To find effective supporting methods for freestanding cultural relics in museums, the aseismic behavior of a cultural relic supported by traditional methods was studied by shaking table tests. Based on the actual size of a showcase in the Palace Museum, a 1:1 scale model was built. A light ceramic cultural relic was put in the showcase by freestanding mode. Five traditional methods were considered for supporting the relic:decreasing the center of mass of the relic using sand, plastic fastener support, tying with nylon lines, application of plasticene and magnetic attraction. Shaking table tests were then carried out to validate the various supporting effects. Using white noise excitation, the basic frequency of the showcase was obtained; by inputting earthquake waves of different type and intensity, seismic responses of both the showcase and he relic were studied. The aseismic results using these five traditional methods are discussed. The experiments show that prominent frequency ingredients of the showcase are far greater than those of the input earthquake waves, which is the main reason why the showcase is not damaged seriously. The experiments also show that although acceleration of input earthquake waves are still focused on the relic after it is supported by any of the five methods, the peak acceleration and displacement values decrease, and the probability of the relic being overturned due to over large oscillation decreases greatly. In addition, nylon line tying and plasticene methods are best so far as far as mitigation of the acceleration response value is concerned.