About 2,000 years ago, there was an ancient kingdom in the Dianchi area of Kunming, Yunnan, the State of Dian. After they ended the barter economic model, the urgent need for "general equivalents" to become an intermediary of exchange, because sea shells are relatively rare in inland areas, so the ancient Dian state used sea shells as currency.
Rich nobles, in order to store these shell coins, specially minted bronze shells that could match them.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the ancient Dian kingdom collapsed, and the wealth of the nobles and shell containers were buried in the ground. Until the 1950s, a batch of sea shells and more than 10,000 bronzes were excavated in Shizhaishan, Jinning, Jiangchuan, Jiangchuan and other places in Yunnan, and shellfish containers were one of them.
The lid of the shell vessel is often decorated with three-dimensional image of things, the content theme is very diverse, the character life, sacrifice scenes will appear on the shell vessel, some even as many as a hundred characters, through them, we can get a glimpse of the ancient Dian kingdom more than two thousand years ago.
Four-ox gilded knight shellfisher
The four-bull gilt knight shellfish container is a typical corset cylindrical shell container, and the two sides of the waist are decorated with a tiger-shaped ear, and the tiger climbs upwards.
The lid of the vessel features four muscular oxen running counterclockwise around the center, and in the center there is a cylindrical-handled tray with a knight figure riding a tall horse.
The war horse stood tall, the ponytail waved up, the mouth was slightly open, the eyes were sharp and shining ahead, surrounded by cattle, a gilded sword knight suddenly appeared in front of him, and he told the world that he was an important figure in the ancient Dian kingdom, either a slave owner or a nobleman.
The Four Bull Gilded Knight Shell Vessel embodies the super high skill of bronze casting in the ancient Dian Kingdom and was successfully selected for the second season of "National Treasure".
Eight cattle shellfish container
The Eight Ox Shell Container was unearthed in Shizhai Mountain, Jinning, Yunnan Province, and when it was excavated, it contained shell coins, and the round lid was molded with eight cows with different postures, and the lid was cast with a large cow and seven calves. The big bull in the middle stands on a drum-shaped seat, and the long horn is curved forward, majestic and majestic. Seven calves with their heads hanging low and tails hang around the rim of the lid. At the waist are two tiger-shaped ears, and the shape of the tiger is mighty and the tiger is eyeing. The body is decorated with a delicate pubic line engraving.
Shanghai Museum is known as the cultural relics industry "half of the country" reputation, bronze ware museum is particularly prestigious, shell storage is a very distinctive type of landmark artifacts in the Dian-style bronze, if there is no "shell vessel", then the introduction to the historical development of Chinese bronze is incomplete.
So in the last century, after the completion of the new Shanghai Museum, the Yunnan Provincial Museum transferred this "Eight Cow Shell Container" to the Shanghai Museum collection.
Murder sacrificial pillar scene shell vessel
The sacrificial pillar scene depicts a sacrifice, and the altar is the ancestor worship. On the right side of the bronze pillar, a wooden plaque with a man tied to it was erected, as well as a number of people executing with axes, and behind the bronze pillar were people standing or sitting melon eating.
On the cover, there are 1 stele, 1 table, 2 bronze drums, 52 people (22 males, 29 females, 1 young child), 1 pig, 1 dog, 17 baskets, 11 cans, 5 horses of cloth, 1 piece of brocade, 1 chicken, 2 fish, 3 bundles of salary, as well as 1 shoulder of the main priest, pegs and ropes applied to the torturers, and long swords, shields, armor and other items worn by law enforcers.
The image of the shell vessel in the scene of the killing column is concrete, the action is clear and communicative, and the layout of the whole scene is orderly, showing a mature ceremonial tradition.
The shell vessel was originally cast as a store of treasure, but it is more like a "time capsule", through which we can travel through time and space and see the life scene of the ancient Dian people two thousand years ago.