Since the founding of New China, the state has been strengthening the protection of cultural relics and has been committed to recovering them from overseas in the last years of the Qing Dynasty. Most of the twelve bronze heads of the Yuanmingyuan, which are familiar to everyone, have returned to China so far, but most of them have been bought back at real costs of money and silver, and it is not the invading countries that have taken the initiative to return them.
In fact, there are many more examples, and in 2013, an auction was held at the Beijing Poly Group. The highlight is an "ancient wardrobe" in the Yuanmingyuan, which was not wanted by others at first, and was picked up by a foreigner. When it came to selling, it was sold for 93.15 million yuan, what is the collection value?
The Yuanmingyuan was regarded as a very powerful building among the imperial gardens of the Qing Dynasty, no less than the Summer Palace. Now that the latter is well kept, we are fortunate to be able to see the beautiful garden, and it will be handed over to future generations in the future. However, the Yuanmingyuan no longer exists, and even if future generations want to restore it, it is still difficult.
The reason was the Second Opium War, the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government, which led to the British and French allies killing all the way to the city of Beijing. In that war, the city of Beijing was destroyed very badly, and the invaders burned and looted very badly. What makes many people even more sad is that the Yuanmingyuan was destroyed by a fire by the British and French coalition forces, which is really a pity. This place began with the Kangxi Emperor, and later emperors have been building it continuously, and is known as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens". Therefore, the burning of this garden has become an eternal regret in the minds of many people. The heartache is not only those lost cultural relics, but also because of its own value, representing the extremely high level of Chinese royal gardens.
All the treasures collected by the rulers of the previous dynasties at that time were plundered by the invaders. Some are shipped overseas, but in fact, the treasures are of high value, ranging from ancient Chinese artifacts to exquisite Western objects. The destruction of the Old Summer Palace is a major loss in the entire history of mankind. Precious treasures have been scattered all over the world ever since. At that time, imperialism grabbed the red eye and almost snatched whatever it saw.
Among the looted collections was a large cabinet, which the invaders took away, mainly as a cabinet to carry other treasures. At that time, they did not know that the cabinet, called the rosewood carved Nine Dragon Pattern Large Four-Piece Cabinet, belonged to the superior product. At that time, the invaders only had those gold and jade objects in their eyes, and this cabinet, because of its huge size, no one wanted to ask for it. Apparently they didn't know the goods, so they were picked up by the famous Danish collector Ma Yile and collected them in his home.
In ancient times, whether it was the family of the emperor or the family of ordinary people, they would add wardrobes to their homes. Mainly for the purpose of loading things, when necessary, there will be some treasures, and the appearance rate is quite high. The more high-ranking officials and aristocrats, the more exquisite the cabinet, in addition to the choice of good materials, there is also the "appearance" outside the cabinet. Placed in the room, invisibly enhance the identity of the owner, some cabinets are made into works of art, far more than the items themselves.
The products themselves are 3.25 meters high, which is the largest rosewood enhancement on the market, and this wood is very precious. Look closely at this cabinet, with a strong imperial atmosphere, the carving is very fine. Looking at it up close, the pattern carving is not a mortal thing. This cabinet is highly skilled in making, using a unique "shoveling" high relief technique. Not only for the wood has extremely high requirements, but also to test the professional level of workers, not ordinary people to make it.
The cabinet door panels are exquisitely carved with cloud dragons, and the craftsmanship is exquisite, which looks lifelike. In the history of China, the dragon is very exquisite, there is that sentence: the water moon is zen and silent, and the fish and dragon listen to the sound of Brahma. The ruler is very important, not ordinary people can have, invisibly enhance the "value" of the furniture. There are also beautiful landscape paintings on the countertop, which is very suitable for the overall scene. During the flourishing period of the Qing Dynasty, some Western cultures spread to China and were reflected in handicrafts. A set of classic carved ornaments, "passionflower", is popular, and craftsmen carve it on furniture.
To some extent, "synthesize" Chinese and Western cultures, but people do not know how to appreciate, so they do not value it very much. Even it Wasle ma'er just thought it looked good, and didn't perceive the historical knowledge behind it. This furniture was stolen from the Yuanmingyuan and has a great connection with the royal family, using the royal totem - the dragon, representing the supreme dignity of the royal family. Invisibly enhance its original value, so that the value of this piece of furniture is further enhanced.
The dragon on the wardrobe uses a five-clawed flying dragon, which only the emperor can use, in fact, it used to be used by the Qianlong Emperor. In terms of collecting
It has aroused the interest of many collectors, and in order to be able to photograph this treasure, many people have prepared sufficient funds early. Because this furniture is too precious, in order to determine a good price, Poly Group specially found antique experts to discuss and set a suitable price for it. The final starting price is 28 million, but because the collection value is huge, even if the starting price is so high, it still can't stop the interest of collectors.
This time, this wardrobe was auctioned for more than 90 million high prices, which shows how high its artistic value is, which is conducive to the study of Qing Dynasty craftsmanship. With the rapid development of the economy, more and more cultural relics overseas have gradually returned to the motherland. It's a good thing to study that long history.
Let the world sigh a little, originally our cultural relics, were robbed by the invaders. In the end, it is necessary to spend a lot of money to buy it back, which has a fair verification. We firmly believe that one day, these cultural relics will return in another "way", allowing the world to witness China's determination to reclaim the cultural relics that have been lost overseas.