In 2008 TESS supplied demountable showcases to house 43 exquisite terracotta figurines, loaned by Xuzhou Museum (in Jiangsu Province, China) to Colchester Castle Museum for their hugely successful Guardians to the King exhibition.

This was one of many exhibitions throughout the world timed to coincide with the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The timing had an additional local significance, being part of a programme of events to celebrate 20 years of friendship between the County of Essex and Jiangsu Province, China - home to Xuzhou Museum. The figurines were displayed in TESS Demountable's Evolution showcases - designed for sustainable touring and temporary exhibitions. Assembled and dismantled by the museum team, this flexible showcase system ensured that the exhibits were protected and conserved, whilst allowing the public a close-up view of the stunning artefacts. "Evolution showcases offer Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service the flexibility required for our temporary exhibition programme", says Darren Stevens, Exhibitions Officer at the Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service. "We were able to use the same system across both sites to produce two exhibitions simultaneously. We demonstrated the full potential of the system with the Guardians to the King exhibition." Interpretation was provided in a variety of ways. In addition to informative text panels, there were modern replica figurines on open display for handling, audio description, and a short film of a traditional Chinese dancer performing a long-sleeve dance to translate the expressive poses of the figurines into movement.

The Guardian to the Kings exhibition demonstrated the full potential of the TESS Evolution system by producing a 1800mm x 3600mm showcase to exhibit 20 terracotta miniatures from the Han Dynasty.

Darren Stevens,
'Exhibitions Officer, Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service.'