Exhibition dates: Now through February 7, 2010

New York, NY – The Metropolitan Museum of Art has just opened an exhibition celebrating the musical heritage of China – one of the oldest continuously documented traditions with roots reaching back more than 8,000 years – beginning September 5. Featuring some 60 objects and illustrations – drawn largely from the Museum’s collections of Asian art and musical instruments – Silk and Bamboo: Music and Art of China reveals the dynamic interplay of cultures, the continuity of musical practice, and the diversity of China’s musical traditions from the fifth century B.C. to the present.

This exhibition displays a wide variety of Chinese musical instruments and art, including a rare ivory-covered pipa (lute) and a lacquered qin (zither) of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), extraordinary bells of the fifth century B.C., and a set of pottery figures in the shapes of dancers and musicians from the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) and Tang dynasty (618-907).

The exhibition is made possible in part by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.

Silk and Bamboo will complement the China Festival (October 21-November 10, 2009) offered by Carnegie Hall.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum is offering a variety of educational programs. The exhibition is also featured on the Museum’s website at www.metmuseum.org.

The exhibition is a collaborative effort organized by J. Kenneth Moore, the Frederick P. Rose Curator in Charge, Department of Musical Instruments; and James C. Y. Watt, the Brooke Russell Astor Chairman of the Department of Asian Art.

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Contact:

Elyse Topalian

Naomi Takafuchi

Communications Department

1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028-0198

tel (212) 570-3951 fax (212) 472-2764

communications@metmuseum.org

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