In 1989, a groundbreaking exhibit of imperial Chinese artifacts came to Columbus, Ohio. It was supposed to tour the nation. Then Tiananmen Square happened.
I am from Orlando and I absolutely remember seeing that jade suit at the Orlando Museum of Art. Googling shows that an abbreviated version of Son of Heaven went on tour a few years later, "Imperial Tombs of China", which came to Orlando in the summer of 1997, looks like? I wonder if this is related to the Sun of Heaven exhibit fiasco...I remember something about being disappointed that the Sun of Heaven exhibit never made it. However the "Imperial Tombs of China" was not a "blockbuster" exhibit, and at the time, the Orlando Museum of Art was not a very big venue. I wonder if there was any relationship to Splendid China, the theme park of "miniatures" that was open from 1993-2003. Seems like any exhibit should have happened there. Hmmmmmmmmmm....what an interesting investigation!
I am from Orlando and I absolutely remember seeing that jade suit at the Orlando Museum of Art. Googling shows that an abbreviated version of Son of Heaven went on tour a few years later, "Imperial Tombs of China", which came to Orlando in the summer of 1997, looks like? I wonder if this is related to the Sun of Heaven exhibit fiasco...I remember something about being disappointed that the Sun of Heaven exhibit never made it. However the "Imperial Tombs of China" was not a "blockbuster" exhibit, and at the time, the Orlando Museum of Art was not a very big venue. I wonder if there was any relationship to Splendid China, the theme park of "miniatures" that was open from 1993-2003. Seems like any exhibit should have happened there. Hmmmmmmmmmm....what an interesting investigation!
!! Oh that's SO interesting! I will have to look into that too, how fascinating — thank you for bringing it up!