On December 16, according to the British Museum's latest review report, 2,000 pieces of the museum's collection were stolen or damaged, and some parts of the collection were even treated as scrap**, which is really heart-wrenching.
This can't help but remind people of the short drama "Escape from the British Museum", which was once popular on the Internet a few months ago, which tells the story of a small Chinese jade pot in human form, after escaping the British Museum, and meeting a Chinese journalist on the streets of the United Kingdom and asking him for help on the long road home. Although this short drama has only three episodes, it has touched the hearts of countless viewers and made people rethink the ownership of cultural relics and the protection of cultural heritage.
Of the 2000 items in question, about 3 out of 4 were stolen or lost. Although the thieves' main target this time was the jewels of the Museum of Greek and Roman Antiquities. However, there are more than 23,000 Chinese-related cultural relics in British museums, and there are some worries, are those cultural relics that have been scattered abroad for about a century and a half okay?
The British Museum once said when introducing Chinese cultural relics: Chinese have created the world's largest and oldest civilization. The British Museum has also selected 100 artefacts from all over the world that have influenced the world, including nine Chinese artefacts
The first piece, Western Zhou Kang Hou Gui:
The British Museum introduces the ritual Xi of the Shang and Zhou dynasties in China.
This piece is about 27 centimeters in diameter and has two large handles. The rim and base of the cup are delicately decorated, and the most striking thing is its handle, each of which is a beast with long teeth and sharp horns and large square ears, devouring a small bird, and the bird can be seen pecking in its beak. Such bronzes are one of the most representative Chinese antiquities, and the production process is extremely complicated. China is a world leader in bronze craftsmanship. This piece is not molded at once, but different parts are made from different molds, and then combined to become a complex and detailed work of art. At that time, no other country in the world could produce such a work.
The second piece is a bronze bell from the Warring States period.
At the ceremony of Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, China and Britain selected ** with their own characteristics. The British played "The Last Post" with a military horn, and China played a symphony "Heaven, Earth and Man", one of which was played by this ancient bronze bell. Westerners believe that the bronze bell has a layer of philosophical significance, and the music of the bronze bell is a metaphor for social harmony.
Zhong has a history of more than 5,000 years in China. The bell was made about 2,500 years ago and may belong to a set of 9 or 14 bells. Each bite is of different sizes, and each can produce two different tones depending on the part of the tap. The bell is large and beautiful, the size of a beer keg, with an oval cross-section, and a beautifully carved body surrounded by ribbons. The circular relief depicts the head of a dragon devouring wild geese, and at the top of it are two ornate dragons that form the handle of the bronze bell. Such a bronze bell can give people both auditory and visual enjoyment.
The third piece, the Han Dynasty lacquer cup.
Lacquerware is extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the entire process requires the cooperation of many craftsmen to achieve a beautiful finished product. Westerners believe that the lacquer cup embodies China's diplomatic culture, which gives a unique gift when establishing intimate relations with other countries. In the Han Dynasty, such gifts were silk and lacquerware.
This fine lacquered wine cup preserved in the British Museum may have been a gift from the Emperor of the Han Dynasty to one of his generals in Korea around 4 AD. The lacquer cup is lightweight in texture and shapes more like a small bowl, while the capacity is equivalent to a large wine glass. It is a shallow oval bowl, about 17 cm in diameter, shaped and sized like a large mango. The longer one has a gilded handle on each side, hence the name ear glass. It is made of wood throughout, and the wooden tires inside can be seen from some of the damage. Most of the bowl is covered with a reddish-brown lacquer layer. The inner walls are decorated without any ornamentation, and the outer walls are inlaid with ** and bronze, and are depicted with several pairs of birds standing opposite each other, waving their exaggerated claws, and in the background some geometric patterns and spiral ornaments. Lacquer cups are expensive and intricately crafted, exuding elegance, style and confidence. Every detail shows a firm sense of taste without being overly luxurious.
The fourth, the female history of the proverbial map (Tang copy).
Zhang Hua, the minister of the Jin Dynasty, made a long poem, nearly a century later, the Eastern Jin Dynasty painter Gu Kaizhi created the hand-me-down work "The Female History of the Portrait" according to the content of the poem, the original painting has been lost, and the British Museum preserved this is a copy of the Tang Dynasty.
The scroll contains several scenes, each with its own proverbs, and it contains three different art forms, known as the "Three Masterpieces of Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting". Its spring-like color lines and delicate gossamer-like figures all show the beauty of the earliest surviving Chinese silk painting in the world today. Westerners believe that the Nu Shi Zhen Tu depicts an ancient Chinese code of conduct that was used to teach women in the court to observe women's virtues.
The fifth, the painting version of the princess of the Tang Dynasty.
The plate was found in a small abandoned temple in the present-day Hotan area. The monastery is extremely small and has been buried in the yellow sand for thousands of years.
At the end of the 19th century, the archaeologist and British explorer Ozirstein rediscovered it, proving that Khotan was an extremely important ** and cultural center on the Silk Road. Khotan, now located in Xinjiang, was once an independent kingdom in history, a princess of the Tang Dynasty intermarried with the local king, and brought the secret of silk production to Khotan when she married, and Khotan became a major silk producer, and the local storyteller created a legend in order to praise the contribution of the princess of the Tang Dynasty, which is the story of the silk princess told on the plate. The diagram is drawn on a thick wooden board and is almost exactly the same size as a computer keyboard. The figures are drawn almost exclusively in black and white, and are only decorated in red or blue in certain places. In the center of the plank is the princess herself, wearing a large and delicate tiara.
Westerners have described it as a fairytale version of one of China's greatest technological thefts.
The sixth, Tang Dynasty burial figurines.
These two Tang Sancai terracotta figurines from the tomb ** soil are the statues of judges in the underworld of China, from the Ming Dynasty, the 16th century AD. At the beginning of the first millennium AD, the concept of hell was introduced to China along with Buddhism. Since the late Tang Dynasty, such statues of people in hell have been very common, and the judges are responsible for recording the good and evil in life, so they are the objects of the Tang Dynasty's magnates. Due to the thick burial system in ancient China, Westerners believe that the artistic image of the tomb figurines can reflect the heyday of the dynasty from the side.
The seventh piece, Yuan blue and white to the bottle.
This pair of blue and white dragon elephant ear vases is an absolute rarity, and Westerners also call it "David Pair Bottle", a name derived from its last owner, the British collector Sir David. In addition to the original shape design and the decoration of blue and white on a white background, the importance of this Yuan blue and white to the bottle lies in the inscription on the bottle body. With the help of these texts, we know that they were made on May 13, 1351, which is ironclad evidence that high-quality blue and white porcelain existed long before the Ming Dynasty and at the latest in the Yuan Dynasty.
The eighth, Ming Dynasty banknotes.
This is the Ming Dynasty's flying money "Ming treasure banknote", issued around 1400 A.D., can be said to be one of the world's earliest banknotes, at that time most places in the world were still using gold, silver, copper coins. Westerners interpret this as a kind of ** contract, and they think that the statement on the contract is somewhat ridiculous, "Ming treasure banknote, the world peers", and the Ming Dynasty seems to believe that it can survive forever and guarantee the value of this coin.
The ninth, Qianlong jade.
This piece of jade is different from our traditional jade, with an extra "collar" on the round hole in the middle, and no one can say clearly what it is used for.
Emperor Qianlong was an avid collector of paintings, porcelain and antiques. Today, the Palace Museum has an astonishing number of collections, many of which are precious cultural relics that he collected back then. This jade bi is quirky but interesting, it is a thin round jade plate of light yellow, the size of which is equivalent to a small dinner plate, ** with holes and a ring of protrusions along the holes. By comparing it with similar objects excavated from the tomb, we know that this jade was made around 1200 B.C., and that it is quite beautifully made, and the jade is inscribed with verses written by the Qianlong Emperor about this jade.
In the Chinese edition of the British Museum, you can also see the introduction of the following 9 cultural relics:
1. Jade and other hard stone carvings.
Neolithic period, c. 3500 BC. The jade pieces in the picture are considered to be ceremonial items or have a protective function, and can be used to exorcise ghosts and evil spirits before and after death.
2. Inlaid with gold and silver comb.
The gold-inlaid silver comb has flowers and birds embossed. Tang and Liao dynasties, c. 618-1125 AD. Headwear and buckle are the two main types of accessories in China.
3. The wooden figurines of the town tomb have antlers made of dry paint on the top of their heads.
Eastern Zhou period, 3rd-4th century BC. In the Chu tombs in southern and northern Henan, wooden figurines with strange faces and long tongues and antlers were used as tomb beasts. This wooden figurine is one of the few similar artifacts that remain.
4. Painted horses for burial.
Painted horses are made of mud, wood and silk, and come from the Turpan region of Xinjiang. Tang Dynasty, 8th century AD. The model of this horse was made by a ** or the tomb of a wealthy merchant who lived in Gaochang. These burial figurines are modeled after glazed burial objects in urban areas.
5. Two bronze cast semi-naked wrestlers.
Probably from southern China. Eastern Zhou period, 4th-5th century BC. Except for burial purposes, human figures were extremely rare before Buddhism was introduced to China from India. It is possible that this statue was used as a base of some kind. Wrestlers used to be very popular in China.
6. White hard clay pot.
The shape is a winged mermaid. Northern China. Liao Dynasty, 907 - 1125 AD. By the 10th century, there were several kilns in China that could be used to make porcelain and delicate white hard pottery. This clay pot may have been used instead of silver as a burial object or Buddhist ritual object, or it may have been a wonderful wine vessel used to hold wine.
7. Red ingot-shaped lacquer carved plate.
The plate is engraved with dragons and eighteen arhats. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, 1522-66 AD. Lacquer carving is a luxury item that is extremely difficult to make. Each arhat has its own characteristics, including the tiger taming arhat and Bodhidharma floating on reeds.
8. A porcelain plate painted with aquatic plants and swimming fish.
From the Yuan Dynasty, 14th century AD. During the Yuan Dynasty, overseas ** flourished. Imports from Iran include cobalt-based pigments. In the first quarter of the fourteenth century, the use of cobalt pigments on high-quality Jingdezhen white porcelain had a profound impact on ceramic manufacturing worldwide.
9. Cloisonné porcelain altar. Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, 1426-35 years. Cloisonné enamel ware was used in palaces and temples by the imperial court, and its bright colors were favored. But the literati and scholars depreciated it as vulgar.
As Sanlian Weekly said: Although these precious cultural relics are in exile, they are the imprint of Chinese culture. It is also the historical heritage that belongs to every countryman's life. We should know and remember.
This is also the reason why the short drama "Escape from the British Museum" became popular all over the Internet.