The bronze mask is 131 cm wide, 71 cm high, 66 cm deep, and weighs 131 pounds.
Sanxingdui bronze mask appeared at the Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Tiger Central Radio and Television Corporation, which aroused the attention of the whole people. Netizens shouted, "When will the Samsung Pile bronze mask come home?" When will I be able to see you? ”
February 15 is the Lantern Festival, the surging news learned from the Sanxingdui Museum that the Sanxingdui No. 3 sacrifice pit bronze mask released to the people of the whole country in the spring evening has "returned home", officially exhibited for the first time in the Sanxingdui Cultural Relics Protection and Restoration Museum, and sent the Lantern Festival exhibition "Easter eggs" to the majority of tourists.
The staff unloaded the large bronze masks.
It is understood that this bronze mask is 131cm wide, 71cm high, 66cm deep, and weighs 131 kilograms, which is the most complete, largest and best-preserved large-scale bronze mask excavated from the Sanxingdui site. Its wide forehead, exaggerated face, eyebrows, eyes, nose, lips, ears and other lines are smooth and angular. The bronze mask is the most characteristic typical artifact in the Sanxingdui culture, and it should be an artifact placed in the temple for worship.
Lei Yu, director of the Sanxingdui Ruins Workstation and director of the Sanxingdui Museum, introduced that the bronze mask was excavated from the Sanxingdui No. 3 sacrifice pit, buried in the south-central part of the pit, the mask face down, which was superimposed with ivory, after more than three months of careful cleaning, on June 23, 2021, the bronze mask was carefully cared for by 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. Sanxingdui bronze mask, as the largest mask unearthed in the same period in the world, not only reflects the highest achievements of the mainland Shang zhou bronze civilization, but also reflects the highest level of archaeological work in the world today.
"The masks are well preserved and have hardly been slashed or burned too much." Lei Yu said that what was surprising was that, like the silk fabric found in Pit 4, archaeologists found silk textile residues with warp and weft organization in the right eyebrow, right eyeball and right corner of the bronze mask, "which filled a gap in the archaeology of Sanxingdui." The combination of silk and masks with the function of "heaven and theosophy" highlights the meaning of sacred sacrifice.
According to Lei Yu, the casting technology and alloy composition of the bronze mask are the same as those in the Central Plains of the Yellow River Basin, which confirms the pluralistic integration and profundity of Chinese civilization. After the mask extraction, the cultural security personnel analyzed and studied the casting process of the bronze large mask, and its production was first cast and formed, cast by the face, the back of the cheek, the eyes, the ears and other parts, and then welded and combined into one, which is not only the perfect combination of bronze technology and art, but also the unique expression of the spiritual world of the ancient Shu people.
Large bronze mask to meet the public. Courtesy of respondents
In order to ensure the absolute safety of the display of the bronze mask Spring Festival Gala and the back and forth, under the careful organization and guidance of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Sichuan organized relevant cultural institutions to form a special class, carefully formulated a cultural relics safety guarantee plan, and carefully implemented the cleaning, packaging, transportation, unloading, exhibition, security, protection and other work of cultural relics.
First, the preparation and implementation of the cultural relics reinforcement protection plan, according to the results of the previous research and analysis, targeted surface mud stains, soil coverings, cementites, rust (unstable rust and corrosion affecting cultural relics information rust) to do the removal; follow the principle of least intervention, the use of stainless steel structure brackets for complete physical reinforcement, to ensure that the status of cultural relics meet the requirements of transportation display.
Second, entrust institutions with professional qualifications and rich experience in the packaging and transportation of cultural relics at home to undertake the packaging, transportation and exhibition operation of cultural relics. According to the requirements of various indicators such as the shape, size, shockproof, temperature and humidity of cultural relics, tailor-made suitable special packaging and transportation boxes for cultural relics, and use professional cultural relics transport vehicles with constant temperature and humidity for cultural relics transportation. Strictly determine the transportation route, strengthen the safety and security of the cultural relics transportation process, and strictly regulate the exhibition operation to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
Third, in strict accordance with the requirements of the cultural relics preservation environment, docking and implementing the environmental conditions of all aspects of cultural relics transportation, preservation, display, etc., to ensure that cultural relics are preserved and displayed in a stable and safe environment.
Fourth, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage attaches great importance to the relevant responsible persons to check the details of safety and security on the spot, and compact the safety responsibilities of cultural relics one by one, post by post; the Spring Festival Gala program group of the Central Radio and Television Station repeatedly adjusts the program arrangement, starting from the needs of cultural relics safety display, setting the stage exclusive stage type to ensure professional operation time and ensuring the safe and static display of cultural relics at the Spring Festival Gala site.
Sanxingdui on the Spring Festival Gala, but also further stimulated the Samsung Dui cultural tourism "hot", during the Spring Festival Golden Week, Sanxingdui Museum received 83,707 visitors, cultural and creative sales revenue increased by 339.01% year-on-year.
"In order to respond to the exhibition needs of the masses, Sanxingdui Museum mobilized professional logistics and exhibition companies, specially customized the display cabinets, adjusted the exhibition line of the exhibition hall, and finally ensured that the bronze masks could meet with the public during the 'Lantern Festival'." This fully reflects the sanxingdui site's concept of 'sharing the fruits of protection for everyone' and the sanxingdui museum's 'people-oriented' concept of running the museum. Zhu Yarong, director of the Planning and Construction Department of the Sanxingdui Museum Scenic Area Management Committee, said.
In the next step, Sanxingdui Museum will also further carry out the restoration and research of bronze masks with the first-class technical team in the United Nations, and share more sanxingdui cultural relics protection research results with the public through auxiliary display methods such as excavation, restoration and introduction videos, so that the general public can more deeply understand the sanxingdui bronze culture, appreciate the brilliant and colorful ancient Chinese bronze civilization, and stimulate cultural self-confidence.