Genghis Khan at the Field Museum | Exhibition review

I excitedly anticipated the Field Museum's Genghis Khan show—a traveling exhibition produced by Imagine Exhibitions, Inc—opening Friday. The press release states that many of the 200 objects "capture the essence of Khan's empire," which by the time Khan eliminated entire populations, was twice the size of the Roman Empire. Sounds intense, right? Except I failed to realize that means many objects aren't actually from Genghis Khan's time. Alas, the lack of 13th-century Mongolian artifacts makes the "unforgettable journey into Khan's legendary empire" a bit forgettable. But a few artifacts, mostly weapons, are worth seeing—especially for blood-thirsty Game of Thrones fans.

Bonus: "Genghis Khan" stays open at the same time as the the terrific "Mummies." Even the cheapest ticket to the latter ($15–$22) also gets you into the Genghis Khan show, so it's worth a look-see. For more of the exhibit's good and bad, read on after the jump. Buy tickets at fieldmuseum.org.

The good: The exhibit doesn't downplay the brutality of Genghis Khan's 13th-century warfaring empire. A video shows how his advantage came from deftly engineered bows that made his soldiers accurate shots from more than 300 yards. Weapon displays include chain-mail armor, sabers and swords, and copies of catapult-like machines. Other interesting objects to look out for: an 8,000-year-old white jade hair ornament; a beautiful, disintegrating silk coat circa 1400; a case with Mongolian coins, a whistle and a small silver belt bowl circa 1300; and spectacular coral-encrusted pots that, ages ago, fell off Mongolian ships during an unsuccessful attack on Japan. Possibly the thing that most transformed the space from museum gallery to Mongolian Empire were mysterious banners of hair hanging throughout the exhibit.

The bad: The hair banners are mysterious, but must their presence be completely inexplicable? Where is the wall label identifying the objects? Similarly unexplained, a series of short videos feature a handsome, 20-something protagonist who takes us through Mongolia and speaks with scientists and natives. Who is he, and why is he our guide? As I mentioned earlier, I find it unfortunate that galleries with the Khan's treasures are are cluttered with reproductions and 19th- and 20th-century objects. Sometimes less is more.

Blog update
The Field Museum pointed out that the hair banners do in fact have an explanatory wall label. But, I do believe, the text is easy to miss. Here's what it says: "Mongol warriors placed a sulde (spirit banner) outside their doorways to capture the spirit of the Eternal Blue Sky, to stand as guardian, and to symbolize rank. The banner remained in the open air, channeling the power of wind, sky, and sun to the warrior." Pretty fascinating!