A gauze with Nanjing brocade with images of rabbits and flowers
A product of Nanjing yunjin brocade, this is a fine piece of gauze dating back to the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Three rows of rabbits, chrysanthemums, and peonies have been woven into a yellow cloth. Some rabbits are depicted holding
A porcelain plaque with the image of Napoleon Bonaparte made in Wuhan, China
A porcelain plaque (c. 1920-1930) housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, possesses specific interest for researchers. Being decorated with an en grisaille image of Napoleon Bonaparte (1799–1804), emperor of France and one of the most celebrated personages
Chinese artifacts with depictions of rabbits
Since 2023 is considered the Year of the Rabbit, according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, ChinArmArt presents Chinese artifacts with rabbits' images, some combined with other auspicious zoomorphic motifs.A golden belt buckle, dating to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD
Chinese “Ancestral portraits”
Portraiture of the senior family members, made while they were alive or based on descriptions and imaginations, constituted an important part of classic Chinese figure paintings.The Chinese Traditional Culture Museum in Beijing unveiled an Ancestral Worship exhibition on the 1st
What kind of crown did princes of the Ming Dynasty wear?
What kind of crown did princes of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) wear? The nine-string mian (crown) provides some clues.As the most important ritual crown in the Ming Dynasty clothing system, the "mian" is woven from cane with black paint and
The rare Tang dynasty ceramic drum
This black-glazed ceramic waist drum with azure-glaze decor, an example of Lushan ware from the Tang Dynasty, unveils what the Tang dynasty (618-907) musical instruments look like.This type of drum, introduced from Central Asia to China, was initially made of
The Chinese reverse glass diptych of the mother and her child: the West meets the East
"Sotheby's" has recently represented a Chinese reverse glass painting - a diptych entitled “ A mother and a child” (reverse glass painting diptych, China for the European market, Qing dynasty, 18th century). The right wing represents the mother-and-a-child theme through
Lai Afong – one of the most prolific Chinese photographers of his era
Lai Afong (黎芳 or 賴阿芳, c. 1838 or 1839 – 1890) is considered to be a pre-eminent nineteenth-century Chinese photographer and the founder of the most successful photographic studio in the late Qing Dynasty.Lai Afong's subjects ranged from portraits and
The cultural gem of the Silk Road: Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, China
Carved into the cliffs above the Dachuan River, the Mogao Caves southeast of the Dunhuang oasis, Gansu Province, comprise the largest, most richly endowed, and most extended used treasure house of Buddhist art in the world.Four hundred ninety-two caves are
The Han Dynasty brick relief illustrates a salt-mining scene
Southwest China’s Sichuan province has boasted abundant well salt resources for more than 2,000 years. An Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE) brick relief illustrates the salt-mining scene of the time.The crowded compositions of digging wells, drawing and transporting salt water,
