The Yanjing Eight Palace Handicrafts exhibition kicks off Sunday at Shenyang Museum. (Photo/China News Service)
(ECNS) -- The Yanjing Eight Palace Handicrafts exhibition kicked off Sunday at Shenyang Museum, northeast China's Liaoning Province.
Twenty-six artifacts reveal the exquisite Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) craftsmanship in ancient Beijing.
Outstanding craftsmen all over the country were employed by the Imperial Palace in the early years of Qing Emperor Kangxi to create daily wares and handicrafts for the court. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty, these craftsmen were scattered everywhere. At this time, the eight consummate crafts, or Yanjing Bajue, including cloisonne enamel, jade carvings, ivory carving, carved lacquer wares, inlaid gold lacquer wares, filigree, imperial carpet, and Beijing embroidery gradually became well-known.
Several handicrafts comprising inlaid gold lacquer are displayed at the exhibition, including an eye-catching screen. Adopting both gold lacquer and carved lacquer, both national intangible cultural heritages, this screen is of extremely high artistic value. Screens were typically used to separate a private space in ancient times.
Exhibits featuring the other seven crafts like jade carvings and cloisonne enamel are also showcased here.
Yanjing Eight Palace Handicrafts is a court art with ancient Beijing characteristics and displays the essence of folk crafts, said Li Shengneng, curator of Shenyang Palace Museum.
The eight crafts have been listed as national intangible cultural heritage.
