This is where my specialty lies! It’s really amazing to see these on exhibition in China again.**DB
A vase is on display during an exhibition of treasures of the Yuanmingyuan at the Shandong Provincial Museum in Jinan, capital of east China’s Shandong province, Jan 9, 2015. Bronze heads of cow, tiger, monkey and pig, and more than 100 relics from the Yuanmingyuan were on display in the exhibition.
A Buddha statue in China examined by researchers using a CT scan, like those in medical facilities, was found to contain the remains of an actual mummy.
The 1,000-year-old monument is painted in gold, and the body inside discovered when examinations of the artifact started, soon after its discovery. The latest investigation involved studies of samples from the body itself, as well as the CT scan.
However, the mummy discovery contrary to some reports is not as shocking as it may seem, as The History Blog notes: “It was known to be inside the statue all along … that’s why it was sent to the Drents Museum in the first place as part of the Mummies exhibition.”
Inside the statue, the body may be the remains of a well-respected monk who may have achieved status as an enlightened being. The artifact was likely stored in southeastern China for several centuries, housed at a monastery.
During the Cultural Revolution, which began in China in 1966, Mao Zedong encouraged Chinese citizens to seize private property, in an effort to rid the nation of bourgeois cultural influences. Investigators believe the statue may have left China during this time, before being sold in the Netherlands, to a private buyer. When the new owner decided to have the artifact restored in 1966, the restorer first noticed the statue appeared to be kneeling on a pair of pillows.
When these were removed, the human remains inside were first seen. The mummy was sitting on a rolled pillow, inscribed with writing.
“He looked right into the bottom of this monk. You can see part of the bones and tissue of his skin,” said Vincent van Vilsteren, archaeology curator at the Drents Museum in Holland.
The outer shell of the statue is composed of a form of papier-mâché, covered in lacquer.
Samples from the artifact were examined by researchers, looking for ratios of different isotopes of carbon, in order to determine its age. This investigation revealed that the monk likely lived sometime in the 11th or 12th centuries, while the carpet on which he sat was found to be about two centuries older than the body.
The mummy was studied with CT scans at both Meander Medical Center in Amersfoort, Netherlands, as well as Mannheim University Hospital in Germany.
Archaeologists excavating ancient tombs in central China have unearthed 28 chariots and 49 pairs of horse skeletons dating back three millennia.
The 2,800-year-old group of tombs, which dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC) is located in the city of Zaoyang, in the province of Hubei. Current explorations have found at least 30 tombs of various sizes.
Preliminary studies show that the tombs belong to high-ranking nobles of the period in Chinese history.
Now a new 33-meter long, four-meter wide chariot pit has been discovered. “This chariot and horse pit is different from those discovered previously along the Yangtze River. The chariots and horses were densely buried,” said Liu Xu, professor from School ofArchaeology and Museology of Peking University. ” Many of the wheels were taken off and the rest parts of the chariots were placed one by one.”
At least 28 chariots were discovered in three months of excavation. About five meters away the chariot pit was a horse pit, where at least 49 pairs of horse skeletons were discovered.
“Judging from the way the horses were buried, they were buried after they were killed, as there was no trace of struggle. Second, it is the way they were laid. They were laid back to back, lying on their sides. It means that two horses pull one chariot,” said Huang Wenxin, researcher from the provincial archaeological institute. . . .
Chopsticks have been around in China for 3,000 years and have deeply influenced Chinese life in terms of etiquette, cuisine and even philosophy. And they could be listed as an intangible cultural heritage in Shanghai this year, thanks to the efforts of an enthusiast.
Lan Xiang’s pride and joy is collection of more than 2,000 pairs of chopsticks, ranging from the largest to the smallest kind.
Now in his eighties, Lan has been collecting chopsticks for more than 30 years, and in 1998 he set up a museum, the first of its kind in the country.
Lan Xiang
It is his way of sharing his passion with others and to preserve and promote the culture of chopsticks.
“Chopsticks have a history of more than 3,000 years in China,” Lan said.
“As something that we use on a daily basis, the chopsticks are not that well preserved in China. I’ve visited Japan several times, and it struck me how highly they regard the culture of chopsticks. It’s not just the organizations that study it; they’ve also made every August 4 the Chopsticks Festival. So I’m applying to list the chopsticks as an intangible cultural heritage in Shanghai.” . . . .
Andy Warhol was the top-selling artist at auction in the past year as increased competition for the most-expensive segment of the market drove global art sales higher.
Collectors bought 1,295 works by the deceased artist totaling $653.2 million, ahead of sales for Pablo Picasso andFrancis Bacon, according to preliminary figures by New York-based researcherArtnet. Auctions worldwide rose 10 percent to $16 billion.
Art sales have more than doubled from $6.3 billion in 2009, as surging financial markets lifted the fortunes of the world’s richest. The top 400 billionaires added $92 billion in wealth this year, for a net worth of $4.1 trillion as of Dec. 29, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bidding for the most coveted artists has been driving much of the surge in auctions, said Jeff Rabin, a principal at advisory firm Artvest Partners in New York.
“The headline number is not so much a comment on the art market as it is on global wealth,” Rabin said. “We haven’t seen a considerable increase in the number of objects sold. We have seen price appreciation at the top end.”
A record $2.3 billion of art was auctioned over two weeks in New York in November. As part of those auctions, Christie’s on Nov. 12 sold 75 contemporary works for $852.9 million, a record for an evening auction.
“That total in one evening sale for less than 100 works is extraordinary,” Rabin said.
At $16 billion, this year’s art sales would be the second-highest on record. The Artnet numbers for 2014 are preliminary, and final figures next week could still surpass the previous record of $16.3 billion, set in 2011. The figures take into account sales of paintings, drawings and sculpture but not other collectibles such as furniture or decorative objects. The numbers also don’t include private sales.
No women were among the top 10 artists in 2014, and only one, Gerhard Richter, 82, is still living.
Warhol, who died in 1987, had two of the most expensive works at auction in 2014. “Triple Elvis,” a 1963 silkscreen of Elvis Presley in a publicity image for the movie “Flaming Star” in which the singer is shown as a cowboy with a gun, sold for $81.9 million.
“Four Marlons,” a 1966 canvas depicting four identical images of a young Marlon Brando wearing a leather jacket and a cap in a still from the movie “The Wild One,” fetched $69.6 million. Both works were sold in November at Christie’s in New York.
Picasso was the second-biggest selling artist, with 2,820 of his works fetching $448.7 million. Although he didn’t have an individual work among the top sellers, collectors sought out the artist because he had “an incredible body of work and multiple periods of exceptional work,” Rabin said.
Bacon, Richter and Mark Rothko rounded out the top five artists. Two Chinese artists, Qi Baishi, known for painting shrimp, fish and frogs, and Zhang Daqian, who was famous for his landscapes, ranked sixth and ninth, respectively. Claude Monet was seventh, with $252.1 million of his works sold. Jean-Michel Basquiat was 10th, at $172.2 million. . . .
The Cultured Muse 