On the evening of July 2, a large-scale international exhibition guided by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, sponsored by the Dunhuang Research Institute and the Pritzker Art Cooperation Foundation, and co-organized by nearly 30 cultural and cultural institutions at home and abroad, will open in the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. The exhibition will feature more than 120 fine cultural relics from countries along the ancient Silk Road from the 7th to the 9th centuries, most of which are exhibited in China for the first time.
According to the Dunhuang Research Institute, the exhibition is the world's first major exhibition of art treasures from the Tibetan period, with a duration of 110 days and closing on October 22.
Three-dimensional display of the art of the Tubo period, co-organized by many cultural institutions at home and abroad
The "Tubo Period Art Treasures Exhibition" is partly from the collection of the Pritzker Art Cooperation Foundation of the United States and the Textile Conservation research center of the Aberg Foundation in Switzerland, both of which contributed to the exhibition the silk fabrics, Buddha statues, crowns, living utensils and other cultural relics of the countries along the ancient Silk Road from the 7th to the 9th century; the domestic part is from the collection of 22 archaeological institutions such as the Palace Museum, the National Museum of China, the Shaanxi History Museum, and the Dulan Museum. In addition, overseas institutions such as the Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Art Museum in Japan, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Al Thani Collection also contributed to the exhibition. Among them, most of the overseas exhibits are exhibited in China for the first time.
The exhibition is divided into seven units, namely "Prehistoric Qinghai-Tibet Plateau", "Tubo On the Stage of History", "Tubo NobleMan dress - silk and gold decoration", "Tubo Noble Dress", "Noble Feast", "Noble Hunting" and "The Development of Buddhism in Tibet". The exhibition starts from the origin and development background of Tubo culture, and tells the integration of civilizations along the Silk Road embodied in the life of Tubo aristocrats.
The gold masks, beads and silks exhibited in the exhibition all confirm the integration of Tubo with the Culture of the Tang Dynasty and the Central Plains culture of Sassanid and Sogdian civilizations in Central Asia, and thus derive the distinctive artistic style of the Tubo Period. In particular, the emergence and spread of golden masks is an important symbol of cultural commonality along the Silk Road. The historic role of Sogdian merchants in communicating East and West Asia, and the cosmopolitan elements embodied in the precious vessels of the Eurasian style are also reflected in the exhibition.
The most eye-catching exhibits: weaving techniques and goldware from the Tubo period
According to the Dunhuang Research Institute, the most attractive artifacts in the exhibition are two large Central Asian tuanqiao deer pattern hanging brocades, which represent the highest level of weaving technology along the Silk Road from the mid-7th century to the 8th century.
Deer-patterned brocade of the Central Asian Regiment (Collection of the Pritzker Foundation in Chicago, USA)
Deer pattern hanging brocade of the Central Asian Tuanqiao (Collection of the Textile Research Center of the Aberg Foundation, Switzerland)
This large brocade was mainly used to decorate the tents of the Tubo nobles, and according to the ancient customs of the steppe peoples, the Tubo Zampu and the main clan chiefs had the tradition of gathering every year, and they set up the court in the felt tent. Felt tents can accommodate more than a hundred people and are often decorated with gold and silver ware and silk fabrics (especially silk), so they are also called "golden tents". The "Golden Horde" has always been regarded by Tubo as a symbol of power, and this custom later affected the Mongols, who were also steppe peoples, and the Chincha Khanate established by the descendants of Genghis Khan also used the "Golden Horde" to symbolize power, so it was also known as the Golden Horde.
Another eye-catching exhibit is the golden bottle from the Pritzker Foundation's collection. This golden beard bottle is the largest of its kind, nearly 50 centimeters high.
Golden beard bottle
The process of the golden bottle is complex, using a whole piece of metal to make a stream (that is, the mouth), neck, abdomen, and then use a whole piece of metal sheet to make an eight-sided bottom, and then weld the two together. The handle and its peacock-shaped ends are then individually forged and attached to the bottle. The bottle is decorated with phoenix pattern, mandarin duck pattern, lion pattern, sheep pattern and winged unicorn pattern, etc. After the decoration of the main body is completed, the craftsman also has to add hammering and polishing, and the contour line is engraved and punched, making the pattern more three-dimensional and vivid. In the final stage, turquoise is also embedded in the gem seat to form a pattern. The Sogdians who made this bottle blended Sassanid, Central Asian and Tang styles to suit the tastes of the Tubo people at the time.
Author Lu Wanting
Edited by Zhang Jin, Proofread by Zhai Yongjun