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The food container, Gui of Qin emperor |
Nine previously lost bronze wares from the Qin (221 BC-206 BC) and Jin (1115–1234) dynasties, originally excavated from tombs of Qin emperors in Gansu Province and tombs of Jin marquises in Shanxi Province, were returned to China on November 23 from overseas.
The items were donated by Fan Jirong and Hu Yingying, well-known American-Chinese collectors of Chinese artifacts. They were recently awarded the “Cultural Exchange & Contribution Award”, which is the highest recognition for people overseas who make great contributions to Chinese cultural exchange causes.
The nine bronze wares include one bronze wine jar or you of the Jin emperor, one Tripod or ding of Su, the marquis of Jin; a pair of xu (a container to hold millet) of the Jin marquis; three Tripods or ding of the Qin emperor, two food containers or gui of Qin emperor and one bronze ornament.
Shan Jixiang, director of State Bureau of Cultural Relics, said the artifacts excavated from tombs of Qin emperors in Gansu Province and tombs of Jin marquises in Shanxi Province are of great historical, artistic and scientific value for those studying Qin Dynasty history and the Xia Shang Zhou Chronology Project, a multidisciplinary research program.
The tombs of Qin emperors in Gansu Province and tombs of Jin marquises in Shanxi Province have been damaged by illicit excavation and many precious artifacts have been lost to overseas collectors in the 1990s.
He thanked Fan and Hu for their donation and said that they set a good example for others overseas to return more lost artifacts back to China. He added that those who bring back Chinese artifacts are entitled to get fair compensation according to the spirit of international conventions and practices unless they give up ownership of the artifacts.
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