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Khubilai Khan as the First Yuan Emperor, Shizu Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), album leaf, ink and color on silk, 23¼ x 18¾ in. (59.1 x 47.6 cm), National Palace Museum, Taipei. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

NYC exhibit unveils rich treasures of Yuan dynasty

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
Khubilai Khan as the First Yuan Emperor, Shizu Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), album leaf, ink and color on silk, 23¼ x 18¾ in. (59.1 x 47.6 cm), National Palace Museum, Taipei. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Khubilai Khan as the First Yuan Emperor, Shizu Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), album leaf, ink and color on silk, 23¼ x 18¾ in. (59.1 x 47.6 cm), National Palace Museum, Taipei. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

NEW YORK (AP) – A new exhibition in New York City makes it easy to see why Marco Polo and other early European traders were dazzled by the treasures they saw in China.

Porcelain, lacquer, scroll painting, silk tapestries and other art forms flourished during the Yuan dynasty. It was founded in 1271 by Khubilai Khan, China’s first Mongol ruler and grandson of Ghenghis Khan.

“The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty” opened today, Sept. 28, 2010, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There are 200 artifacts, most on loan from China. Included are archaeological objects never before exhibited outside the country.

Among the highlights is a “cloth of gold.” That’s the name European traders gave the gold-thread silk woven by craftsmen brought to China from Central Asia and eastern Iran.

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Online: http://www.metmuseum.org

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AP-ES-09-27-10 0548EDT

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Khubilai Khan’s Consort, Chabi, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), album leaf, ink and color on silk, 24 × 18¾ in. (61 × 47.6 cm), National Palace Museum, Taipei. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Khubilai Khan’s Consort, Chabi, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), album leaf, ink and color on silk, 24 × 18¾ in. (61 × 47.6 cm), National Palace Museum, Taipei. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Mandala of Yamantaka-Vajrabhairava, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), circa 1330-32, silk tapestry (kesi), warp, 96⅝ (245.4 cm); weft, 82¼ in. (208.9 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1992, 1992.54. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Mandala of Yamantaka-Vajrabhairava, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), circa 1330-32, silk tapestry (kesi), warp, 96⅝ (245.4 cm); weft, 82¼ in. (208.9 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1992, 1992.54. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bottle, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), porcelain with splashed copper decoration (Jun ware), H. 14 5/8 in (37.1 cm), Hebei Cultural Relics Conservation Center. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bottle, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), porcelain with splashed copper decoration (Jun ware), H. 14 5/8 in (37.1 cm), Hebei Cultural Relics Conservation Center. Image courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art.