The Eastern Roman Gilded Silver Plate was a historical relic of ancient China. It was unearthed in Beitan, Jingyuan County, Gansu Province, and is now stored in the Gansu Provincial Museum. The silver plate was made with a unique craftsmanship. It was made of pure gold and was repeatedly tempered and welding. The surface was covered with thin gold foil. One side of the plate was engraved with exquisite patterns that symbolized power, wealth, and mysterious power. The relic was from the 4th century to the 6th century (Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties), with a diameter of 31 cm, a height of 4.9 cm, and a weight of 3190 grams. Most of the gold on the surface of the silver plate had fallen off due to the erosion of time and sand, but from the remaining embossed patterns, one could still imagine how exquisite it was back then. The silver plate was decorated with embossed patterns and was filled with exotic customs. It was arranged in three circles. The outer circle was a grape scroll pattern with small animals such as lizards, bees, insects, etc. The middle circle was the head of the twelve gods of Olympus in ancient Greece, and there was an animal on the left side of each head. The high embossed in the center of the plate was a young man leaning on a leopard and holding a scepter. It was verified that he was Dionysus in ancient Greek mythology. He was a natural god who symbolized harvest and plants, especially known as the God of Wine. It was probably a gift from the Byzantine Emperor to the royal family of the Tang Dynasty in China around the 6th century. It was an important record of the large-scale cultural exchange between the East and the West, and also a witness to the cultural exchange between Chinese civilization and the world. There was an inscription at the bottom of the silver plate. Scholars had different opinions on the inscription, but they all agreed that the silver plate was a product of the Eastern Roman period. The discovery of this silver plate was a physical witness to the cultural exchange between China and the West in ancient times. By studying the patterns on the silver plate, one could understand the living customs and social style of ancient Rome. The novel "Gilded Palm" is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!
The ancient Roman gilded silver plate was discovered on July 19,1988 in Beitan Township, Jingyuan County, Baiyin City, Gansu Province. The discoverer was the local farmer Xu Lihui. After the silver plate was unearthed, it attracted widespread attention in the literary and cultural circles, and many scholars at home and abroad conducted research on it. Judging from the craftsmanship and appearance, the silver plate was made by casting, hammering, and other techniques. It was silver and gilded, with a maximum diameter of 31 cm, a height of 4.9 cm, and a weight of 3190 grams. The plate was round, with curled lips, thick walls, and circular feet. It was originally gilded but most of it had fallen off. The plate was decorated with embossed patterns, which were divided into three circles: the outer circle was 16 groups of grape rolls and grass patterns that were connected to each other and evenly arranged, with birds and other animals living in them. The middle circle was ring-shaped and small, with 12 human heads inside, decorated with birds and other animals. The center part was a slightly raised circular area with a diameter of about 9.5 centimeters. It was molded into a high embossed with a silver sheet and then inlaid in the center of the plate. The pattern was of a young man sitting on the back of a lion-leopard beast. He had curly hair and no beard. His body was fit and healthy, and his upper part was bare. His abdomen was wrapped in a towel. The corners of the towel were wrapped around his elbows and hung by his side. His right hand held a pair of sticks on his shoulder. The ends of the sticks were decorated with pine cones. His posture was elegant and his expression was relaxed. The beast he was sitting on raised its head and opened its mouth. It looked fierce and ferocious. The mane under its neck was thick like a lion. Its body was covered in round spots and looked like a leopard. There were inscriptions of western system characters on the bottom of its feet. Chinese and foreign scholars mostly determined that the young man with the heart holding the staff and leaning on the beast was Dionysus in Greek mythology. Some people thought that the 12 heads in the middle circle were the 12 gods of Mount Olympus in Greek mythology, including the sun god and the moon god. Others thought that they were the descendants of Dionysus. Although there were differences in the age, origin, and interpretation of the inscriptions, scholars unanimously agreed that this silver plate was a physical witness to the ancient cultural exchange between China and the West. It was likely to have been cast in the area under the jurisdiction of ancient Rome from the 2nd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D., and was introduced along the Silk Road in the 4th and 5th centuries and "wandered" in Gansu, China. The site where it was unearthed was Jingyuan County, an important node of the Silk Road. It was an ancient ferry crossing of the Yellow River connecting Hexi and Hedong regions. In this area, there were frequent exchanges between Chinese and foreign businessmen and active cultural exchanges. The discovery of the silver plate was of great significance to the study of the history of the Silk Road in China. It was an important witness to the spread of the culture of the Eastern Roman period in East Asia. As a typical artifact reflecting the prosperity of the Silk Road, it had been exhibited in Europe, America, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan many times. It was loved and highly praised by visitors from all over the world. The novel "Gilded Palm" is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!
The gilded silver plate was a cultural relic from the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties. It was unearthed in Jingyuan County, Gansu Province. It was 31 centimeters in diameter, 4.9 centimeters in height, and weighed 3190 grams. It was an important Roman cultural relic discovered on the Silk Road in China and an important cultural relic that witnessed the exchange and integration of the East and the West. It was now collected in the Gansu Province Museum. The museum will be temporarily closed from October 14 to 21, 2024. It will be open as usual from October 22, 2024 (the opening hours are from Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 - 17:00, and the museum will be closed at 4:30. It will not be open on Mondays (excluding national legal holidays)). You can book tickets through the real-name system of the wx public account of Gansu Province Museum (it is recommended to book three days in advance). You can enter the museum with your ID card. Group visits need to be booked 2 - 7 days in advance. In addition, the gilded silver plate (duplicate) was placed in the Jingyuan County Museum and permanently collected. The novel "Gilded Palm" is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!
The pronunciation of the gilded silver plate was: The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!
There were many types of silver gilded plates in the Tang Dynasty, some of which were represented as follows: - ** Tang Dynasty silver plate with gilded gold Feilian pattern and six songs **: Unearthed from the cellar in 1970 in Hejia Village, the southern suburbs of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. It was 1.4 cm high and 15.3 cm wide. It was shaped like a six-curved sunflower. The center of the plate was raised and carved with the image of a Feilian. The Feilian pattern was created by the Tang Dynasty craftsmen by absorbing the practice of decorating foreign objects with animal patterns and integrating it into the local Feilian. It reflected the Tang people's reference and choice of foreign culture. - ** Gilded lion pattern silver plate **: Made in the Tang Dynasty, silver plate with gilded gold, 6.7 cm high, 40 cm caliber, collected in the Museum of China History. The plate is shaped like a six-curved sunflower, with an open mouth, round lips, shallow belly, wide folding edge, three feet below, and a curly leaf shape. There are six groups of flowers on the folding edge, all of which are gilded. The image of the lion is lifelike, the pattern layout is sparse and bright, and the center is decorated with only one lion, which is a prominent theme. Its shape, pattern style, and craftsmanship all had obvious characteristics of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It was the representative work of similar artifacts in the early Tang Dynasty. - ** Great Tang Golden Flower Silver Plate (Sunflower Three-legged Lion Gilded Silver Plate)**: Unearthed in 1956 in Bafuzhuang, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, now in the National Museum of China. It was 6.7 cm high and 40 cm in diameter. It was shaped like a sunflower and had three legs below. The plate was decorated with lion patterns. There were no auxiliary patterns around it. The patterns on the edge of the plate were loose, which was in line with the characteristics of the golden flower silver plate in the Tang Dynasty. The novel "Gilded Palm" is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!
The pronunciation of the gilded silver plate was: The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!
From the information available, some of the gilded silver plates unearthed in China might be mainly used as ritual vessels in ceremonial or sacrificial activities. In ancient times, such ritual vessels were a symbol of social status and identity. Only certain people, usually royal nobles or upper-class people, were qualified to use them. There was no information about the special effects of the Gilded Silver Plate. The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!
The gilded gold and silver dragon pattern copper pot was unearthed in 1968 from the tomb of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Zhongshan in Lingshan, Mancheng. It is now in the collection of Hebei Province Museum. The pot was decorated with gold and silver. It was 59.5 centimeters high, 37 centimeters in diameter, and weighed 16.25 kilograms. The mouth of the pot is slightly extravagant, the belly is round and round, and there is a pair of rings on the upper abdomen. The lid of the pot is curved, and the edge of the lid is slightly closed. The mouth of the lid is used to insert the pot. There are three cloud-shaped buttons on the lid. The buttons are gilded with silver and decorated with three gold-plated Kui phoenixes. It was huge and majestic. In terms of decorative patterns, the mouth and the foot were decorated with silver-gilded cloud patterns. The neck was decorated with a triangular pattern of gold and silver. There was a gilded wide band under the neck and the foot. The main decorative pattern was the gilded dragon pattern on the abdomen. Four thick single-headed double-bodied dragons rolled up and down, circling left and right. The dragons were decorated with smooth golden cloud patterns. The gold and silver patterns complemented each other. It was magnificent and elegant. It skillfully combined the complexity of the composition and the balance of the color tone perfectly. It showed the peak of the bronze decorative craftsmanship of the Western Han Dynasty. The bottom of the pot was engraved with an 18-word inscription: "Chu official, groove, can hold a stone, weighing two jun eight jin ten liang, first". According to the inscription, this pot was originally owned by Liu Jiao, King of Chu Yuan. Later, Liu Wu, the grandson of Liu Jiao, participated in the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" and died in defeat. The imperial court confiscated this pot and gave it to Liu Sheng. From the inscription, it could be seen that this pot was a container for holding "wine grains". It was a continuation of the "Li pot" in the Spring and Autumn Period and was specially used to hold many wine grains. The inner wall of the pot is painted with a layer of red paint. The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!
The gilded silver plate with dragon and phoenix patterns was a silver artwork of the Qin Dynasty. It was unearthed in 1979 in the burial pit of Liu Xiang, the King of Qi of the Western Han Dynasty, in Wotuo Village, Dawu Township, Linzi City, Shandong Province. It was 5.5 centimeters tall, 37 centimeters in diameter, and weighed 1705 grams. Its shape is straight mouth, flat folding edge, folding belly, bottom slightly concave. Three groups of dragon and phoenix patterns were carved on the mouth edge and the inner and outer abdominal walls. Each group was arranged in a suitable density. Two continuous circular patterns were adopted, and the dragon and phoenix patterns were in an S-shaped structure. In the center of the bottom of the plate, three dragon patterns were carved. The dragon's head was open, there were horns on the top of the forehead, and there were feet under the body. The dragon's tail was bent to connect with another dragon. The composition was neat and varied. The lines were simple, abstract, smooth and gorgeous. The silver plate was exquisitely crafted, and the carving was skillful and exquisite. The decorative patterns were all gilded, and the silver texture and golden decorative patterns complemented each other. There are inscriptions on the bottom and the outer bottom of the mouth. The bottom of the mouth is engraved with "Thirty-three years of Zuo Gong, Ming Ji, seven heavy six catties, twelve taels and twenty-one baht, odd one thousand three hundred and twenty-two, six catties, thirteen taels and two buckets, Ming Dong", and the outer bottom is engraved with "Rong Er Dou, heavy six catties, thirteen taels and imperial shame I". The inscription carving work is different, which has been carved several times. From the study of the shape, decoration, combination and inscriptions of the artifacts unearthed from the tombs, they had the characteristics of the early Western Han Dynasty and retained the legacy of the late Warring States Period. According to the relevant literature, this plate was carved in the thirty-third year of Emperor Qin Shihuang (214 B.C.). "Zuo Gong" was the short form of the supervisor, Zuo Gongshi. Qin Foundry's craftsmen were divided into left and right. The engineers were responsible for imparting skills and checking quality. The names under "Zuo Gong" were difficult to distinguish. The words "imperial delicacies" carved on the bottom of the plate belonged to the Shao Fu, which managed the raw materials of the imperial delicacies and provided them with imperial delicacies. Therefore, this silver plate was specially used for imperial delicacies. The weight and capacity of the inscriptions on the silver plate had been checked and engraved many times. Among them,"Jin" was the weight unit of Han, Zhao, Wei and Jin during the Warring States Period. Its weight and capacity were converted and consistent with the current measurement. They were all within the scope of the Qin law. It was the only silver plate engraved with the Qin Dynasty and was a national first-class cultural relic. The novel "Gilded Palm" is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!
The Pinyin of the gilded silver plate was: The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!