The Great Liao of Khitan exhibition at the Inner Mongolian Art Museum, Hohhot
Ziqiao Wang
“The Great Liao of Khitan”, a permanent exhibition about the artifacts of the Khitan people which opened in 2017, restages the landscape of this nomadic life with exciting diversity and infusion between the nomadic and Chinese culture in medieval history.
Numerous artifacts are related to the garments of Khitan people. Two exemplary artifacts are a pair of gilded silver boots belonging to the princess named Taiping, a member of an aristocratic family in 1018, and a gilded silver crown of her husband. The gilded technique was believed to develop in the 8th century Tang dynasty China (618–907 CE) and transmitted to Liao Khitan. The Khitan artisans have to mix gold and mercury together to the silver surface and wait until all the mercury evaporates under the heat. Images of flying phoenixes were created on both these garments. They reflect the nomad Khitan’s admiration of flying creatures. Khitan people have innovated the iconography, originated in Chinese art, with an impressive beak as their own distinctive nomadic style.
In the mural paintings depicting Khitan ministers, another type of boots is found worn by Khitan court ministers. Its colour is black and probably made of leather. These ministers all have round collar robes covering their bodies. Fastened by the waist belt, this clothing provides convenience for Khitan when they are riding horses.
One fascinating object showcasing the identity of Khitan is the painted wooden coffin of an anonymous female Shaman. Created as a miniature house, its lavish decoration evokes the presence of a sacred space for us. It has a pair of stairs at its front, extending from the rectangular coffin. Painted images of the entrance, guardians, and windows at the same side. Symbols of clouds, phoenix, and peonies are typical iconography used in Chinese art in the medieval era. However, Khitan artisans here innovatively placed them on different sides to visualise the spiritual travel of dead Shaman in nature, as means to embrace their nomadic heritage.
A vivid model of a horse, adorned with sumptuous gold saddles, laces, and girdles, reveal the special bond between horse and Khitan people in history. These clothing for horses is also decorated with flowers and flying phoenix are vividly carved on the surface. Their beauty also suggests that Khitan people in history would have treated these ornaments as tokens for themselves.
This exhibition, overall, critically recovers a great deal of Khitan in history, who once changed the pre-modern history of China and history of Inner Asia. It could both serve as a source of inspiration for anyone interested in China, Inner Asia, and transcultural communication in the medieval world.
Ziqiao Wangcurrently pursues his doctoral degree in art history in the University of Edinburgh. He holds a MA in medieval European art and architecture from the Courtauld Institute of Art, and the MA East Asian art and archaeology from SOAS, University of London. Ziqiao's deep interest in the east-west visual culture was stemming from his interdisciplinary training of art history and visual culture in the United States. Ziqiao’s research interest lies in transcultural art history of the pre-modern world. He had presented his research on comparative studies of portals in Christian and Buddhist religious architectures at Kent, while he had also proposed a postgraduate conference on the visual culture of borders at Leeds. One recent lecture was about David Hockney's medieval-style stained glass window in the Westminster Abbey, delivered during David Hockney's solo exhibition at the Modern Art Museum Shanghai.
