Modern Express News (trainee reporter Zhang Wenying, reporter Hu Yumei) once said, "More than 10,000 miles apart, each in the sky." The road is obstructed and long, can the meeting be safe? ”
Now, greeting, "Long time no see, welcome back!" ”
△ Two Ming Dynasty pottery figurines
On December 13, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage hosted a ceremony to donate cultural relics into Tibet, and Ms. Suzanne Fratus of California, USA, donated two Ming Dynasty clay figurines from China 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".
"Homecoming" originated from the transnational exhibition 38 years ago
At the donation ceremony, donor Suzanne delivered an online speech and commissioned the staff to deliver a speech.
△ Exhibition site
Suzanne said that it is a great honor to return the two figurines to the Chinese people. The separation of the two terracotta figurines has witnessed a century-old 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 returned, not through money or political means, but because of the power of love and respect for the people of the Chinese.
It is understood that these two terracotta figurines came to the United States in the early 20th century. At that time, Suzanne's grandfather, John Herbert Waite, was practicing medicine in China, and he obtained two clay figurines and brought them back to the United States. Later, the two figurines were handed over to 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". Suzanne, who went to visit the exhibition, found that a set of honor guard figurines exhibited on the exhibition was very similar to the pottery figurines in her collection. At that time, the head of the Shanghai Museum told her that the pottery figurines should come from the tombs of stolen Chinese nobles.
For nearly 40 years, Suzanne has been looking forward to returning the artifacts to Chinese people in a suitable manner.
Extraordinary value, reproducing the customs of funerals in the Ming Dynasty
In April, the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco received a postal courier from Suzanne containing two photographs of the statue in color and a letter. The letter tells about his family's relationship with the two figurines, expressing the hope that the cultural relics will 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 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, 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.
"Brothers" reunite, and Shangbo New Exhibition continues to write a good story
Thirty-eight years ago, the Shanghai Museum exhibited Ming Dynasty colorful pottery figurines in San Francisco, USA. Today, the "Thousands of Ritual Images - Special Exhibition of Ming Dynasty Colored Glazed Ceramic Figurines" is officially exhibited at the Shanghai Museum, and the two donated pottery figurines are exhibited together with the Ming Dynasty color glazed ceremony guards that were exhibited in San Francisco that year.
A total of 68 cultural relics are exhibited in the exhibition, and the exhibition period is one month.
△ Bright color glazed pottery car figurines
It is understood that the custom of accompanying the burial of the character honor guard team has been from the pre-Qin, and there are pottery figurines and wooden figurines in the Warring States period, and the most familiar are the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang and the Tang Sancai Figurines. In the Ming Dynasty, a scaled-down version of the funeral honor guard was more popular, and archaeological excavations often saw a combination of colorful glazed pottery figurines, excavated in the tombs of the kings and high-ranking officials, so that the deceased people could continue to enjoy the life of the magnates of the former high-ranking official Houlu. The Shanghai Museum has a collection of Ming Dynasty colorful glazed ceremonial warrior pottery, which is magnificent and lifelike. In the honor guard, the samurai rode on horseback to open the road, followed by many musical figurines and literary figurines, and 8 sedans carrying large sedans, as well as various people and other living utensils... It's not busy.
【Extension】
The Nanjing Museum has a collection of 361 cultural relics "returned home" from the United States
In recent years, under the leadership of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, China's overseas cultural relics have made remarkable progress, and it has become a broad consensus to promote the return of cultural relics to the countries of origin.
It is understood that the main ways for cultural relics and artworks to return are: recourse, acceptance of donations, purchase, etc.
Last year, the Nanjing Museum also collected a number of cultural relics and artworks that had returned from overseas. In November 2020, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage officially handed over 361 cultural relics and artworks that had been "returned home" from the United States to Nambo, and held a special small internal exhibition. It is understood that the cultural relics and artworks stationed in Nambo were successfully received from the US government in February 2019 by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage after 5 years of continuous efforts. They involve stone tools, jade, bronzes, pottery, coins, wood carving architectural components and other categories, mostly ancient Chinese burial utensils.
(Courtesy of Shanghai Museum)