lived along the northern border of China. The interest was largely prompted by excavations carried out by Hungarianborn Sir Aurel Stein at the start of the century and the publication of his archaeological finds, which provided scientific substantiation that the Xiongnu, a tribe known from Chinese sources, were related to the Asiatic Huns. This exhibition presents the art of the nomadinhabited regions along the northern border of ancient China. This art, which bears numerous Chinese influences, is defined by the socalled Ordos bronzes, which are shown here in a broader historical and artistic context. Following the line of the Great Wall, visitors can see almost 300 exhibits from this diverse material: the clothing attachments and belt decorations of the Asiatic Huns, their weapons and utility items, and their varied harness fittings. With their characteristic forms and ornaments, the objects clearly illustrate the words of the Hopp Museum's first director, Zoltán Felvinczi Takács: "However far we [Hungarians] have fallen from our ancient culture, however deeply we have melded into Europe, our roots still reach into Asia."