Wanli filial piety embellished with jewels

From the blue crown worn by the queen of ancient Egypt to the wide-brimmed hat worn by the Queen of England in the public, the countless things prove the important role of exaggerated hats for the grooming of women, and it is no exception in our country. . The phoenix crown is the most luxurious decoration in ancient Chinese women's jewelry.

In July 1958, Beijing Changping Dingling opened the mysterious gate of the underground palace. This is the mausoleum of the Emperor Zhu Xi (the reign of Emperor 1573 ~ 1620) of the Ming Dynasty Emperor Wanzong, buried in the tomb of Shenzong and his two empresses - Empress Dou Duan and Empress Xiaojing. More than 2,780 pieces of unearthed cultural relics were excavated, including four phoenix crowns of two queens, two each with two tops, next to the plaque on the back hall.

According to archaeology, the phoenix crown has appeared in the Han Dynasty, but most of the intact objects we can see now belong to the Ming Dynasty. The Fengguan of the Ming Dynasty was the hat of the Queen and the priests during major celebrations such as the Book of the Rings, the Temple of the Temple and the pilgrimage. It was also a symbol of high and low status. According to different grades, the number of phoenix crowns and the number of dragons and phoenixes are different. And after they die, they will be dressed in gorgeous dresses and eye-catching jewels, and then buried.

Due to the long-term burial, the four phoenix crowns unearthed from Dingling were scattered. The archaeologists repaired them according to the originals and found that the four crowns were "Twelve Dragons and Jiufeng", "Kowloon Jiufeng", "Six Dragons and Three Phoenixs" and "Sanlong Erfeng". It is a rare treasure in the Ming Dynasty.

The phoenix crowns are mainly made of dragons and phoenixes. The dragons are welded with gold wire piles and are hollowed out, which is full of three-dimensional sense; the phoenix is ​​pasteed with kingfisher hair, and the color is long and beautiful. The weight of the phoenix crown and the number of pearls and gems attached to the crown are not equal. The top one has 128 stones and a minimum of 95 pieces; the pearl has a maximum of 5449 pieces, the least 3426 pieces, the heaviest ones are 2905 grams, the lightest 2165 grams.

The Fengguan, introduced in this issue of "National Treasures Archives", is the phoenix crown of the Kowloon Jiufeng, which is the phoenix crown of the Queen of Xiaojing, and is now in the National Museum of China. The phoenix crown is 27 cm high, caliber 23.7 cm, weighs 2320 g (about 4 kg 6 two), the crown is set with more than 100 red sapphires and more than 5,000 pearls. The style basically inherits the gold and silver inlaid jewels of the Song Dynasty empress. Phoenix crown system.