Four cultural relics were unboxed at Shanghai Museum on Thursday for the upcoming exhibition titled "Ancient Civilizations of the Americas" in early July, marking the beginning of the planning work.
The exhibition opens on July 9 and will represent the sixth installment in the museum's "A Dialogue with the World" series of art and cultural relics exhibitions, and another landmark show on global ancient civilizations following its popular exhibition on Ancient Egypt.
After two years of preparation, more than 1,000 sets of cultural relics from the Americas will be displayed -- many making their debut in China -- offering a systematic overview of the civilizations including the Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca.
The four cultural relics unboxed on Thursday are all core exhibits of the exhibition.
These core pieces include Las Limas Monument 1 from the Museo de Antropología de Xalapa, also known as the Xalapa Museum of Anthropology in Mexico. Thegreen serpentine sculpture depicts a cross-legged youth holding a "were-jaguar baby" with distinct supernatural features across his lap.
Another piece, from Mexico's National Museum of Anthropology, also prominently features were-jaguar elements.
"This cultural relic, a prized possession of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico, is a highly representative piece from the Olmec civilization dating back over 3,000 years. It features the head of a jaguar -- with lips, eyes, and nose showing classic feline characteristics -- attached to a human body," said Chu Xiaobo, curator of Shanghai Museum.
The museum will for the first time dedicate its entire People's Square venue to a single exhibition. The show is expected to be one of the largest and most comprehensive presentations of ancient American civilizations ever staged, according to an official from Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.
As scheduled, the exhibition will run from July 9 this year till Nov. 14, 2027.
Treasures of ancient America unboxed ahead of next month's exhibition debut
