The Western Zhou bronze "Tiger Hammer (pronounced yíng)", which has attracted the attention of all sectors of society, was returned to the motherland in November 2018, and in December, it was allocated by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to collect by the National Museum. After intense and rigorous research, protection and planning work, on January 29, 2019, the exhibition "Tiger Lock: New Era, New Destiny" opened at the National Museum, and "Tiger Lock" opened to a wide audience. The exhibition is expected to last for one month.
According to expert research and identification, the "Tiger Lock" is a cultural relic of the late Western Zhou Dynasty and has important historical, scientific and artistic value. According to relevant information, the "Tiger Lock" was originally the old collection of the Qing Palace, which was looted by the British officer Harry Evans in 1860 and collected by his family. In March 2018, the news that the "Tiger Lock" was about to be auctioned in the UK came out, and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage immediately carried out multi-faceted work to promote the "Tiger Lock" to return to the motherland. With the joint efforts of all parties, the return of the "Tiger Chain" has gradually turned around. At the end of April, overseas buyers expressed their willingness to donate the "Tiger Lock" to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. Under the great attention of the Party Central Committee and the direct leadership of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, together with the Chinese Embassy in the UK and the National Museum of China, has carried out the identification and acceptance of the "Tiger Chain" in a safe and orderly manner. In September, a team of experts from the National Museum of China went to the UK to identify the "Tiger Chain". On November 23, the staff of the National Museum of China safely and smoothly transported the "Tiger Chain" back to Beijing.
The exhibition is divided into three major units, the first unit is "Western Zhou Ritual Instruments, Royal Old Collection", through the introduction of the inscription, type, ornamentation and instrument seat of the "Tiger Lock", indicating that the instrument is named "Tiger Lock" based on the relationship between "Hammer" and "盉", explaining in detail the unique shape of "Tiger Hammer" and various kinds of ornaments rich in variations, with the equipped rosewood cloud pattern Reishi shaped ware seat, highlighting its special identity derived from the old collection of the Qing Palace; in the second unit "Broken Mountains and Rivers Lost Overseas", the Yuanmingyuan was once used as the "Garden of Ten Thousand Gardens" The glorious picture contrasts sharply with the broken bricks and tiles after being burned by the British and French forces, which makes people sigh and indignant. Based on the study of a large number of historical materials such as the letters and family archives of the British officer Harry Louis Evans who participated in the burning and looting of the Yuanmingyuan during the Second Opium War in 1860, this unit details the beginning and end of the "Tiger Lock" robbery. On October 6, 1860, the British and French invaders occupied the Yuanmingyuan, robbed the Yuanmingyuan, and on October 18, Harry Louis Evans himself participated in the burning of the Yuanmingyuan and the process of robbery; the "Tiger Lock" was lost overseas for more than a hundred years, and its road back to the motherland was also full of twists and turns, in the third unit of the exhibition " Transnational Recourse to the Motherland "Return to the Motherland", the "Tiger Lock" surprised the British auction house, the government of our museum actively pursued, and the industry organizations actively supported. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the National Museum actively promoted the whole process of in-kind appraisal and donation acceptance until the final admission to the Tibet National Museum.
This exhibition is one of the few themed exhibitions curated by the National Museum of China with the theme of a single cultural relic, and the panoramic display of the artifact characteristics and history of the "Tiger Lock" itself.
In order to let the audience better understand the bronze type of "hammer", the National Museum has specially selected a number of artifacts of the same type or the same purpose from the treasures of the museum for the audience to enjoy together, and also specially made a virtual display for the "tiger lock" to enhance the interactive experience of the audience. The audience can not only witness the true appearance of the "Tiger Lock", but also carefully observe the details of each angle of the "Tiger Lock" through the virtual interactive display project.
(Source: People's Daily client)