Description
A video shared by Xihua news agency in 2021 presents a compilation of objects that have been gifted by the Republic of China and asks: “do you know that inside the buildings of the UN agencies, there are a lot of art pieces from China.” Unlike the contested and therefore more vocal claims to artifact restitution, heritage object-extensions in the form of gifts or temporary exhibitions receive less media and scholarly attention, and they are often interpreted as forms of desirable, peaceful cultural exchanges. And yet, as this paper shows through an analysis of Silk Road exhibitions, these heritage displays are significant moments of global cultural politics. Part of their significance resides in the cultural-historical narratives that are crafted around these traveling objects. At the same time, these exhibits create occasions for formal visits, increased diplomatic dialogue, and the conclusion of agreements for further cooperation, including and extending beyond the cultural domain. To illustrate these dynamics, the paper focuses on Silk Road exhibits held by the People’s Republic of China in developing countries. This empirical focus is based on existing research, which has shown that while exhibits in developed countries often emerge through a curatorial give and take, the exhibits in developing countries are prepared domestically in China, which has control over the choice of material artifacts and attendant narratives. First, I show how these exhibits communicate recurrent themes of familiarity and historical cooperation, at the same time as they tailor their emphases to the exhibition-receiving country through careful artifact curation. Second, I analyze instances of cultural and economic cooperation that are agreed upon around these exhibitions, focusing on how similar narrative frames travel between the exhibitions and these political relations.
