China-Singapore Online, Shanghai, January 18th (Wang Ji) 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit.
The Shanghai Museum selected 5 cultural relics from its collection, and borrowed 2 cultural relics from Shanxi Museum and Quzhou City Museum to hold the "Jade Rabbit Fairy-Shanghai Museum Spring Festival Exhibition for the Year of the Rabbit", which will be officially opened to the public on the 18th.
Rabbits are smart and cute, have a gentle temperament, and have the beautiful meaning of endless reproduction, longevity and well-being. They have been loved by the Chinese people since ancient times.
There are 7 exhibits in this exhibition.
Six cultural relics are exhibited in the lobby on the first floor, including the Rabbit Zun of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Shuangtu Cheheng Decoration, the White Glazed Rabbit of the Tang Dynasty, the Qingyu Rabbit Paperweight of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Crystal Rabbit of the Yuan Dynasty and the Jade Rabbit God of the Qing Dynasty; The painting hall exhibits the axis of "Ladies and Three Rabbits" by Yu Zhiding, a painter of the Qing Dynasty.
"Jade Rabbit Fairy - Shanghai Museum Spring Festival Exhibition".
Photo courtesy of Shanghai Museum
Among them, the rabbit statue of the Western Zhou Dynasty was unearthed in 1992 in M8, the cemetery of the Marquis of Jin in Beizhao Village, Quwo County, and is now in the Shanxi Museum.
The shape of a rabbit as a statue is relatively rare in bronze ware.
In the tomb group M8 of the Jin Xianhou couple and the M64 tomb group of the Jin Muhou couple in the Jinhou cemetery, several bronze rabbit statues were buried as ritual vessels, and they were of different sizes and shapes, which is a spectacle.
Leaf-like residues were found inside this kind of utensils, which may be used to make wine or filter wine dregs, indicating that the rabbit statue should be an ancient wine vessel.
The sapphire rabbit paperweight of the Southern Song Dynasty was unearthed in 1974 in the joint burial tomb of Shengzu and his successor Yang, the ten-year history of Xianchun in the Southern Song Dynasty, and is now in the Quzhou City Museum.
The rabbit-shaped paperweight is carved in the round from Hetian sapphire, in a lying shape, with ears softly attached to the back, and short thin lines engraved on the abdomen and legs, which seem to be soft fur of rabbits.
Thirty-eight precious cultural relics including gold and silver wares, jade wares, porcelain wares and bronze wares were unearthed from the joint tomb of Shi Shengzu and his wife, reflecting the superb craftsmanship and aesthetic orientation of the Southern Song Dynasty.
"Jade Rabbit Fairy - Shanghai Museum Spring Festival Exhibition".
Photo courtesy of Shanghai Museum
The Crystal Rabbit of the Yuan Dynasty was unearthed in 1994 in the Yuanying Pagoda Palace in Songjiang District, Shanghai.
The Crystal Rabbit seems to be looking for food as a whole, simple and honest, with a charming naive look, reminiscent of the Tang and Song Dynasties.
The rabbit has a gentle temperament and has always been regarded as an auspicious animal. It is a symbol of holiness, alertness, kindness and vitality. It is known as "the jade rabbit worships blessings".
Chu Xiaobo, curator of the Shanghai Museum, said that the Shanghai Museum tried to show people's long-term observation and love for rabbits from the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, and from south to north, through these seven rabbit image cultural relics.
I hope that these vivid "rabbit elves" can bring the joy of the New Year to the audience.
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