At the end of 2018 and early 2019, the most eye-catching exhibition in Shanghai may be the "Danqing Bao Raft - Dong Qichang Calligraphy and Painting Art Exhibition" which is in full swing in Shanghai Museum .
Compared with the crowded Dong Qichang Pavilion on the third floor, the "Thousands of Writings - Chinese Paintware Art Exhibition" on the first floor is a bit deserted. , in fact, this is also an exhibition worth seeing. From , Warring States to the contemporary era, between red and black, it seems that some clues can be seen from the evolution of Chinese aesthetic habits.
China is the birthplace of lacquerware. Lacquerware was released at the Qianhuqiao site in Zhejiang, 8,000 years ago. Lacquerware can also be regarded as a major contribution of the Chinese nation to world civilization.
Considering the long history of lacquerware and the unevenness of surviving objects in the past dynasties, this exhibition selected 281 cultural relics, divided into six major craft sections, displaying lacquerware from the Warring States Period to modern times. The varieties include painted, plain lacquer, carved lacquer , mother-of-pearl , gold ornaments, architectural lacquer , etc. The exhibits include most lacquerware varieties at the two peak periods in the history of Chinese lacquerware , some of which are real national treasures and have never left the local area.
Part 1 Paint Color Feiyang
Painted lacquerware is a variety of lacquerware that appeared early and lasted for a long time. It began to sprout from the Neolithic period, and after continuous exploration during the Xia, Shang and Zhou periods, it flourished in the Warring States Period, reached its peak in , Western Han Dynasty, and has been produced throughout the years. The cultural relics displayed in this part are mainly lacquerware during the Warring States Period, Qin and Han Dynasties.
This is also the most attractive part of the editor.
Warring States Painted lacquer Tomb-guarding beast
Hubei Province Jingzhou City Unearthed from Tomb No. 25 Liujiatai
In 2008, it was allocated by Jingzhou Museum . It is now in the collection of Shanghai Museum
This tomb-guarding beast is placed at the entrance of the exhibition hall. It is the first exhibit that visitors see after entering the exhibition hall. Whether it is color or shape, it is far from the lacquerware we think of.
The tomb-suppressing beast is composed of a wooden pedestal, an animal body, and a pair of large deer antlers. The base and animal body are carved from whole wood. The square base is embossed with block patterns, and the animal body is directly inserted into the tenon hole in the middle of the base. The beast's head is relief, the animal's eyes are raised, the beast's eyebrows are cloud-shaped, the beast's teeth are grinning, and the mouth is long tongue-stick; the beast's neck is curved; the beast's body is painted with black lacquer, and the cloud patterns, geometric patterns, etc. are depicted with red lacquer. A pair of deer antlers are inserted on both sides of the animal's head. The branches that spread outward show majesty and symbolize reproduction. This tomb-controlling beast is mysterious in its gloomyness, fully reflecting the characteristics of Chu culture .
Western Han Dynasty Painted cloud phoenix pattern lacquer disc
This lacquerware disc from the Western Han Dynasty is painted with vermilion lacquer as the ground, with a large curly cloud pattern, and a red bird is painted in the middle. The bird holds its head and hangs its tail, the claws are soft and simple, and the figure is natural, standing on the head of the cloud. The patterns are simple and imposing, demonstrating the vibrant scene of the Han Empire.
The pictures and texts of the artifacts from the pre-Qin and even the Qin and Han dynasties always give people a sparse and elegant modern feeling. This utensil is a very good representative.
The Warring States lacquerware was dominated by Chu land, and most of them were wooden tires. Later, they began to appear clamped tires. The patterns have the characteristics of Chu culture and are full of mysterious colors. During the Western Han Dynasty, lacquerware was produced throughout the country, and various objects came into being, with all kinds of varieties. The first climax of Chinese lacquerware history. The lacquerware patterns during this period were rich, including cloud patterns, animal patterns, plant patterns, divine beast patterns, and character story patterns, reflecting all aspects of social life.
Part 2 Qingyi Simple Paint
According to the exhibition hall, plain lacquerware is the simplest and the longest-standing lacquerware variety, and has been made in all dynasties. The black lacquer wood bow unearthed from the Kuanhuqiao site, 8,000 years ago, and the red lacquer bowl unearthed from the Hemudu site, 7,000 years ago, are both plain lacquerware. Most of them were unearthed in the Song Dynasty in the later period. Plain lacquerware is most commonly used in red and black colors, and there are also green lacquer, brown lacquer, gold lacquer, etc. The varieties include daily necessities such as bowls, bowls, plates, plates, cups, boxes, and boxes, as well as elegant art items such as guqin.
Southern Song Dynasty Black Lacquer Round Bowl
Southern Song Dynasty Tombs of Tan's couple in Nantang Brigade, Yuepu Commune, Baoshan County, Shanghai City
Shanghai Museum does not have many exhibits in this part of the exhibition.However, although this plain lacquerware unearthed from the Song and Yuan tombs in Shanghai is black and plain, the lacquer shape is beautiful, the lacquer color is deep, exquisite and restrained, and the atmosphere is simple, reflecting the simple and elegant aesthetic taste of the Song people.
Part 3: Carved and carved and Hua
In the Song Dynasty, in addition to the simple and elegant plain paint, with the development of the craft level, more complex carving and carving craftsmanship also became popular.
During the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties, there were a complete variety of carved lacquers, excellent paint quality, and fine carvings, reaching a very high level.
lacquer carved is a lacquerware that paints layers of paint to dozens or more than a hundred layers on the utensils, and then carves patterns with a knife. According to the lacquer color and carving method, it can be divided into lacquer , lacquer black, lacquer red , lacquer yellow, lacquer color, etc. It is the largest number of lacquerware in the world. A total of 96 carved lacquer objects are exhibited in this section.
In this complex and luxurious field, there is no doubt that Emperor Qianlong won again!
Qianlong vermilion lacquer lotus petal-shaped plate
Qianlong jiongshengyou treasure box
In fact, the editor thinks these objects are not that ugly. Why has Qian Xiaosi’s aesthetic taste become the target of complaints from the whole nation today?
Jin Dynasty rhinoceros herb pattern rectangular box
Unearthed from Jin Dynasty tombs in Datong City, Shanxi Province
Datong City Museum collection
This box unearthed in Shanxi (at that time, the Jin Dynasty ruled the area) is very special, and the decoration pattern is vanilla pattern. It may not be a typical example of lacquer carvings, but it is an object that I like very much.
In the rectangular box, a plate was hung on the edge of the mouth when it was unearthed. The nanmu tire is made of black lacquer, and two thinner lacquer are sandwiched in the black lacquer, with a thickness of about 0.12 cm. Each side is carved with vanilla patterns and branches in multiple layers; the center of the tray is diamond-shaped. The red and black pattern of rhinoceros is contrasting, and the decorative effect is very gorgeous.
According to reports, vanilla-patterned rhinoceros removers are relatively rare. The only pattern of this box is unearthed lacquerware.
Part 4 Mother-of-pearl qifei
Mother-of-pearl is a process of decorating the surface of the lacquerware with the shell of a snail and clam. There are two types: thick mother-of-pearl and thin mother-of-pearl. Thick mother-of-pearl inlay began in the Western Zhou Dynasty and was used more frequently in the Tang Dynasty. craftsmanship in the Song and Yuan dynasties has been improved, and the jeans have gradually become thinner, and many excellent works have appeared. The main scenery is embedded in the tiny pieces, and the characters are expressed in shallow carvings, with delicate and dense flowers and plants, and the artistic conception is like a painting. Among the exhibits, the "black lacquer-inlaid mother-of-pearl-shaped box" and the "black lacquer-inlaid mother-of-pearl-inlaid mother-of-pearl-inlaid square box" are both returned cultural relics from overseas, rare in China and very precious. In the Ming Dynasty, there were more names for mother-of-pearl and more colorful, so they were decorated with large mother-of-pearl pieces. Among the exhibits are several early physical objects in the Qing Dynasty , which retain the style of mother-of-pearl in the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, mother-of-pearl was constantly striving for excellence, and the jewels were as thin as bee's wings and as thin as autumn hairs. The dot snail technique was generally adopted, and some pieces were embedded with gold flowers and filled with snail brocades. The composition and color matching simulated the fun of calligraphy and painting, and were applied with colors, and the brilliance was appreciated.
Middle Qing Dynasty: Black lacquer mother-of-pearl landscape figures, disk
Diameter 12.6 cm, height 1.2 cm
Shanghai Museum
Mother-pearl craftsmanship is delicate and colorful, but always gives people a fragile and delicate feeling, as if there is a lack of qi and blood.
Mother-of-pearl craft was born in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Since then, the pendant films have become thinner and thinner, reaching the extreme of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The sublimation of craftsmanship and the decline of temperament are also embarrassing.
This lacquer disc round tire, silver buckle, completed in the mid-Qing Dynasty. Panxin uses mother-of-pearl and gold pieces to decorate the landscape and characters. Local textures such as trees, stones, figures, etc. are all carved with shallow lines. The scholar crossed the bridge with an umbrella. The stream was gurgling under the bridge, and there were two ducks floating in the water and willows swaying. The mother-of-pearl poem at the bottom "I never give up the wind and rain and come across the stream", although it is not a famous line passed down from generation to generation, it is consistent with the content of the picture. The inner wall of the plate is inlaid with two circles of edges, and the cut gold pieces are in the shape of silk strips, and are connected to the inner ring in a tortuous manner. The cut screw piece is an extremely thin arc-shaped wire strip, inlaid into a six-petal flower decoration to connect it to an outer ring, and then a diamond-shaped gold piece is embedded into a six-petal flower shape to fill it. This type of border decoration was commonly used in mother-of-pearl lacquerware in the mid-Qing Dynasty.
There are four pieces of this set of plates, all of which are landscape characters and are embedded with poems.The production uses dot snail technology, and the patterns are extremely fine, representing the level of mother-of-pearl craftsmanship in the mid-Qing Dynasty.
Part 5 The gold decoration process of lacquerware has a long history and is of many varieties. It can be divided into two categories: embedding and decorating. The most popular gold and silver flat removal process in the Tang Dynasty was also classified as embedding category. The most common lacquerware crafts related to gold jewelry are gold scattering and gold drawing.
gold is to carve patterns on vermilion or black paint with needles or knife tips, and then stick the gold foil to the pattern with good gold glue.
gold drawing means using various means to make the patterns into gold, including mud gold, gold powder, gold paste foil, etc. The scope of gold-drawing is relatively broad, and lacquer drawing, oil-drawing, gold-drawing, and text-drawing are all of this category.
Tang Silver Flat Flower and Bird Hunting Fairy Pattern Mirror
Diameter 20.4 cm. Weighing 1098 grams
Collection of Shanghai Museum
Gold and silver flat removal is the main decorative technique in lacquerware in the Tang Dynasty. The method of making flat mirror removal is to engrave patterns on thin gold and silver sheets, stick them to the surface of the back of the mirror, and then repeatedly paint and cover without patterns, polish the surface until smooth and fine and exposed the patterns. This kind of bronze mirror consumes money and labor, so it is exclusive to the palace.
The main patterns of this bronze mirror are peacocks and phoenixes, and they are dancing with flower branches in their mouths. Above the mirror, an immortal riding a crane, and a leaping beast below. The knight behind him was whipping and urging the horse to chase him. There are rockery, flowers, plants, trees, birds, cranes, etc. around it. The decoration is dense and gorgeous, and the various silver flower engraving techniques are extremely rare. Both flowers, birds and characters are vivid.
Part 6 Minfeng Ruiguang
This part shows the contemporary Fuzhou lacquerware.
Compared with lacquerware from all dynasties, contemporary Fuzhou artifacts have more diverse forms, richer themes, and significantly higher decorativeness than practicality.
However, I personally feel that the content in this part is a bit commercial and has a weak sense of history. Just as the rest of the exhibition.
"Thousands of Writings - Chinese Paintware Art Exhibition" lasts until February 24. The exhibition is located in the first exhibition hall on the first floor of the Shanghai Museum. The museum will open at 9 o'clock every day and will be closed on Monday.
The peak period of Dong Qichangzhan seems to have passed. If you go on a weekday, you almost don’t have to queue up, and you can also visit comfortably and freely at your own pace in the exhibition hall.
There is also a multimedia playback in the exhibition hall. If you are tired of walking, you can sit down and enjoy the video to learn about the grand occasion of the tomb of Zeng Houyi in the Warring States Period and the unearth of the lacquerware of the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, Hunan.
