The evening of January 31 is the night Chinese New Year's Eve Lunar New Year,
Excavated from the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan
The bronze mask appeared in the "Spring Festival Gala",
Get a lot of attention.
This large bronze mask
Width 131cm, height 71cm,
Depth 66 cm, weight 131 kg,
It is a piece of form excavated from the sanxingdui site at present
The most complete, the largest, the best preserved
Large bronze mask.
Such a huge artifact
How can I safely travel long distances?
What are the stories of its excavations?
The reporter learned that this large bronze mask is wide and broad, angular, the eyebrows, eyes, lips and other lines are smooth, all prominent on the face, thick and long eyebrows are raised, and there are square perforations in the upper and lower sides of the mask and in the middle of the forehead, which may be used for fixed purposes. The bronze mask is a typical artifact of the Sanxingdui culture, which should be an artifact placed in the temple for people to worship, reflecting the understanding and thinking of the ancient Shu ancestors on the natural things and the world of gods and gods.
Large bronze mask on the front. Courtesy of Sichuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
This precious cultural relic was unearthed in the No. 3 sacrifice pit of the Sanxingdui site, buried in the south-central part of the pit, with the mask face down and the ivory pressed on it, which was carefully cleaned for more than three months before it was safely excavated. On June 23, 2021, the bronze mask was passed away under the careful care of archaeologists. In order to extract safely, cultural security experts carefully formulated a plan, scientifically developed a reinforcement body, and carefully implemented hoisting, and finally succeeded.
The moment the large bronze mask was unearthed. Courtesy of Sichuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Archaeologists and cultural relics conservators analyzed and studied the casting process of the bronze mask and believed that its production was first divided into molding, respectively casting the face, the back of the cheek, the eyes, the ears and other parts, and then combined into one, the right eye of the large mask also found that there are silk fabric residues of warp and weft tissue. The combination of silk and mask with the function of "heaven and theosophy" highlights the meaning of sacred sacrifice.
Such an important cultural relics must go to Beijing for "business trips", and their safety protection work must not be sloppy. It is understood that in order to ensure the safety of the display of Sanxingdui cultural relics at the Spring Festival Gala, the State Administration of Cultural Relics has conducted on-the-spot inspection of safety and security details, guided and supported the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and the Sanxingdui Museum, together with professional cultural relics transportation and exhibition units, dispatched business backbones, formed a special work class, accurately formulated a cultural relics safety guarantee plan, compiled and implemented a cultural relics reinforcement and protection plan, and carefully organized the implementation of cultural relics protection, cultural relics transportation, cultural relics preservation, exhibition operations and other work to ensure the safety of cultural relics.
Large bronze mask side. Courtesy of Sichuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
Following the principle of least intervention, the use of stainless steel structure brackets for complete physical reinforcement to ensure that the status of cultural relics meets the requirements of transportation display; according to the shape, size, shockproof, temperature and humidity and other indicators of cultural relics, tailor-made suitable cultural relics special packaging and transportation boxes for cultural relics, using constant temperature and humidity of professional cultural relics transport vehicles for cultural relics transportation. Strictly determine the transportation route, strengthen the safety and security of the cultural relics transportation process, strictly regulate the exhibition operation, and ensure that there is no mistake; strictly follow the environmental requirements for the preservation of cultural relics, dock and implement the environmental conditions of cultural relics transportation, preservation, display and other links, and ensure that cultural relics are preserved and displayed in a stable and safe environment...
Thanks to meticulous conservation efforts, the world's largest and most complete bronze humanoid mask ever discovered meets the general public as it leaves the old and welcomes the new. It is reported that it is born out of the character image, reflects the ancient Shu ancestors' profound thinking and unique understanding of the world of people and gods, is a representative artifact of the ancient Shu civilization; adopts the same casting technology as the Anyang Yin Ruins bronze ware, reflecting the in-depth exchange between the Sanxingdui culture and the Central Plains and surrounding cultures; the Sanxingdui mask group represented by it confirms the diverse, broad and profound cultural characteristics of Chinese civilization.
The staff is carefully protecting the bronze mask. Photo courtesy of Sanxingdui Museum
By the end of 2021, more than 10,000 numbered cultural relics have been excavated from the six newly discovered sacrifice pits of Sanxingdui, including gold masks, top statues, round square figures, large masks, altar models, kneeling bronze figures, more than 500 ivory and many other exquisite cultural relics, some of which can be viewed at close range in the Sanxingdui Open Cultural Relics Restoration Museum. Many cultural relics such as Tongzun, Tongzun, Yuzhang, and Yuqun show the close connection between Shudi and the culture of the Central Plains and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and empirically demonstrate the historical development process of the pluralism and integration of Chinese civilization.
Source: China News Service WeChat public account