Celebrated as the Golden Age of Chinese history, the Tang dynasty (618–907) was an era of great economic prosperity, political power, and cultural production. Foreign goods, exotic luxuries, and new technologies traveled along the Silk Road to the Tang capital of Chang’an, and spread from there to enrich Chinese visual and material culture. The openness that characterized Tang society and the influx of new ideas and materials led to an infusion of new motifs and styles in the arts.
Featuring ceramics, sculpture, and metalwork, Transcending Boundaries explores cultural influences in Tang daily life and the development of religious and mortuary arts of the period. The enduring legacy of Tang art is traced through later paintings that emulated the dynasty’s styles or were inspired by its tales. The exhibition showcases the innovative adaptations that crossed boundaries between foreign and indigenous cultures, past and present, and secular and sacred traditions.