Golden cloud dragon pattern vermilion lacquered wooden box.
Golden cloud dragon pattern vermilion lacquered wooden box.
The dragon is special in the zodiac, and compared to the other zodiac signs corresponding to the animals in reality, the dragon is a supernatural being. No one has ever seen what a dragon looks like, and it is all imagined through the depiction and creation of literature and art. But the dragon has a special meaning for the Chinese, the Chinese are called "the descendants of the dragon", and the dragon is the totem and unique spiritual symbol of the Chinese nation.
Western Zhou Dynasty dragon ear, Qi Culture Museum collection. This is a bronze dragon ear Gui, which is a ritual vessel used in ancient sacrifices, and is usually used in conjunction with the tripod. Ding is mainly used to boil meat and meat, while Gui is specially used to serve rice, holding some cooked millet, millet, rice, sorghum and other rice. Its shape, the two ears are two dragon shapes, the dragon horns can be stuck on the upper lid, the opening method of the lid is to push back and forth, there is a square base under the complete shape of this artifact, the shape of the upper circle and the lower shape, embodies the idea of the ancients that the sky is round and the place is round.
Similarly, the Warring States period Tiliang and Han gilt smokers, which are now in the Qi Culture Museum, also have dragon elements. The water outlet of this handle is a dragon's head, the handle is a dragon's body, and there is a curled dragon tail behind it, so that a complete dragon shape is formed, which is an ancient bartender. The Han gilt smoker is an ancient incense utensil. The smoker has an arc-shaped cover, a ring button on the top, two open-carved coiled dragons around, the end is connected, the dragon body is curled and coiled, and the production is gorgeous and exquisite.
The image of the dragon has been changing since ancient times. Judging from the cultural relics, the dragon's claws are different from three, four, and five claws. According to the current understanding, in the Ming Dynasty, the image of the dragon used by the emperor was fixed as five claws, but in the Yuan Dynasty and earlier, there were three claws and four claws.
Three pieces of gold lacquerware were unearthed from the tomb of Zhu Tan, the king of Minglu, namely a wooden box with a golden cloud dragon pattern and two wooden boxes with a golden cloud dragon pattern and a wooden box with a golden cloud dragon pattern, which are now stored in the Shandong Museum. The vermilion lacquer wooden box was unearthed on the east side of the coffin bed in the back room, which was basically complete and well preserved when it was unearthed. The shape of the box is close to the cube, the top cover of the box is divided into three layers, the upper part is a vermilion lacquered wooden box, and the top of the box cover is buckled. There is a partition under the box, and under the partition is a drawer that can be pulled out from the left side, and a gold hoop handle is installed on it.
The front of the box is paved, and the wrong golden cloud dragon pattern iron lock is hung on it. On the left and right sides and at the back, there are wrong gold moire iron luo pot handles and wrong gold iron rings respectively. The whole body is painted with vermilion. The length of the box is 58 cm, the height is 60 cm, and the top of the box is 48 cm long4 cm, side width 72 cm. The four sides of the wooden box and the top of the lid are decorated with a square frame of gold commissions, the corners are decorated with flame-like cloud patterns at the top, and the middle part is decorated with gold group-shaped dragon patterns and ruyi cloud patterns, and its dragon is a rising dragon, the dragon body is vigorous, the dragon has a long beak and claws, and the tail of fine scales and curls rises, rising among the auspicious clouds. The lacquer box is divided into three layers, and the upper layer is placed with nine crowns and nine seams of skin; In the middle are robes, jade pendants and other jewelry; The lower layer holds boots and other clothing items.
The technique is to first use a needle or a carving knife to carve a delicate pattern on the surface of the lacquer floor, and then hit gold glue or paint yellow paint in the groove of the carved line, then paste gold leaf or sprinkle gold powder, and then grind and polish after drying, and finally form a gold thread effect. Lacquerware was popular in the Song Dynasty and was often used as a royal artifact, symbolizing the majesty and status of the royal family. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, its skills were extremely mature, forming the climax of the lacquerware and gold craftsmanship.
Two rectangular gold cloud dragon pattern vermilion lacquered wooden boxes, the cover and both sides of the box body are decorated with gold cloud dragon patterns, the composition is a dragon and a ruyi cloud pattern. The dragon is a walking dragon, with smooth lines, swimming among the auspicious clouds, and the dragon's head is facing the side of the draw. The box is divided into black and white jade kyu, which symbolize status.
In China, dragon culture has a long history, and the "dragon" has a large family of myths and a wide range of folk beliefs. With the continuous enrichment of archaeological materials and the deepening of paleographic research, the fact that the character "dragon" is the core code of Chinese civilization has become increasingly clear. (Popular news client Zhang Yimeng).