The Ancient Pure Pearl in Dynamic Downtown

By Hongshao Xiaoguniang

Who can conjure up some immovable ancient antiques treasured in the everchanging high-tech Optics Valley?

Each city has its own peculiar temperament.For example, in the streets of Wuhan, you can often witness a swarming downtown area with a sleepy lane nestled in between outcroppings of supertalls; the fresh-faced business people dressed in business suits and leather shoes hurrying about their business are coupled with grey-haired residents furiously engaged in leisurely gossip. Wuhan is developing and transforming itself rapidly in a conflicting state of languid rapidity. Where commanding commerce meets deferential art, a gallery provides a tranquil oasis amid the clamorous Optics Valley.

Located near a large shopping mall, the Hangu Art Gallery has distinguished itself in its isolation from the surrounding commercial cacophony. It neighbors a cinema, and sits opposite a bank. The ancient china, scripts and paintings rest peacefully in the museum, reflecting the vicissitudes of China’s history of 5,000 years.

It is the first folk art museum established in the Optics Valley Business Circle of Wuhan.

Gilt Bronze Fan with Inlaid Multi-Jewels, Qing Dynasty

A palm-sized exquisite and elegantly crafted piece of jewelry that no woman can resist. Besides the use of traditional openwork,relief carving and inlay craft to the fan body, an indigo dotting technique was also applied. First,a small metal trowel was used to fill a narrow gap with finely ground glaze, then it was fired at 800℃, bringing out the brilliant surface colors.

Gilt Bronze Fan with Inlaid Multi-Jewels,Qing Dynasty 清代銅鎏金嵌八寶點(diǎn)藍(lán)扇

Gold Wire Ganoderma Lucidum Ruyi, Qing Dynasty

Perusing the gallery, you will likely find yourself stopping to admire this ancient, luxurious jewel called Ruyi, and be unable to break from its bewitching beauty . This is truly a treasure of the Niohuru Hala clan.

Filigree inlaying was a technique employed by the ancient imperial craftsmen to make jewelry for the emperor’s concubines. The gold is stretched into gold threads and then woven into the piece. When inlay work is performed, it is necessary to hammer the gold sheet and then insert the gems.

Though I ama self-proclaimed dabbler in art, I always feel that no one can resist the temptation of visiting the Art Museum. It’s not expected that we be edified or refined by immersion in the artistry and enlightenment of the antiques, nor is it intended that we instantly become art aficionados. The art gallery is more like a dream space, a place where we can journey through time.

誰能想到瞬息萬變的高科技大光谷里還藏著些不動如山的老古董

每座城市都有特殊的氣質(zhì)，而在武漢街頭，常常能看到這樣的場景，這頭是繁華鬧市，那邊是幽暗小巷；這一邊西裝革履的商務(wù)人士步履匆忙，那一頭婆婆爹爹結(jié)群閑聊。城市就在這樣的撕裂和融合中發(fā)展變遷。當(dāng)商業(yè)與藝術(shù)發(fā)生交集，她是浮躁的光谷里溫柔沉淀的藝術(shù)館。

被一大片購物中心包圍的漢古藝術(shù)館頗有些特立獨(dú)行的意思，它對面是銀行，身側(cè)是電影院，館中的古瓷字畫敘說上下五千年。

它是武漢光谷商圈的第一間民間藝術(shù)館。

清代銅鎏金嵌八寶點(diǎn)藍(lán)扇

精致、典雅、美，大概沒有女生能拒絕這個不足手掌大的飾物。除了扇身采用鏤空、浮雕、鑲嵌工藝，它還采了一種叫做點(diǎn)藍(lán)的工藝，即，用金屬小鏟子把碾細(xì)的釉料填入絲工空隙處，經(jīng)過800℃的火燒，使色彩呈現(xiàn)在器物表面上。

清代金累絲鏤空靈芝如意

再過來看看讓我們戀戀不舍的古代的奢侈品之如意，它是鈕鈷祿氏的珍寶。

Gold Wire Ganoderma Lucidum Ruyi, Qing Dynasty 清代金累絲鏤空靈芝如意

縲絲鑲嵌是古代宮廷工匠為后宮妃嬪制作首飾時用的一門技術(shù)，將金抽成細(xì)絲，以堆壘編織而成。鑲嵌的時候，需要把金薄片錘打成型，再鑲嵌寶石。

我是實(shí)實(shí)在在的藝術(shù)門外漢，但我總覺得，沒有人能拒絕藝術(shù)館的誘惑。并不是期待從舊物得到所謂熏陶或升華，也不打算指導(dǎo)誰如何欣賞展品。藝術(shù)館更像一座造夢空間，這個夢是時光的穿越。

陶瓷、金銅造像、木器、鼻煙壺、青銅器，在工業(yè)流水線的速食時代，這些藏品有著數(shù)百年的工藝。當(dāng)你進(jìn)入藝術(shù)館，置身于其中，一切都顯得安謐而緩慢，像雕欄里流淌過一陣風(fēng)，鐘聲沉落在暮色里。

這間漢古藝術(shù)館開館兩個多月，屬于私人博物館，館內(nèi)所有藏品均由館長謝小青先生個人捐贈，投資逾二十億元，展示面積近三萬平方米，容納2500余件藏品，共分為六層樓。對外展示的區(qū)域有四層樓，分別為“恒臻館”“藝珍館”“漢古閣”和“拾遺館”。設(shè)立在漢古藝術(shù)館二層的“漢古閣”有500余件特色藏品，宣德青銅四大天王、清木雕市井圖、明石雕水月觀音、郎世寧瓷板畫等皆為稀有藝術(shù)藏品。

Padauk Eight Treasures Alcove Bed Carved with Auspicious Animals, Qing Dynasty 清代紫檀瑞獸八寶千工床

In an era of mechanized, fast food culture, it is rare indeed to glimpse such historical significance; these collections as ceramics, gold and bronze statues,wood utensils, snuff bottles, and bronze wares boast hundreds of years of craftsmanship. When you enter the gallery, you will become fully immersed in the tranquil and languid rhythms.You will envision yourself being ushered into an ancient land with the sun sinking into the twilight,accompanied by soft breezes that waft through the sculpted corridors.

The privately owned Hangu Art Gallery has been open to the public for more than two months and all the collections were donated by curator Xie Xiaoqing,who invested over 2 billion yuan.The exhibition hall, occupying an area of 30,000 square meters,consists of six floors and contains over 2,500 items.

Gilt Stone Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara Status, Ming Dynasty 明代鎏金石雕水月觀音佛像

There are four floors intended for public exhibitions, namely, the Hengzhen Pavilion, the Yizhen Pavilion, the Hangu Pavilion and the Shiyi Pavilion.

“The Hangu Pavilion,” located on the second floor, has a rare collection of more than 500 pieces, among which the Xuande Bronze Four Heavenly Kings, the Qing-Dynasty Woodcarving Town Drawings, the Ming-Dynasty Stone-carving Water and Moon Guanyin (Kwan-Yin) and the Giuseppe Castiglione Porcelain Paintings are all the rarest.

The collection is the heart of the art gallery, and my favorite is the thousand-worker bed.

Padauk Eight Treasures Alcove Bed Carved with Auspicious Animals, Qing Dynasty

This “thousand-worker” bed was carved and decorated by ancient architects, animal patterns, flower and plant patterns adorn all four sides, denoting good fortune. It is very sturdy, made up of more than 500 mortise and tenon joints without a single nail. It was mainly used as a wedding bed.The door is primarily decorated with mixed patterns of twisting and turning vines. The twisting pattern was considered lucky by the ancient Chinese, owing to its characteristic eternal and unending quality. The vine melon and the myriad melon are homophonous in Chinese,

館藏品是藝術(shù)館的心臟，我尤其喜歡千工床。

清代紫檀瑞獸八寶千工床

這具千工床，紫檀木在光下明潤生輝，四周雕有建筑、動物、花卉等，寓意吉祥，整體用500多個榫卯卯合而成，不用一顆釘，非常牢固。如果用作婚床，門洞板一般會以拐紋與蔓瓜紋相結(jié)合圖案為裝飾。拐紋因其連綿不斷，無窮不盡，曾被古人作為祥瑞之美紋。而蔓瓜與萬瓜同音，喻為瓜多、子多、萬代，即一代接一代綿綿不斷。“千工床、萬工轎、十里紅嫁妝”形容的就是婚嫁民俗現(xiàn)象。

“千工床”在舊時是達(dá)官貴人家中的家具，費(fèi)工浩大，做一張床甚至需要花費(fèi)數(shù)千工人，于是叫做千工床。和現(xiàn)在的床板不同，千工床內(nèi)配有梳妝臺、書桌、掛衣架以及方凳、花架等生活用具，像一個小屋子。小時候在奶奶家就見這種床，我喜歡把門關(guān)上，披著被子扮仕女。

清代紫檀龍椅

紫檀龍椅是特色，紫檀龍紋龍椅，紫檀木制，它通體滿雕，以透雕為主，幾無留白，并以龍紋作為主題裝飾。

背后的紫檀屏風(fēng)分作七聯(lián)，邊框雕琢單龍吐珠紋飾，屏心為雙龍戲珠造型浮雕，典雅華貴，宮燈燈扇鏤空雕龍紋，中心雕刻“壽”字紋，燈柱上浮雕蝙蝠、壽字紋。這些手工制作的雕紋，甚至比現(xiàn)代機(jī)器制造出的產(chǎn)品更典雅。

Padauk Dragon Throne, Qing Dynasty 清代紫檀龍椅

清代樟木市井圖牌匾

明清時以香樟木制成的箱柜較多，但這樣長3.3米、寬0.66米，一整塊香樟木浮雕而成的牌匾，卻十分難尋。

匾額展現(xiàn)了清代中早期市井生活，可以看到清時的亭臺樓閣、建筑風(fēng)物和人們的勞作場景，主要是“康乾盛世”人們?nèi)粘Ｉ畹狞c(diǎn)點(diǎn)滴滴。

雍正圓明園行樂圖

西方傳教士郎世寧深受乾隆帝的欣賞，被譽(yù)為“宮廷畫家”，這套《雍正十二月行樂圖》屬于瓷板畫，是在平素瓷板上用特殊顏料手工繪畫、上釉，再經(jīng)高溫?zé)贫傻囊环N平面陶瓷工藝品。清代瓷藝迅猛發(fā)展，這種把紙絹上的中國畫移植到瓷器上的藝術(shù)品，受到人們的青睞。

雍正時期，圓明園修建一新之后，雍正皇帝經(jīng)常在此居住并辦理公務(wù)。這12幅行樂圖分別為“正月觀燈”“二月踏青”“三月賞桃”“四月流觴”“五月競舟”“六月納涼”“七月乞巧”“八月賞月”“九月賞菊”“十月畫像”“十一月參禪”和“臘月賞雪”，讓我們依稀看到圓明園的真實(shí)面貌。

看完漢古閣，也可以逛逛其他樓層，一樣有驚喜，一樓大廳最顯眼的是一套花梨木龍椅寶座，龍椅、屏風(fēng)、宮燈、地臺形成一組陳設(shè)，莊重凝雅。三樓、負(fù)一樓也陳列了幾百件令人神往的藝術(shù)佳品。瓷器、玉器、漆器、竹木器、鼻煙壺等門類齊全，精品眾多，不一而足。

舊物里凝聚著時光，從藝術(shù)館出來時，再看車如流水馬如龍，一陣恍惚?，F(xiàn)實(shí)是門前的施工熱火朝天，是對面銀行里排隊(duì)咨詢的焦躁不安，是影院的爆米花和甜膩的奶茶可樂。藝術(shù)館卻保有一份做夢的權(quán)利，它以遺世獨(dú)立的驕傲姿態(tài)，成為城中的靈韻，讓城市變得深沉而厚重?！?/p>

Emperor Yongzheng’s 12 Joyful Months in the Yuanmingyuan Imperial Garden 雍正圓明園行樂圖

（摘自微信公眾號better；圖/santa及漢古藝術(shù)館）and denote productivity and plenty. The melon vines are used figuratively to suggest the idea,more melons means more seeds to multiply and replenish the earth, thus symbolizing more and continuous birth from one generation to the next. The folk rhyme, “Thousand-worker bed,ten-thousand-worker sedan and ten-mile bright red dowry” best mirrors the marriage ceremony at that time.

Gilt Copper Cloisonné Vase with Inlaid Multi-Jewels, Qing Dynasty清代銅鎏金嵌八寶藍(lán)賞瓶

In the old times, the thousand worker bed was a necessity in the families of nobles and officials.Its name was inspired by the sheer labor intensiveness it took to create the piece. Thousands of workers were commissioned to craft such a costly and opulent bed. Unlike its modern counterpart, the ancient bed included dressers, desks, hangers and other tools, such as square stools and flower racks, making it look like a small room. When I was a kid, I saw this type of bed at my grandmother’s house, where I liked to close the door and drape a quilt around my shoulders,pretending that I was an ancient beauty.

Padauk Dragon Throne, Qing Dynasty

The padauk Dragon Throne is characterized by its dragon designs. It is made of padauk,and filled from top to bottom with carvings primarily of openwork.There is little use of negative space, and the main carvings feature dragons.

The screen in the chair back is divided into seven parts. The frame is decorated with a single dragon carrying beads in its mouth, and the screen center is embroidered with double dragons playing with beads, the piece is both elegant and luxurious.

The lantern lamp fan was hollowed out to carve the dragon pattern, the character for “l(fā)ongevity” (called “shou” in Chinese) is carved into the center and the images of bats along with the character for longevity are embossed on the lamp posts.These hand-made carvings are even more elegant than the products made by modern machines.

Camphor Wood Plaque with Market Place Drawing, Qing Dynasty

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties,there were more cabinets made of camphor wood, but today it is very hard to find an embossed plaque made entirely from a piece of camphor wood, which is 3.3 meters long and 0.66 meter wide.The plaque vividly portrays small-town life in the early-to mid-Qing Dynasty. One can see a snapshot of people’s daily life in the Qing Dynasty, “Golden Age under the Kangxi and Qianlong Emperors,” embodied in the images of pavilions, terraces and towers, architecture and scenes of people living and working.

Emperor Yongzheng’s 12 Joyful Months in the Yuanmingyuan Imperial Garden

Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian missionary, was deeply appreciated by Emperor Qianlong and was honored as the “Court Painter.” This set of “Emperor Yongzheng’s 12 Joyful Months”belongs to the porcelain portrait.It is a flat, hand-made ceramic painted and glazed with special pigments on the plain porcelain plate, which was then fired at high temperature. This porcelain art flourished in the Qing Dynasty.This art form, which transferred Chinese paintings on paper and silk to porcelain, was very popular at that time.

During Emperor Yongzheng’s reign, he often resided and handled official duties in the newly constructed Yuanmingyuan Garden. These 12 pictures named, “Watching the Lanterns in January,” “An Outing in February,” “Admiring Peach Blossoms in March,” “Feasting on the Waterfront in April,”“Racing Boats in May,” “Enjoying the Cool in June,” “Celebrating the Double-Seventh Festival in July,” “Viewing the Full Moon in August,” “Appreciating the Chrysanthemums in September,”“Painting the Pictures in October,” “Meditating in November” and “Savoring the Snow in December” best describe the true characteristics of the Yuanmingyuan Garden.

After visitingthe Hangu Pavilion, you can walk around the other floors. The most prominent part of the hall on the first floor is a set of palisander dragon thrones. The throne, screen,palace lantern and platform form a set of furnishings, which are dignified and elegant. On the third floor and on the basement there is also hundreds of fascinating art treasures, including a full range of boutiques such as porcelains, jade wares, lacquerwares, bambooand-wood wares and snuff bottles.

In the presence of antiques like these, time itself seems to stand still. Walking out of the art gallery, I feel dazzled by the sudden heavy flow of traffic on the streets. The construction site in front of me where a new supertall is being thrown up at full speed and the crowd queuing up in the bank opposite seem steeped in heavy anxiety. The mass-produced popcorn in the cinema and the sugary milk tea at the corner street store are selling like hotcakes as usual,but the art museum offers us the rare privilege of stepping into in a totally different world. For Wuhan, the inspiration the gallery brings to the hustling, bustling city and its potential to provide cultural abundance is a point of pride.◆

Cloisonné Chinese Zodiac (Twelve), Qianlong Reign, Qing Dynasty清 乾隆 銅胎掐絲琺瑯文十二生肖