The Old Summer Palace, once a representative of the imperial gardens of the Qing Dynasty, is also a treasure of Chinese culture. However, in 1860, the British and French forces brutally burned and looted the Old Summer Palace, turning the garden into ruins. In this catastrophe, many precious cultural relics of the Old Summer Palace were also looted, the most famous of which is the bronze statue of the 12 zodiac animal heads in front of Haiyan Hall.
Unfortunately, after these beast heads were taken away, they began a long wandering journey. After many resales, auctions, donations, and collections, it has experienced ups and downs for more than 100 years. Among them, the most striking is the bronze statue of the horse's head, whose return is full of legends and surprises.
The road back of the bronze statue of the horse's head
The bronze statue of the horse's head is the most valuable one of the twelve zodiac animal heads, because the Qianlong Emperor is a horse, so the horse's head is the most exquisite in the production process. The shape of the horse's head is also the most Westernized, and the postures such as the mouth opening and the shape of the micro-volts are natural and realistic. The horse's head represents noon, that is, twelve o'clock at noon, which is the climax of the 12 zodiac signs, and all the beast capitals will spray water at the same time, which is very spectacular.
After the statue was looted in 1860, it was lost overseas until 1985, when it was discovered in a thrift store in California, USA. At that time, Charles, an American antique dealer, bought a bronze statue of a horse's head and two animal heads, a bull's head and a tiger's head, from a retired police officer for $1,500. The three animal heads were originally decorations in the villa of retired police officers, the horse and tiger heads were placed by the pool in the backyard as faucets, and the cow heads were hung on the walls of the washroom as hooks. When Charles bought it, there was a bath towel hanging from the cow's head.
Charles didn't know where the statues came from, but thought they were artistic, so he brought them back to his antique shop. Later, he learned about the true identity of the statues through a Chinese friend, and decided to auction them off. In 1988, he sold the three heads to a British antiques dealer for a price slightly less than the price they paid at Sotheby's first auction. In 1989, the three heads were unveiled at Sotheby's in London and were purchased by the Taiwanese Humble House Company for £181,500.
The bronze statue of the horse's head fell into the hands of the Taiwan Humble House Company, but it did not settle down. In 2007, the bronze statue of the horse's head appeared at Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, attracting attention and controversy at home and abroad. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage has expressed its disapproval of the public auction and hopes that it will be returned in an appropriate manner.
Sotheby's Hong Kong understands this and has actively mediated. In the end, Mr. Stanley Ho, a well-known entrepreneur and patriot in Hong Kong and Macao, spent 69.1 million Hong Kong dollars to purchase the bronze statue of the horse's head and displayed it in Hong Kong and Macao, hoping to bring more people to participate in the protection of Chinese cultural relics.
In 2019, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland, Mr. Stanley Ho decided to officially donate the bronze statue of the horse's head to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. After consultation between the two parties, the Cultural Relics Bureau transferred the horse head to the Beijing Yuanmingyuan Management Office for collection after receiving the donation. The bronze statue of the horse's head returned to the Tibetan country and returned to its original belonging, drawing a successful end to its century-old journey home.
Scientific testing of the bronze statue of the horse's head
As soon as the bronze statue of the horse's head returned, it was sent to the laboratory, and the experts immediately examined its whole body, using X-ray spectrometer, X-ray and other advanced instruments, and scanned a lot of analysis, and finally the report pointed out that the copper content of the horse's head was very high, reaching 98%. The rest is lead, iron, and zinc, made of such a high amount of copper, no wonder it weighs so much, and when it comes back, it remains so clear that there is no sign of rust.
Experts also found that the production process of the bronze statue of the horse's head is very complex, using a variety of techniques such as sub-casting, lost wax and riveting process. The head and neck of the horse's head were cast separately and then joined with rivets. The ears, nostrils, eyes, mouth and other details of the horse's head are all cast using the lost-wax method, which can ensure the fineness and realism of the bronze statue. There is also a complex water spray system inside the horse's head, which allows the horse's head to neigh when spraying water, which is very magical.
The experts also took a closer look at the surface of the bronze statue of the horse's head and found some interesting details. The horse's head has a small hole in its left ear, which may have been used for exhaust when it was made. The horse's head has a noticeable dent in the right ear, probably smashed by the butt of a gun. The horse's head has a small scratch on his left eye, probably from a knife. The horse's head has a small hole in its nose, which may have been nailed. The horse's head has some small dots on its mouth, which may have been burned by Mars.
The surface traces of the bronze statue of the horse's head are the marks left by it in the process of vicissitudes of life, and they are also its historical witnesses. Through the analysis of these traces, experts can deduce the loss of the bronze statue of the horse's head, and also understand the different treatment and evaluation it received in different cultural environments. The surface traces of the bronze statue of the horse's head are also its scars and its charm.
The return of the bronze statue of the horse's head is not only the return of a cultural relic, but also a cultural revival. As a symbol of the Old Summer Palace and a symbol of Chinese civilization, the return of the bronze statue of the horse's head means the self-confidence and self-improvement of the Chinese civilization, as well as the openness and tolerance of the Chinese civilization. The return of the bronze statue of the horse's head is also a kind of cultural communication, but also a kind of cultural respect.