Six naked pottery figurines returned from the United States were also among the exhibits. Made in the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-24 AD), they were illegally unearthed in 2001 in the eastern outskirts of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, and then sold overseas. One year later, the U.S. Customs detained and sealed up the six figurines before they were going to be auctioned off by American Sotheby's. In June 2003, the lost relics finally returned home safely. Archeological research shows that these pottery figurines had wooden arms and were clad with fineries when buried two thousand years ago.
The most eye-catching exhibits were 156 pieces of Chinese relics which returned from Denmark this year. Mostly composed of pottery figurines made from Han (206 BC-220 AD) to Ming (1368-1644) dynasties, these masterpieces show how Chinese’s clothing style changed over the past two millenniums. Together with these pottery figurines are pottery poultries, domestic animals, houses, and furniture. In February 2006, the Denmark police found out and detained some suspicious foreign artistic treasures, including the 156 pieces of Chinese relics. The National Relic Bureau of China got the news and expressed the will to take them back. Two years later, after negotiations of China and Denmark parties, the Denmark court ruled that these Chinese relics should be returned to China.
Also on exhibit were 31 pottery figurines which showed up abroad and were purchased and donated to China’s government by overseas Chinese. They were from Shaanxi Hanyang Tomb, where Liu Qi (188 -141 BC), the fourth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, and his queen were buried.
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