Today, we went to the Shanghai Museum, which is located in People's Square. Since admission is free, we decided to only tackle the first floor - which houses the bronze and statue collections - and save the rest for another day (or 3). I'm looking forward to seeing the painting and calligraphy exhibits on our next trip! But until then, here are pictures of some of the artwork:
The museum was designed in the shape of an ancient bronze cooking vessel called a ding. The building also has a square base and round top, symbolizing the ancient Chinese view of the world as a "round sky, square earth."
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| This is a bronze water vessel with miniature carved animals in the center (fish, ducks, frogs). |
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| Here's another bronze water vessel with an "interlocking dragon" pattern. |
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| This is a bronze drum stand; the drum is attached to a long wooden pole, which is placed in the center hole of this stand. |
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| This is an earlier depiction of Bodhisattva, the closest follower of Buddha and the God of Mercy. While this figure was usually male in ancient Indian Buddhism, it was turned into a female in China when Buddhism was first introduced during the turn of the Western and Eastern Han dynasties (1st century). |
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| This is one of my favorites! However, I only managed to catch the Chinese section of the description, so I don't remember exactly what this figure represents. I'm assuming she's another Bodhisattva (there were a LOT!). |
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| Can you guess what this one is? Yep, another Bodhisattva. |
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