Morgan Stanley announced today its sponsorship of The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army , a major loan exhibition opening at The British Museum, London, on 13 September 2007. Featuring many figures rarely seen outside China, the exhibition will offer an introduction to the life of the First Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, and the significant impact he had on the development of China as a nation.
The exhibition is of particular significance to Morgan Stanley as the Firm has been working with clients in China for many decades and continues to increase its presence and franchise in the country. In 1995, Morgan Stanley was the first international securities firm to participate in China's first joint venture investment bank, China International Capital Corporation Limited, and, with its acquisition of Nan Tung Bank in 2006, was the first among its peers to establish an onshore commercial banking platform in China.
Jonathan Chenevix-Trench, Chairman of Morgan Stanley International, said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with the British Museum for this tremendously exciting exhibition. Morgan Stanley was the first to bring international investment banking services to China and we are very proud to be able to help bring to Europe this rare insight into China's past, the first time many of these treasures will ever have left China. This will be an extraordinary exhibition in every way."
Morgan Stanley's sponsorship will also support the British Museum's education programme which, through extensive teaching programmes for UK schools and adult learning, will provide a generation with a unique opportunity to gain a greater understanding of China's past, present and future.
Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, said, "We are most grateful to Morgan Stanley for their generous sponsorship of the exhibition which has enabled us to give visitors the opportunity to see these important and iconic objects in London and to learn more about China's past and present."
Note to Editors:
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management, wealth management and credit services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 600 offices in 30 countries. For further information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
Morgan Stanley's Arts and Education Programme
As a global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley supports an extensive programme of cultural and educational projects, believing firmly in the benefits these bring to the communities in which the Firm operates. In Europe, past arts sponsorship have included:
- The Old Vic Theatre Company, London (Sept 04–Dec 06)
- Primatice at the Louvre, Paris (Sep 04–Jan 05)
- Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Ute Lemper European Tour (Oct–Nov 04)
- Elizabeth at the National Maritime Museum, London (May 03–Sep 03)
- Stars of the White Nights at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg (Jun 03)
- Les Arts Florissants (Jan 00–Dec 02)
- Surrealism: Desire Unbound at Tate Modern, London (Sep 01–Jan 02)
- Corporate Founder Sponsor of the Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House, London (Nov 00)
- Treasures of Catherine the Great - Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House, London (Nov 00-Sep 01)
- Encounters: New Art from Old at The National Gallery, London (Jun–Sep 00)
- John Singer Sargent – The Tate, London (Oct 98-Jan 99)
Community and education programmes, supported through the Firm's grant-making Foundation in London, include Businessdynamics, East-Side Educational Trust, Museum in Docklands, the National Maritime Museum, Young Enterprise and the Young Person's Concert Foundation.
In addition, Morgan Stanley has its own flagship education initiative, the J8 Global Citizenship Programme, which is run in partnership with UNICEF. Using the G8 as a framework, the programme gives 13-17 year olds across the world an opportunity to learn more about topical global issues, to come together to debate and discuss these issues, and to present their ideas to world leaders.
About the Exhibition
The exhibition will run from 13 September 2007 until 6 April 2008. It will examine the impact and legacy of Qin Shihuangdi, who first united the various warring states of China into one political body in 221BC, making China the oldest surviving political entity in the world. The initial construction of the Great Wall began under his reign and he presided over the standardisation of coinage, weights and measures as well as script, which represented a huge step towards the development of China as a nation. The exhibition will offer an introduction to the First Emperor’s life and, through the use of new research and excavation, a reassessment of his most enduring physical legacy, his tomb. The exhibition will include over 120 loan objects, including 20 complete figures from the tomb of the First Emperor. For further information about the exhibition, please access the British Museum website at: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Contact: Media Relations, Andrea Bothamley, +44.20.7425.4943