Qianlong Chen Zuzhang carved an olive nuclear boat (whole) collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Qianlong Chen Zuzhang carved an olive nuclear boat (back) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Qianlong Chen Zuzhang carved an olive nuclear boat (side) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Qing Chen Ziyun carved olive core Panasonic Coats fan pendant (front) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Qing Chen Ziyun carved olive core Panasonic Coats fan pendant (back) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Qing Chen Ziyun carved olive core Songyin fishing fan pendant (front) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Qing Chen Ziyun carved olive core Songyin fishing fan pendant (back) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Mid-Qing Dynasty Ivory silk woven flowers and birds fan Collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing
"Yongzheng Twelve Beauty Figures" of "Tong Yin Tea"
Qing Chen Ziyun carved olive core flower fan pendant (front) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Qing Chen Ziyun carved olive core flower fan pendant (back) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Ming Dynasty sprinkled gold paper bamboo fracture fan (excavated from the tomb of Wu Lin)
Carved olive core pine yin fishing music fan pendant
Qing 17th/18th century Chen Ziyun system
On the olive core, which is only three centimeters high, with a general view composition, the relief of the creek bank under the pine shade, the two fishing boats moored on the shore, the boaters and the people on the shore are drinking and talking, although the size is small, the use of high relief, hollowing and other carving techniques, presenting the picture theme, the character expression is vivid and dynamic, the pine tree ship and other details are extremely exquisite, and the axe is used to carve the mountain stone texture, the yin carved thin line depicts the distant mountain space, the whole nuclear carving is extremely skillful, in the performance of the technique as the bamboo carving, the layers are clear, and the sense of space is full of landscape painting, and there are carvings." Gengchen Mengxia looked ahead, Chen Ziyun made it."
Chen Ziyun, or a sculptor in Suzhou in the early Qing Dynasty, can easily find from the two olive core sculptures of "Panasonic Coats" and "Flowers" that are on display at the same time, and his proper use and treatment of composition and carving techniques present a picturesque nuclear carving miniature space.
Qing peach core carved basket Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Qing nuclear sculpture quiet listening to the pine fan pendant (overall) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Qing nuclear sculpture quiet listening to the pine fan pendant (front) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Qing nuclear sculpture quiet listening to the pine fan pendant (back) Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
In ancient China, a three-dimensional micro-carving technique was prevalent, which carved figures, animals, ships, flowers, birds, landscapes and other images on walnut cores, peach cores, apricot cores, and olive cores. The core is delicate, tough, with a small texture and easy to play the knife, making it a very ideal material for making three-dimensional micro-carving. Therefore, the fruit core carving has become the main form of expression of miniature three-dimensional carving.
Qing Chen Zuzhang Olive Core Carving Boat Taipei National Palace Museum
The history of three-dimensional micro-carving is very long, starting from the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, the fruit core carving technology is limited by the fruit core itself, can only be based on round carving, relief carving, artists should make full use of the shape, hemp pattern, texture of the fruit core, according to the material, careful layout. The Ming Dynasty fruit core carving entered its heyday, and people called it "ghost craftsmanship". At that time, especially the art of olive core carving reached a very high level, and the dignitaries regarded it as a treasure and became popular as an ornament to wear. In the Qing Dynasty, the art of fruit core carving flourished for a long time, and famous artists emerged. During the Kangxi Dynasty, there were Suzhou Jin Lao (name unknown), Jiading Feng Xilu, And during the Qianlong Period, there were Suzhou Song Qifeng, Shen Junyu, and Chen Zuzhang, a famous Guangdong teacher in Ruyiguan, all of whom were skilled people.
One of the most famous works of fruit core carving in the Qing Dynasty court is Chen Zuzhang's "Dongpo Night Tour Chibi" olive nuclear boat, which is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The miniature sculpture is 1.6 cm high, 3.4 cm long and 1.4 cm long, with a slightly darker orange-red color.
In this work, Chen Zuzhang draws on the experience of his predecessors and has developed in terms of skills and connotations. The upper and lower windows of the boat are available, the opening and closing are free, the mat patterns are carved on the canopy, the mast on the boat is upright, the ropes and sails are prepared next to it, and the cups and plates on the table in the cabin are in disarray. There are eight characters, including Su Dongpo, guests, guest wives, gonggongs, and book boys, each with a different look. Sitting by the window in the cabin is Su Dongpo, his head wrapped in a scarf, wide sleeves, quietly looking out the window, as if he is savoring the scene of the mountains and the moon, the water falling out of the rocks, and it seems to be listening to the breeze and the sound of the river; gonggong seems to not bear to disturb the qingxing of tourists, and deliberately slows down so that guests can enjoy the water and moon.
The carving technique of this boat is exquisite and delicate, and strives to create a poetic mood, and the clothes, tables and chairs of the characters in the boat strive to conform to the social life of the Song Dynasty. The characters' looks and actions can properly reflect their identity, temperament and state of mind.
The bottom of the boat is engraved with more than 300 words in the full text of Su Dongpo's "Hou Chibi Fu", and there is a "Qianlong Ding Wei May Minister Chen Zuzhang System" under it, which increases the artistic content of the work, engraved in italics, handsome and beautiful, delicate and orderly, which can be called a ghostly craftsmanship. This work also shows that the art form of micro-carved olive core boat has become a court art in the Qing Dynasty.
When Puyi left the palace in 1924, this miniature sculpture was stored in the "Rosewood Duobaoge Tiliang Rectangular Box" in the Yangxin Hall, perhaps because there were more than 200 small cultural relics stored in this multi-treasure grid, and the inspection team of the 14th Year Clearance Committee of the Republic of China did not find this small nuclear boat when counting, and only found it when it was checked again.
Ming Yangji Chibi Night Tour
In 2015, researchers at the University of Cincinnati discovered an ancient tomb in southern Greece.
The approximate location is shown in the image above.
According to National Geographic, the tomb is located in Pylos, Peloponnese, and Homer mentioned in the epic poem Odyssey as the seat of the royal palace of King Nestor.
The archaeology was considered a major discovery at the time, with 1,400 artifacts unearthed in the tomb as the tomb of a Bronze Age warrior dating back 3,500 years. The tomb houses a well-preserved warrior skeleton, named "Griffin Warrior" by archaeologists who follow the old kiln. The reason is that one of his funerary offerings is a panel depicting a griffin. The burial items of the Griffin Warrior also contain a gold stamp ring and a bronze sword.
The tomb unearthed a wide variety of eye-catching artifacts and ornaments, including bronze, gold, silver, agate, crystal and other dazzling artifacts and ornaments, so the most astonishing discovery came miraculously after two years of cleaning.
Unlike these gleaming excavations, which were heavily covered in limestone and dirt at the time of excavation, and were only about 3.5 centimeters long, archaeologists simply treated it as an ordinary ornament —
No one could have imagined that this little thing would subvert history.
After nearly a year of cleanup, an amazing work of art appeared on the gem!
This is a masterpiece in 3.5 centimeters!
The archaeologists were almost stunned: "It is so exciting to see this treasure, I almost cried with joy." ”
This piece of agate has been dubbed "Pylos Combat Agate" by researchers.
The picture focuses on the public account Gu Yu Worm depicts a victorious warrior who has just defeated the first opponent, Gu Yu Worm, and immediately raises his sword to stab another enemy in the throat. Onyx is clearly engraved with muscles throughout the body.
The style of the painting is similar to the film "Troy" starring Pitt, which is based on Homer's Epic.
As for the picture of the agate carving, in order to see the details of the carving, archaeologists must use microscopic camera lenses. In some places it is only half a millimeter.
Archaeologists believe that such works, in the process of carving, magnifying glasses are also indispensable, but so far, archaeologists have not found the magnifying tools of the time.
Jack Davis, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, described it at a news conference: "The details are incredibly small. ”
In an interview, Davis said that the old kiln had not found such elaborate artifacts in the next thousand years, "[other artifacts] compared to it, like the difference between Mickey Mouse and Michelangelo." ”
The sophistication of the carving has forced historians to re-examine the level of craftsmanship of that era. During the Aegean civilization, no carvings of the same standard were found. The history of Greek art may be rewritten by this little agate.
Researchers say the griffin warriors were buried around 1450 BC, a period of political turmoil in ancient Greece. It is generally believed that the Mycenaean civilization of mainland Greece defeated the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. Minoan art greatly influenced the Greek mainland, and many Minoan art at that time was imported or looted. The graves of the "Griffin Warriors" reflect the high level of cultural exchange that already existed at that time. The exact identity of the warrior is unclear, but the large number of Minoan artifacts in the tomb suggests that the owner of the tomb was most likely an elite of the Minoan civilization or a Mycenaean who was fascinated by the Minoan civilization.
The picture depicted in "The Battle of Pylos onyx" remains a mystery.
The researchers did not find enough evidence to link it to Homer's Epic in 700 BC. But the researchers believe it should depict a famous legendary event at the time.