Mexico City, Mexico — The Hunan Museum in Changsha, in the People’s Republic of China, has on display archaeological pieces from the ancient civilizations of Mexico.
The exhibition, the Jaguar, a Totem of Mesoamerica, is being shown for the first time. It opened July 2 and will remain in the Hunan province until September 18. From there, it will be placed in other Chinese venues for one year.
The jaguar exhibition is made up of fragments of murals, large-format ceramic and stone pieces that refer to the feline figure.
The exhibition shows the millennial presence of the jaguar in Mesoamerica dating back three millennia during which its image has been sculpted, traced, modeled and painted on material supports from numerous cultures.
The museographic proposal aims to transmit knowledge based on coexistence with this animal, through a selection of 146 archaeological and eight ethnographic objects, including fragments of Teotihuacan murals, Tláloc pots, a Zapotec funerary urn and anthropomorphic figurines.
The exhit also showcases tombstones with bas-reliefs from the INAH collections, from the National Museum of Anthropology, the Templo Mayor Museum, the National Museum of World Cultures, the Teotihuacan Archaeological Zone, the Chiapas Regional Museum and the William Spratling.
The jaguar, a Mesoamerican totem, organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico through the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the Beijing Kunyuan Culture and Museum Exhibition Co. Ltd, will tour five museums in the People’s Republic of China from July 2023 to September 2024.
The latest exhibitions of Mexican heritage carried out in the Asian country included Stones from Heaven, Jade Civilizations (2012), which was presented at the Palace Museum in Beijing, and Mayas, the language of beauty (2014), at the National Museum of China in Beijing.
In June, Mexico opened its Ancient Mayan Exhibition in the Tokyo National Museum. On display are sculptures, ceremonial objects and ancient manuscripts, offering an approach to these three pre-Hispanic civilizations. The exhibit is open until September 3, 2023.
After Toyoko, the exhibition will run at the Kyushu National Museum in Fukuoka from October 3 to December 10, 2023 and then at the Osaka National Museum of Art from February 6 to May 6, 2024.
