Dahe Bao Yu video reporter Liu Ruichao
Chinese New Year's Eve late at night, the Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Tiger, the "appearance" of a cultural relic, shocked everyone who watched the Spring Festival Gala. It is the large bronze mask excavated from the Sanxingdui site, which is the largest and best-preserved large bronze mask excavated from the Sanxingdui site.
The distant view is shocking enough, and the close contact is an extraordinary experience. Hua Xia, a post-80s cultural relics conservator at the Henan Museum, participated in the restoration process of this large cultural relic in 2021
【Intersection】The close contact between the "post-80s" of the Henan Museum and the bronze mask with a history of more than 3,000 years
This large cultural relic, which dates back more than 3,000 years, is 131 cm wide, 71 cm high and 66 cm deep. Its wide forehead, angular edges, smooth lines of eyebrows, eyes, lips and other parts, protruding from the face, thick and long eyebrows flying, the mask on both sides of the upper and lower sides and in the front of the forehead square perforation, it is speculated that it may be used for fixed purposes. The bronze mask is a typical artifact of sanxingdui culture, reflecting the understanding and thinking of the ancient Shu ancestors on the world of nature and gods.
"I just followed the local restoration experts to do some auxiliary work, more of a learning, to help the restoration team do something." Hua Xia said that he was very happy that our unit sent me to the Forbidden City, and only then was I fortunate to participate in this matter.
In August last year, Huaxia was selected by the Henan Museum to exchange and study in the Cultural and Security Science and Technology Department of the Palace Museum, and two other colleagues were sent to two other departments. At the Palace Museum, he studied bronze restoration techniques with Wang Youliang, a national non-hereditary inheritor.
In October, he followed the staff of the Palace Museum to Sichuan to participate in the restoration of cultural relics excavated from Sanxingdui.
Although it was only a short period of three days, Huaxia was very grateful to the Henan Museum for the opportunity to go out to study, and had the honor to follow the Palace Museum to approach the newly excavated cultural relics of Sanxingdui.
After the excavation of the large bronze mask, there are many places that need to be restored. For example, the right eye of the mask has a lot of rust, shellfish, and some hard knots of dirt attached to it. They mainly use brushes, crochet needles, scalpels and other tools to clean and repair the outer surface of cultural relics, so that the appearance of cultural relics can be repaired and restored.
【Professional】He repairs cultural relics at the Henan Museum to make the cultural relics more durable and more perfect
Conservator is a profession that specializes in the restoration of damaged cultural relics. As a conservator, it not only requires multi-disciplinary expertise, but also a lot of patience and perseverance. The heart is like stopping water, can withstand loneliness, and embodies the spirit of craftsmanship.
In recent years, with the popularity of more and more cultural and cultural programs, the cultural relics fever has also allowed more behind-the-scenes workers to come to the front of the stage and become well-known. The popularity of TV programs such as "I Repair Cultural Relics in the Forbidden City" has also allowed more people to understand the once mysterious team of cultural relics archaeologists.
"What I want is to fulfill all our responsibilities to make the life of cultural relics more lasting, and the cultural relics presented to the public more beautiful and complete." Hua Xia said that it is of great significance to devote himself to it.
As a cultural relics conservator of the Cultural Relics Protection Research Center of Henan Museum, the most exposed to bronze and ceramics in Huaxia. "Cultural relics restoration is a technical work, and it is necessary to repair a certain number in order to have a complete understanding of cultural relics restoration and better technology." He said that the problems with each cultural relic are different, and the seemingly repetitive work contains many differences, which is also its fun.
Like surgeons, conservators need the assistance of specialized equipment. Operating room equipment, dental tools, welding tools. At the beginning, the conservator needs to clean up the cultural relics first, and after about two years of training, slowly stabilize the hand before entering the next stage - restoring the cultural relics. Hua Xia said that the restoration of cultural relics requires not only adhesives and various tools, but also a certain degree of physical knowledge and chemical knowledge.
【Prospect】The restoration of cultural relics may be closer to the public and gradually unveil its mystery
Born in 1984, Huaxia is a standard "post-80s". So far, he has more than 10 years of experience in the cultural and bono industry.
In fact, the cultural relics placed in the exhibition hall for the general public to see are not all complete and undamaged when they are excavated. Hua Xia said that at the archaeological site of cultural relics, rescue restoration of excavated cultural relics is generally carried out. Limited by conditions, materials and craftsmanship are not perfect. After a period of time, the supplementary objects may fall off, and the adhesive places may be opened, so these artifacts need to be restored again.
He said that there are about 20 people in the restoration room of the Cultural Relics Protection and Research Center of the Henan Museum. The restoration room has a large glass wall that will gradually open to specific audiences in the future. At that time, visitors can watch the process of cultural relics restoration through the glass.
Hua Xia said that after the epidemic, the Henan Museum plans to carry out targeted research on cultural relics restoration. According to tourists of different ages and the types of cultural relics in different fields, different study programs are formulated, and the mystery of "cultural relics restoration" is gradually unveiled, and more cultural knowledge is popularized to the public.
Source: Dahe News Yu Video Editor: Wang Fenghua