Two Ming Dynasty pottery figurines returning to China are collected in the Shanghai Museum and provided by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage
Beijing, December 13 (Reporter Ying Ni) The State Administration of Cultural Heritage hosted a ceremony for the donation of cultural relics online on the 13th, and Ms. Suzanne Fratus of California donated two Ming Dynasty pottery figurines to the Shanghai Museum.
Guan Qiang, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, attended the ceremony and delivered a speech at the Beijing venue, announcing the opening of the "Thousands of Rituals - Special Exhibition of Colorful Glazed Ceramic Figurines of the Ming Dynasty". Zhou Maoyi, Deputy Consul General of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco, attended online, and the donor, Ms. Suzanne, delivered a video speech.
Guan Qiang (center), deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, attended the ceremony at the Beijing venue and delivered a speech Courtesy of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage
Guan Qiang said that since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, breakthroughs have been made in the recovery and return of lost cultural relics in China. This time, Ms. Susanna, a resident of California, returned the two clay figurines to the Chinese, and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage coordinated with the Chinese Embassy in the United States, the Consulate General in San Francisco and the relevant departments of Shanghai Municipality to jointly promote the smooth return of cultural relics to the motherland. Ms. Suzanne's righteous act of returning the pottery figurines to her homeland shows an admirable and noble character, shows the friendship of ordinary Americans for the people of Chinese, highlights the "true value of art" contained in the return of cultural relics, expresses the common desire of people of all countries to work together to protect the cultural heritage of mankind, and will surely lead more people from all walks of life to pay attention to and support the recovery and return of cultural relics, and promote the return of more lost cultural relics. We are willing to work with the international community to jointly safeguard the achievements of human civilization, promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and make unremitting efforts to practice the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.
A short video of the cultural relics donor, Ms. Suzanne, was played at the ceremony, and a speech was read out by the staff. She said it was a great honor to return the two figurines to the Chinese people. The separation of the two terracotta figurines has witnessed a hundred years of history and inspired people to be friendly, respect each other, and help each other. She admired China's beautiful cultural and artistic achievements and decided to return it to her homeland. The two figurines return, not through monetary or political means, but because of the power of love and respect for the Chinese people.
Courtesy of the donor, Ms. Suzanne, State Administration of Cultural Heritage
Zhou Maoyi, deputy consul general of the Consulate General in San Francisco, said that Ms. Suzanne's donation of ancient cultural relics lost to the United States in China and returned to the Chinese people is a very warm and noble act of righteousness, reflecting the mutual understanding and friendship between the chinese and American peoples. It is hoped that through the two pottery figurines exhibited in Tibet, more people will appreciate the value of Sino-US friendship and promote the healthy and stable development of Sino-US relations.
According to reports, in April this year, the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco received a postal courier from Ms. Suzanne, which contained two colorful figurines and a letter, which told the origin of her family and the two clay figurines, expressing the hope that the cultural relics would be returned to the Chinese through the Chinese government and donated to the Shanghai Museum. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage attaches great importance to it and immediately organizes the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics and the Shanghai Museum to carry out related work such as cultural relics appraisal, judging that these two pottery figurines are Cultural Relics of China, which is more similar to a set of Ming Dynasty colored glazed pottery figurines collected by the Shanghai Museum. In September, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage respected Ms. Suzanne's wishes and designated the Shanghai Museum as the recipient of the two pottery figurines. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage cooperated with the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, Ms. Suzanne, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Cultural Heritage, and the Shanghai Museum, and finally the two cultural relics entered Shanghai on November 26 and returned to the motherland.
On December 2, in accordance with the requirements of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Shanghai Museum organized experts to carry out physical appraisal and confirmed that the two pottery figurines were Ming Dynasty funerary tools, which were precious physical materials for studying the ancient Chinese burial system and pottery history, with important collection value, and were determined to be third-class cultural relics. The two cultural relics are the same as the tire quality of a set of Ming Dynasty pottery figurines in the Shanghai Museum, and the low-temperature lead glaze process applied to the surface, and the shape and production style are very similar to the pointed hat figurines in it, which should be works from the same period and the same region.
Ms. Suzanne's grandfather, John Herbert Waite, practiced medicine in China in the early 20th century and obtained two clay figurines, which were brought back to the United States and later handed over to Ms. Suzanne to inherit. In 1983, in order to celebrate the sister cities between Shanghai and San Francisco, the Shanghai Museum went to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco to hold "Shanghai Museum Collection - 6,000 Years of Chinese Art Exhibition". Ms. Suzanne found that a set of honor guard figurines exhibited on the exhibition was very similar to the pottery figurines in her collection. The person in charge of the Shanghai Museum told him that the pottery figurines should come from the tombs of Chinese stolen nobles. Ms. Susannah has always loved ancient Chinese science and Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture, and has admired the Chinese people, and in the past 40 years, she has always looked forward to returning cultural relics to the Chinese people in a suitable way.
In accordance with the requirements of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Shanghai Museum carefully prepared the "Special Exhibition of Thousands of YiXiang - Ming Dynasty Colored Glazed Pottery Figurines", and exhibited the two donated pottery figurines together with the Ming Dynasty color glazed ceremony guards in the collection of the Museum in San Francisco that year, and then composed a good story. A total of 68 cultural relics are exhibited in the exhibition, and the exhibition period is one month. (End)