In the period of feudal society, the ancients were very superstitious, they believed that after death, they could still enjoy the glory and wealth of the present world, and because of this, "thick burial" appeared.
When thick burials appeared, a new profession was born – tomb robbing.
In the 1970s, cultural relics experts unearthed a piece of Yuan Dynasty porcelain from a Ming dynasty tomb, but why was this porcelain discarded by tomb robbers?
The large jar of blue and white double animal ears found in the soup and tomb is dark in color, and the blue and white porcelain is not exquisitely painted and roughly made. These three shortcomings appear on an artifact, and the tomb robber does not look at it at all, and it is reasonable to discard it. However, what is unexpected is that it is definitely a cultural relic of the ancestral level of blue and white porcelain in the Yuan Dynasty.
In fact, the tomb robber is stupid enough, the blue and white double animal ear jar was found in the tanghe tomb, tanghe is the founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, the status is very noble, he has no reason to use a bargain as a funeral product.
This colorful and heroic Yuan Qinghua is considered to be a "valuable" treasure today.
As one of the "treasures of the town museum" in the collection of Bengbu City Museum, this yuanqinghua tangled peony pattern animal ear porcelain lid jar was excavated from the tomb of The founding general of the Ming Dynasty, Tang He, who repeatedly brushed past tomb robbers, and was lucky to be "omitted" to meet tourists in today's city museum.
Yuan Qinghua tangled peony pattern with lid large jar, Anhui Bengbu City Museum collection, Ming Dynasty soup and tomb excavation
As one of the few Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain jars currently preserved in China, this cultural relic is 47.5 cm high, 15.6 cm in caliber, 18.6 cm in foot diameter, corset neck, slip shoulders, abdomen upper drum down, circle foot wide and short, foot diameter slightly larger than caliber, high neck, oblique wide shoulder, drum belly, double animal ears, short circle foot.
The ornamentation is divided into six layers, and the neck is decorated with waves and tides. The upper shoulder is decorated with a lotus pattern, and the middle of the lotus petal is filled with a miscellaneous treasure pattern. The lower shoulder is painted with a ring belt type of tangled lotus. The upper abdomen is painted with seasonal tangled flowers, and the lower abdomen is painted with honeysuckle patterns and lotus patterns. The lid is decorated with lotus patterns and painted with money patterns.
The body is large, the shape is beautiful, the lines are smooth, the color is strong, and it is a fine product in the yuanqinghua. The overall shape is solid and thick.
This piece of porcelain adheres to the characteristics of the carcass and glaze of blue and white porcelain in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, with white porcelain tires, fine tire quality and heavy carcass. The whole body is transparent glaze, the color is white and slightly blue, the glaze is clean, glossy and translucent, and the bottom is exposed.
The mouth of the instrument is equipped with a cap-shaped lid, the top of the lid is stacked with a jewel button, and the inside of the lid is designed for the mother-daughter mouth, so that the lid and the mouth are more closely combined. The main ornament is a tangled peony pattern painted on the abdomen of the utensil, which first outlines the general outline with thinner lines and then fills it with green material. The peony pattern, interspersed horizontally on one side and one side, is very three-dimensional. In addition, the leaf pattern is full of color, and all of them are expressed in leaf pressed branches, and the process is exquisite and rich.
The blue and white porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty adopts a horizontal multi-layered composition style, and the ornamentation of this yuanqinghua tangled peony pattern animal ear porcelain lid jar is divided into eleven levels, exquisite and dignified. The tangled peony pattern on the abdomen is very three-dimensional, and the leaf pattern is full of color.
The whole work of blue and white hair color in the blue shining purple, the color of the thick place there is obvious rust spots condensed, bright and calm, is a typical Su Ma away from the green material, it can be said to reach the highest artistic level of the Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain.
And because it was unearthed in Tanghe Tomb, it has a clear historical date, and its cultural relics and historical value are more precious. This artifact is one of the few yuan qinghua large pots currently preserved in China, which can be called the treasure of the yuan dynasty blue and white porcelain.
Such a precious yuanqinghua treasure, the origin is naturally not simple.
People who are familiar with history know that Tang He was the founding general of the early Ming Dynasty, and he was also Zhu Yuanzhang's "fa xiao", because of his repeated military achievements, he was an official to the Duke of Xinguo. Tang He assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in establishing the Ming Dynasty regime, and later took the initiative to resign and return to Li and settle in his hometown of Fengyang. After his death, he was posthumously honored by Zhu Yuanzhang as the King of Dong'ou and buried in Caoshan on the south bank of Longzi Lake in Bengbu.
After Zhu Yuanzhang unified Jiangnan and occupied the porcelain capital Jingdezhen, a batch of exquisite porcelain was fired at that time. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously questioned and executed the founding generals of that year. Tang He gained insight into Zhu Yuanzhang's intentions and falsely claimed that he was ill to gain mercy. Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to his request to return to his hometown and rewarded him with many treasures.
Soup and like
Since Zhu Yuanzhang has a precedent for rewarding the meritorious Yuan Qinghua porcelain, experts deduce that this Yuan Qinghua should be Zhu Yuanzhang rewarding Tang He and burying it after Tang He's death.
It has a clear burial chronology and is in good condition, providing a valuable artifact basis for the study of blue and white porcelain in the Yuan Dynasty today.
Tomb
During the excavation of the Tanghe Tomb, experts found a robbery hole at the scene, proving that the Tanghe Tomb had been stolen repeatedly. However, the yuanqinghua tangled peony pattern animal ear porcelain lid jar has been strangely preserved, which makes experts feel incredible.
It is understood that there were originally many burial items in The Tomb of Tanghe, but the tomb robbers only stole the gold and silver treasures, and this piece of Yuan Qinghua was found and discarded in the silt behind the door of the tomb, which can be described as "the rest of his life". “
At that time, Yuan Qinghua porcelain had not been as sought after as it is today, and in the eyes of tomb robbers, gold and silver treasures were obviously more valuable. Experts say this may be the reason for this.
During the national cultural relics census in 1994, Mr. Geng Baochang, an expert in ancient ceramics in the Forbidden City, also made a special trip to the Bengbu Museum to identify this piece of porcelain, and finally this large pot of yuanqinghua was designated as a first-class cultural relic.
Today, this precious cultural relic of national treasure level is the treasure of the Bengbu Museum.