Let's talk about sparkle in the New Year:  The jewels in the Forbidden City.
This year marks the 601st anniversary of the establishment of the Palace Museum. Over the six hundred years, wish the Palace Museum the best!

The Palace Museum

The Treasure Gallery is a permanent exhibition of the Palace Museum, located in NingShouGong(Palace of Tranquility and Longevity). When ordering tickets online, check the ticket box for The Treasure Gallery, which costs 10 yuan and is not included in the entrance ticket(60 yuan) of the Palace Museum. You can also check http://t.cn/A6b9Ccyn to enjoy the exhibition online.

The Treasure Gallery generally displays more than 400 pieces of cultural relics, divided into jewelry, jade, gold and silver, bonsai, fortunately, we have chance to pry into a corner of the luxury of the ancient palace. In addition to the magnificent and extravagant, what makes people admire more is the craftsmanship at that time, so exquisite and meticulous, perfect and vivid.

动脉影 from weibo

01

[Qing] Empress crown with mink skin and golden phoenix inlaid with jewels
The height is 30cm and the caliber is 23cm

The imperial crown is the official cap worn by emperors and empresses to attend major ceremonies and formal occasions, such as offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, conferring titles, and holding court. The Qing empress's crown was basically the same as that of the emperor, but it was decorated with more jewelry.

《Drunken Master III》

Obviously, the crown was worn in winter, with a rounded, curling brim and a bottom brim of brown smoked ermine covered in red velvet. Three golden filigree phoenixes are stacked upward in the center of the crown, and each layer is interspersed with one tana(east pearl), with the largest one set at the top of the crown. Pearls and cat's eye inlaid around the circumference of the seven golden silk phoenixes. On the back of the hat hung the pearl fringe "six lines and two", the pearl fringe is the horn made of gold filament and coral.  (Six lines and two: six lines refers to six strings of hanging pearls, two refers to the knot decorated with lapis lazuli in the middle divided into two sections.)

No matter the form of the hat, or the mink cashmere on it, they all have the heroic sense of the grassland people, domineering exposed. And the jewel above is very elegent based on the noble gold filament and decorous pearl. The most impressive section is the canary. If you look carefully at the top of the canary you will find how exquisite it is, such as hair.

Now I'm kind of understand the rivalry of the ladies in the palace drama. For men? No. For the jewels.

 Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty/Empress Xiao Yichun in court costume

filigree technique

Filigree technique is China's traditional metalworking technology, precious metals such as gold and silver are drawn into wires and then shaped by methods such as knitting, stacking and welding. They can be welded on utensils as local decorations or independently artware.

If it is a three-dimensional filigree handicraft, it's necessary to use the "pile ash" technology. In advance, the charcoal need ground into fine powder, mixed with the mucilage made from Bletilla striata to shape into the desired shape. After the mold is filigreed, finally, the charcoal mold need burned to ashes with fire, leaving a three-dimensional filigree artwork.

gold filigree nine phoenix Dian

Gold inlay pearl stone filigree hairpin

Qing Dynasty is the peak of the development of filigree, known as the eight treasures of Yanjing, on the basis of the Ming Dynasty filigree, added inlay, dot green, burning blue and other technologies, more gorgeous and bright.

[Qing] part of Play In The Hall Mural Paintings

The appearance of Wang Xifeng in "A Dream of Red Mansions" is supported by the filigree craftsmanship of the scene: "This person is dressed differently from other girls, colorful and brilliant, like a celestial fairy. Wearing gold wire eight treasure pearl bun, winding up five phoenix pearl hairpin of court costume ......" . Gold wire eight treasure pearl bun, be source of Wang Xifeng's confidence.

《A Dream of Red Mansions》

02

动脉影 from weibo

[Ming] Xiao Jing Empress Three Dragons and Two Phoenixes

The height is 31.7cm, the upper width is 34cm, the outer diameter is 19cm, the inner diameter is 17cm, the temples are 23cm long and 5cm wide, and the weight is 2165g. It is inlaid with 95 pieces of ruby and sapphire and 3,426 pearls.

The phoenix coronet is the crown of the empress. There are only the four phoenix coronets in China, unearthed in the Dingling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty belong to the two empresses of the Ming Shenzong(Wanli Emperor):  Empress Xiaoduan and Empress Xiaojing. This is the crown of three dragons and two phoenixes belonging to Empress Xiaojing, which is collected in the Palace Museum.

The phoenix coronet is decorated with a pair of symmetrical turquoise blue phoenix, knitting by lacquering bamboo filament. At the top of the crown, there are three golden dragons made of gold wire arranged at equal distances, among which the left and right two mouth holds jewelry tassels so it is called Three Dragons and Two Phoenixes Crown.

The rest of the body is decorated with the ruyi clouds piece of kingfisher feathers. Eighteen plum flowers made of pearls and precious stones surround the clouds, and the crown is surrounded by rubies.

The back of the crown is decorated with ornamental sideburns made of six pearls and precious stones.

This phoenix crown is literally extremely luxurious, and the tassels on both sides show gentle beauty in the dignified, standing in front of the physical object, bejeweled, so extremely good looking that I stumped, only "ah ah ah" left. No wonder to say "to wear a crown, must bear its weight", these phoenix coronet, so heavy as they look.

cageling

Empress Xiaojing herself had never worn this phoenix crown. The words left by her before she died in the history book are: "My son has grown up like this phoenix, I have no regret to die."

[Ming] Wanli Xiao Jing Empress Portrait

Wang is the daughter of 100 households of Jinyi Wei, although failed to enter the palace draft, but because of her good looks to stay to become a harem maid of the Ming Shenzong birth mother empress dowager Li. By ShenZong on a spur of the moment, she pregnant, but the emperor actually wanted to lift the pants didn't admit it, until the queen mother took the "daily note" confrontation, ShenZong reluctantly admitted.

The Wang family gave birth to the eldest son, Zhu Changluo, who should have been appointed crown prince according to the lineal primogeniture system of Ming Dynasty. However, the emperor did not like their mother and son, and was determined to appoint the third son of his pet concubine Zheng Guifei as crown prince. Wang was involved in "the country dispute" wrestle between the emperor and his court. He became a punching bag and suffered in a cold palace.

Not only but after her son Zhu Changluo was finally made crown prince at the age of 19, she was kept in solitary confinement and could not be seen for ten years. It was not until she was dying that Shenzong allowed the prince to see his mother. After Zhu Changluo picked the lock to enter, he found that his mother had lost her sight. The mother and son wept in each other arms and she died that day.
After the death of Shenzong, Zhu Changluo ascended to the throne. He was killed because of the "Red Pill" case after reigned for 30 days, which was known as "the emperor of only one month". Empress Xiaojing's phoenix crown was made for her by her grandson Mingxi Zong, Zhu Youxiao, after he succeeded to the throne. So although the phoenix coronet was belong to her, she had never seen it, let alone worn it.
Xiao Jing Queen life is miserable, such as a bird in a cage, not free. Fate is as beautiful and cruel to her as the green art on the phoenix coronet. Cui is the kingfisher feathers inlaid in the metal base, due to refractive, Cui color almost drops, sparkling. But this beauty comes at the cost of a kingfisher's life.

Green jewels inlaid with five phoenix Dian

Silver gilt dotted with emerald flower hairpin inlaid with gemstones

The kingfisher, too strong to be raised in captivity on a large scale, plundered as a luxury ornament and is on the verge of extinction. How similar to the lives that was once fresh and beautiful in these deep palaces.

03

Of course, the luxury of the court is not only reflected in the jewelry, but also in life.
Natural flowers will fade, the jade potted will bloom forever.

You can't use ordinary pieces in Chinese chess. You'd better use 

动脉影 from weibo

The cup is exquisitely carved with flowers, inlaid with 36 pearls, rubies, sapphires and pink tourmalines. Cups on both sides of the double set Kui ears, Kui dragon head each embedded a pearl, the bottom is three elephant head for the foot, the shape of the tripod. It is the pinnacle in the history of gold and silver ware in China and even the world, and it is a rare and priceless treasure.

Carve engraves process

Gold chisel cloud dragon gourd style handle pot

"By hammering the chisel, the chisel leaves a chisel mark on the surface of the object, forming a variety of different textures, so that the single metal surface produces a multi-level three-dimensional decorative effect. Some chisels have a concave and convex pattern on the head, which will be printed directly on the utensils after being hammered. Using this method to hammer out the utensils, from a distance will feel gorgeous; If we look closer and partially, it seems that we can hear the sound of ancient people beating."

Utensils of the Palace Museum

Ending

"Handicraft is the art of time. The restorer's world is quiet and honest. The creation of hands and hearts reveals not only the superb skills , but also the temperature of hands and the purity of heart. Only with sincerity can we make the right craft and know the essence of the matter deeply."

------"Masters in the Forbidden City“