History can be interesting, knowledge is all around you, and a daily treasure takes you from the clues of cultural relics to see through the dusty secrets. The treasure to interpret for you today is the blue glazed lotus seat insert.
The blue-glazed lotus-covered lotus-seat insert, with a height of 20.8 centimeters, is a lighting tool of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and was excavated from the tomb of Li Bi and his wife Zheng Xiaochang in the second year (526) of Zhao County, Xigao Village, Zanhuang County, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. The lotus-shaped high seat, the outer luxury petal tip is carved with a deep knife, with a strong three-dimensional sense. On the seat is a side support, with a rectangular beam on the support, and five deep-belly cups on the top, one of which is missing. This device is a light gray tire, and the carcass is firm and fine. The glaze is verdant, the glaze layer is thin and transparent, and there are fine open stripes. The shape is chic, the lotus petals are round and full, and it can be described as an outstanding work of early northern celadon porcelain. Candles appeared around the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and candlesticks appeared with candles. This blue-glazed lotus-covered candlestick can accommodate 5 candles at the same time, with a clear glaze and exquisite shape, which is extremely rare in Northern Dynasty celadon porcelain.
At the beginning of 2010, in the archaeological excavation of cultural relics of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, in the gangpo area south of Xigao Village, Zanhuang County, Hebei Province, archaeologists excavated the Tomb Group of the Li Family in Zhao County, Northern Dynasty, and unearthed dozens of pieces of celadon with burial, with clear chronology and clear combination, which is a typical representative of Northern Dynasty celadon porcelain.
The Li clan of Zhao County was an important Gaomen clan of the Northern Dynasty and a representative of the Hebei clan. The Li family of Zhao Jun's family had deep roots and had a profound impact on the literature and scholarship of the Northern Dynasty. Li Bi was the eldest son of Li Shuyin and his wife, the character Yan Rail, the lord of Honshu, and the taishou of the three counties of Boling, Julu, and Zhao County. His wife was Xingyang Zhengshi. According to the Epitaph of Li Jun (弼), who joined the army of the Late Taiwei Fuxing of Wei, Li Bi also served as a member of the army of the Taiwei Fuxing, while the post of Recorder of The Pingbei Prefecture of Xiangzhou did not go to his post due to illness. Xiaochang died on August 8, 526, in Dong'anli, Luoyang. Li Bi's tomb was excavated in Xigao Village, Zanhuang County, Hebei Province, and his wife Zheng Died First and was buried next to the tomb of Li Shuyin, Li Bi was buried first in Luoyang after his death, and then moved to Zhao County, Where Li Zuzu was buried together with Zheng.
In 494, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei moved the capital to Luoyang, which greatly promoted the integration of the northern ethnic groups and attracted a large number of southward-moving residents to return. These returning residents brought back the advanced celadon firing technology of the Southern Yue kiln, and finally ushered in the glorious era of celadon firing in the north.
During the Northern Dynasty, the kiln that fired celadon was called the mantou kiln. Typical kilns include Henan Gongyi kiln, Hebei Xing kiln, Hebei Caocun kiln and Shandong Zibo kiln. In the north, this kind of steamed mantou kiln is also called a horseshoe kiln because of the structure of the kiln room, which resembles a horseshoe. Although the steamed bun kiln in the Northern Dynasty period was simple in structure, it was already able to meet the high temperature conditions of porcelain firing, so the earliest celadon in the north was fired.
Northern Dynasty blue-glazed porcelain mainly inherited the southern celadon technology. However, due to the different origins of raw materials, the iron content of porcelain tires and glazes is different, and due to factors such as process formulas and firing technology, the blue-glazed porcelain fired in different kilns in the Northern Dynasty also shows subtle differences in glaze color. Most northern dynasty celadon tire color is dark gray, glazed verdant crystal clear; Xing kiln tire color light gray, glaze color turquoise; Gongyi kiln because of the low iron content of carcass raw materials, so the tire color is white, the glaze color is light and elegant, the glaze is smooth and pure, also known as white tire celadon porcelain. The commonality is the prevalence of glazing and opening. The glazed parts tend to have a thicker glaze layer, a darker hue, and even a dark brown color, with a strong glass texture. The phenomenon of glaze opening is more obvious, which shows that the tire glaze of this period is not very closely combined, which is considered to be a typical era feature of Northern Dynasty celadon porcelain.
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