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Tripod evokes ancient craftsmanship
By Sang Ni |
December 27, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IN 2009, the Jiading Museum acquired a small artifact only 13 centimeters high and 17 centimeters in diameter. It's silver tripod with inlaid gold dating back to the Warring States Period (476-221 BC).
The artwork is supple in line and decorated with intricate patterns. In a limited space, the artisan demonstrated his superb craftsmanship, leaving later generations to marvel at the skills of ancestors more than 2,000 years ago.
The art of gold and silver inlaying is an ancient Chinese skill celebrated for its exquisiteness of craftsmanship, symmetry of graphic patterns, magnificence of decoration and ingeniousness of modeling.
The tripod, cast in bronze, is decorated with gold and silver on the outer surface, while the top of the lid, the edge of the mouth and pouring trough, and the handles are all inlaid with gold and silver to create triangular patterns.
The middle of the lid and the main body of the tripod are divided into sections bordered by inlaid silver, with gold inlay in the central spaces. The feet are decorated with triangular patterns of cirrus clouds.
Viewed as a whole, the decorative patterns of the vessel are all symmetrically arranged and gorgeously adorned. Seen from a distance, it looks like a rare beauty basking in auspicious clouds or cloaked in bright brocade and silk. The ornamentation, so subtle and so smooth, is inlaid with silver threads.
In ancient China, the tripod was a vessel used to carry liquids or sometimes other foodstuffs. Its top and looped handles were designed to facilitate its use.
Gold and silver was commonly used during that period to ornament artwork. The tripod first appeared during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) of Chinese history, gained popularity during the Warring States Period and gradually faded after the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).
To inlay gold or silver, the ancient Chinese artisans cut grooves on the surfaces of bronze articles. Gold or silver was then hammered into the grooves. A grinding stone was used to smooth the inlays to make them level at the surface. Charcoal and clean water were applied during the grinding to retain the different colors of the bronze, the gold and the silver.
The artwork is supple in line and decorated with intricate patterns. In a limited space, the artisan demonstrated his superb craftsmanship, leaving later generations to marvel at the skills of ancestors more than 2,000 years ago.
The art of gold and silver inlaying is an ancient Chinese skill celebrated for its exquisiteness of craftsmanship, symmetry of graphic patterns, magnificence of decoration and ingeniousness of modeling.
The tripod, cast in bronze, is decorated with gold and silver on the outer surface, while the top of the lid, the edge of the mouth and pouring trough, and the handles are all inlaid with gold and silver to create triangular patterns.
The middle of the lid and the main body of the tripod are divided into sections bordered by inlaid silver, with gold inlay in the central spaces. The feet are decorated with triangular patterns of cirrus clouds.
Viewed as a whole, the decorative patterns of the vessel are all symmetrically arranged and gorgeously adorned. Seen from a distance, it looks like a rare beauty basking in auspicious clouds or cloaked in bright brocade and silk. The ornamentation, so subtle and so smooth, is inlaid with silver threads.
In ancient China, the tripod was a vessel used to carry liquids or sometimes other foodstuffs. Its top and looped handles were designed to facilitate its use.
Gold and silver was commonly used during that period to ornament artwork. The tripod first appeared during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) of Chinese history, gained popularity during the Warring States Period and gradually faded after the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).
To inlay gold or silver, the ancient Chinese artisans cut grooves on the surfaces of bronze articles. Gold or silver was then hammered into the grooves. A grinding stone was used to smooth the inlays to make them level at the surface. Charcoal and clean water were applied during the grinding to retain the different colors of the bronze, the gold and the silver.
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