The exhibit, "Possessing the Past: Mysteries of Ancient Chinese Art," is the first public showing of the Tseng Family Collection. It includes more than 100 pieces of archaic jade, an assortment of ancient bronze, Neolithic pottery, earthenware and Stone Age tools.

Highlighting the collection is a 3,000-year-old gold and bronze vessel valued at $5.5 million that is believed to be unique in the world. The collection includes a bronze bull with inlaid gold and silver dating back to between the eleventh and sixth centuries B.C., a glass water buffalo weight from between 400-221 B.C., and a Stone Age axe blade believed to be between 1.5-2 million years old.

Curator Tony Gardner said he expected visitors to the exhibit to be struck by the detail and fine craftsmanship that went into each piece, particularly given the time periods in which the pieces were created. He noted that artisans thousands of years ago were able to work with complex and hard materials such as jade and bronze to create intricate and complicated objects.

"I personally was amazed at the level of craftsmanship of these ancient artisans," Gardner said. "Their imaginative decorations made thousands of years ago are still admired today."

The exhibit will be open to the public through Aug. 27 in the Oviatt Library's C.K. and Teresa Tseng Gallery, named for Roland Tseng's parents. The library is located in the center of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

In fall 2003, entrepreneur Roland Tseng pledged to Cal State Northridge a collection of Chinese antiquities valued at up to $38 million. The gift was designated for public display and academic study. It was the largest donation in the history of the California State University system.

Tseng, a veteran art collector who also has helped the Chinese government with its own preservation efforts, said he chose Cal State Northridge for the collection because of the university's long and deep connections with China, and because the university is a place where the antiquities can be publicly shown and studied in many different disciplines.

In recognition of the gift, the CSU Board of Trustees in January 2004 approved renaming the College of Extended Learning as the Roland Tseng College of Extended Learning, and the west wing of the Oviatt Library--where the prized art will be displayed--as the Tseng Family Wing.

Roland Tseng is a corporate founder and inventor, an internationally published author and a photographer and martial arts expert. In April 2003, he was one of a group of local Asian Americans honored as role models by Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn. His family also has longtime ties to Cal State Northridge.

Tseng's donated antiquities are now part of the Special Collections and Archives area of the Oviatt Library. Tseng's gift also will establish an endowment to permanently support the collection and its activities.

The university and Tseng expect the collection will become a focus for academic research by the university's own faculty and students, and by researchers from around the world, including China.

The Oviatt Library is home to more than one million volumes, three million microfilms, 125,000 government publications, 7,798 periodical titles and an extensive historical collection of mixed media, rare books and archives. It serves as the main research facility in the San Fernando Valley.

California State University, Northridge has 33,000 full- and part-time students and offers 61 bachelor's and 42 master's degrees as well as 28 education credential programs. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley and the fourth largest in the 23-campus CSU system. The university serves as the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Valley and beyond.