When it comes to modern cars, the most expensive cars are Ferraris and Rolls-Royces, but in ancient times, there were no cars, and people could only go out in flower cars or ride horses. Regarding the flower palanquin, most people have seen it from costume TV series, ordinary jewelry embellishments, and a few rugged men lifted.
However, among the many flower palanquins, there is a flower palanquin that enjoys the reputation of "the first palanquin in the world", which is the Qingjin foil appliqué palanquin, which is called the ancient Ferrari and is the treasure of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum.
01
Weighing 400 pounds, it took decades to build, and the golden splendor is finely made
The flower palanquin is known as the "happy palanquin" in China, and the ancient people would use the big red palanquin to marry the bride when they got married, which has the meaning of festive and auspicious. Most of the flower palanquins left over from ancient times have become cultural relics, and it is not so easy to rebuild one, even if it is made, it is only a surface.
Among the many ancient flower palanquins, the Qing gold leaf appliqué palanquin is the Ningbo-style palanquin in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty, and the reason why it is called the "Wangong Palanquin" is mainly that tens of thousands of working hours were spent on the construction of the Qingjin Foil Appliqué Palanquin, and dozens of workers had to take at least decades to complete.
The height of the entire palanquin reached more than 2.7 meters high, the length was 1.5 meters, and it weighed more than 400 pounds, requiring eight strong men to carry.
Qing gold leaf appliqué palanquin with wood carving, vermilion paint paving, and then with gold leaf appliqué, the magnificent posture is amazing, the top of the palanquin is carved more than 20 phoenixes, more than 30 dragons, more than 50 cranes, large and small animals and characters reached more than 200, all kinds of flowers, insects, birds and beasts carved vividly, exquisitely.
Compared with other ordinary ancient flower palanquins, another special process of the Qingjin leaf appliqué palanquin is that it adopts a mortise and mortise structure connection, and the whole palanquin does not have a single nail. From a distance, it looks like a small royal palace is in front of us.
This kind of palanquin can be said to be the most representative marriage object in Zhejiang, although it has a history of more than 100 years, it records the level of ancient craftsmanship at that time.
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This roof, which has taken decades to build, is known as the luxury version of "Ferrari", in addition to refinement, where is luxury?
The reason why the Qing gold leaf appliqué palanquin was the ancient luxury "Ferrari" at that time, in addition to the exquisite workmanship, from the appearance it uses the process of vermilion lacquer wood carving, to know that in the Tang and Song Dynasties this process is specially built for the royal family, in addition to the use of high-grade wood as the main material.
In the decorations, mica or mussel shells are also used as embellishments, and the middle part of the palanquin is painted with hundreds of pieces of glass on the lens, each painting is a fragment of a classical famous drama, so that it finally achieves a golden and brilliant effect.
03
Such a complex and luxurious palanquin, which rich and noble family carefully built it?
This luxurious palanquin that has been carefully built for decades, is it the rich family? In fact, this luxury version of the palanquin is not a personal thing, it is specially used for leasing, as if it is a modern wedding company, not specially made for a family, but used for leasing, just like modern people get married and rent a wedding car.
The luxurious palanquin is simply unaffordable for ordinary families, and only the rich and noble families can bear the cost of leasing.
Although the palanquin is very luxurious and the appearance is golden and brilliant, the fly in the ointment is that the internal space of the palanquin is very limited, and the ancient bride wants to go in and out, and needs to dismantle the outside flower board first.
Ancient ancestors not only required the surface to be bright and beautiful, but also required the experience to be comfortable, so for the comfort of the bride, this luxury version of the palanquin must be equipped with a car dismantling master.
Nowadays, this gold leaf appliqué palanquin, which enjoys the reputation of "the world's first car", has become the treasure of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, a first-class cultural relic in the mainland, and one of the most popular exhibits.
From this luxurious palanquin, we not only saw the wisdom of the ancient ancestors at that time, but also saw the local economic development level, which made us truly appreciate the local folk culture.