For thousands of years, the Chinese nation has left a unique civilization and embarked on an aesthetic path that is completely different from other civilizations. Although aesthetics are subjective, the perception of beauty is more or less universal.
In the past, plums introduced the excavation process of many cultural relics and the historical significance behind them, but today I want to take it lighter, just let everyone appreciate some "high-value" cultural relics and see the aesthetic interests of the ancestors.
East Slope Meatstone
When you see this cultural relic, don't think that the plum sent the wrong picture, and sent the Dongpo meat up. In fact, this cultural relic is carved from a piece of natural jade, and the ancient craftsmen ingeniously used the original color of the jade to combine it with the dongpo meat to form such a realistic cultural relic. Today, this artifact is one of the three treasures of the National Palace in Taipei.
Hibiscus stone cockroach ear lid furnace
Speaking of this cultural relic, I have to complain about the aesthetics of Qianlong. Unlike Yongzheng, who likes the beauty of plain elegance, Qianlong has a strong pursuit of color, but the "girl powder" of this cultural relic really makes people feel "in love" after seeing it.
The material of this artifact is hibiscus stone, which is transparent or translucent throughout, and the middle part is carved with four cockroaches, and the top cover is also carved with four small cockroaches, which correspond to each other. It is worth mentioning that this artifact is made of a whole piece of extremely high-quality hibiscus stone rough carefully carved by craftsmen. In the eyes of the ancients, the hibiscus stone was also called the "love stone", which symbolized beautiful love.
Gold-encrusted beast-headed agate cup
Unearthed in the Tang Dynasty, the artifact is 5.6 cm high, 15.6 cm long and 5.9 cm in diameter. From the overall shape, it is in the form of a horned beast, which is a detachable part in the snout area of the animal's head, and the double horn is used as a cup handle. This cultural relic actually has a bit of a combination of things, because its shape is quite similar to the Western "Laitong" wine utensils, which means "economic and trade export" in Greek.
Ji blue glazed white dragon pattern plum bottle
This cultural relic is collected in the Yangzhou Museum, sold by a worker in Yangzhou to a cultural relics store in the 1980s, and later transferred to the Yangzhou Museum, and there are only three plum bottles of this type in the world.
This plum bottle is full of Shi Ji blue glaze, the bottle body is a dragon chasing a dragon ball, the lines are smooth, the texture is tight, the overall look is extraordinary, quite soaring for nine days.
Blue glazed lotus leaf shaped lid jar
This cultural relic, known as the "National Treasure of Porcelain", comes from the Longquan kiln, which is very famous in the history of the mainland, and was found by a farmer in Suining County, Sichuan Province, in his own vegetable garden. The cultural relics are about 31.3 centimeters high, about 23.8 centimeters wide, and the maximum abdominal circumference is close to 1 meter, which is the largest piece of porcelain in the Southern Song Dynasty Longquan celadon that has been discovered.
If we look closely at the body of the tank, we will find that the curves are extremely perfect, the surface is round and delicate, like a lotus leaf gently trembling in the breeze, and the plum-like glaze color adds to the natural meaning.
Unfortunately, the porcelain-making technology of the Longquan kiln was lost after the Three Kingdoms to the Qing Dynasty, which is a pity.
Wrong gold and silver cloud pattern copper rhinoceros
This bronze rhinoceros is a ceremonial vessel from the Western Han Dynasty, and is generally used to hold fine wine during sacrifices.
The "rhino" has a saddle-like part on the back, but it is actually a living cap that can be opened and closed, the hollow abdomen is used to store fine wine, and the side of the rhino's mouth has a tube-like hole for pouring wine.
Such a concept is really amazing, and its muscle texture is even more ingenious, simply making every muscle in the body full of vitality and movement. Today, this cultural relic is preserved in the National Museum of China as a national treasure.
Golden cicada jade leaf
There is a mass burial post at the foot of Wufeng Mountain in Suzhou, which once buried the Ming Dynasty Jinshi and his wife and three concubines, and wore a headdress on his concubine's head, which is a golden cicada jade leaf.
If we look closely at the patterns of the golden cicada, we will find that each pattern is clearly recognizable and can be described as vivid. This golden cicada lies on a leaf made of the best Wada mutton fat jade, with "warm jade" with "rich gold", but it makes the golden cicada a little more agile, it seems that "golden jade good luck" is not completely unreasonable.
Lotus-shaped glass tray
This artifact originated in the Yuan Dynasty and was buried with the famous Wang family in the Yuan Dynasty. This cultural relic can be divided into two parts, the lamp and the tray, the whole is blue translucent glass material, quite a bit of glittering, its lamp is a seven-petal lotus shape, its support body is an eight-petal lotus shape, which can be described as complementary, like a water lily that blooms slowly at night, full of a harmonious vividness.
Pastel lotus suction cup
This artifact is probably the youngest of the above, from the Guangxu period. In ancient times, people called this cup with a straw as a "suction cup", and pastel is a kind of glazed porcelain, which developed to maturity during the Qianlong period.
It can be seen that the color of this pastel is soft, revealing a bit of elegance, making the whole cultural relics more three-dimensional. From the perspective of shape, it reflects the balance between art and practicality of ancient craftsmen, with the flower bud as the bottom of the cup, the petals as the body, and the flower stem as the handle of the cup, making the best use of things while looking very natural.
Qing Dynasty jade cabbage
This cultural relic is in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei and is one of the treasures of the town hall. It was originally the dowry of the Guangxu Emperor's concubine Concubine Jin. After obtaining this piece of fine jade, the craftsmen of the Qing Dynasty carved the green part of a piece of gray jade produced in Myanmar into vegetable leaves according to the characteristics of the jade, and carved the white part into a vegetable gang, which has the meaning of family innocence.
As for why the cabbage is carved with two lifelike grasshoppers? In fact, it has a very beautiful meaning.
The poem has clouds: "Ant Si Yu, Yi Er Descendants, Sting Xi", in fact, the grasshopper is the grasshopper, because of its strong reproductive ability, it means many children and many grandchildren.
Liao Dynasty painted water moon Guanyin statue
This guanyin wooden statue was made in the Liao Dynasty, and judging by its demeanor, it reveals Qingjun Xiuyi in compassion, and the eyes cannot hide the arbitrary wind and currents under the light closing, and there is a little more peace in the heart under close observation.
It is worth mentioning that the upper part of this Guanyin statue retains a number of male features, while the lower half of the posture is female, which fully reflects the evolution of the Guanyin image. Unfortunately, the statue was lost overseas and is now in the Collection of the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in the United States.
C-shaped jade dragon
This cultural relic can be said to be the oldest cultural relic in this article, from the Hongshan culture, which has a history of more than 5,000 years, is called "the first dragon of China" by some experts, and is now collected in the National Museum of China.
Silver gilt-encrusted gold-winged bird
This cultural relic, excavated from the Dali Chongsheng Temple in 1978, is a typical evidence of Dali culture. The artifact is about 18.5 centimeters high and weighs 125 grams, the bird's head is decorated with a feather crown, the wings are rolled inward as if they are preparing to fly, the two claws are sharp and powerful, and the whole bird stands on the lotus flower, and the sacred breath comes out.
In the eyes of the ancient people of Yunnan, the golden-winged bird is the guardian deity of Yunnan, the Sanskrit name is Garouluo, one of the eight parts of the Heavenly Dragon, and the god of zhenshui, deterring the evil dragons in the water.
Plum said
In fact, there are many high-value cultural relics like this, but unfortunately, there is no atlas that can include these high-value cultural relics, and can only be obtained sporadically from different books, which is a bit of regret.