On the evening of June 28th, a ceremony was held at the Hunan TV studios to commemorate the momentous occasion of reuniting a Shang Dynasty bronze \u201cMinfanglei\u201d wine vessel with its misplaced lid. The ancient artifact, a wine vessel dating from the Shang Dynasty (circa 1600\u20131046 BC), is also referred to as the \u201cMintianquan Fanglei\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vessel stands 84.8 cm in height with the lid on, and 63.6 cm without the lid. The entire vessel is patterned with leiwen <\/em>(cloud patterns), along with masks, dragons, and birds in bold relief. A pair of ringed handles is mounted on the vessel\u2019s shoulders, and the front of the vessel features a low-set pouring handle cast in the shape of a mystical beast head. The \u201cMinfanglei\u201d is the largest Shang and Zhou Dynasty vessel of this type that has ever been excavated, and is also called the \u201cking of all fangleis<\/em>\u201d for this reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The \u201cMinfanglei\u201d was excavated in Taoyuan County, Hunan Province in 1919. Five years after the excavation, the body of the vessel was purchased by an antiques dealer, and its whereabouts was then lost overseas abroad. After changing hands several times, it materialized at a Christie\u2019s New York auction in 2001. The vessel\u2019s lid, however, remained in China, and has been housed in the Hunan Provincial Museum since 1956.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In March this year, the body of the vessel was once again delivered to Christie\u2019s for auction, and through the collaboration of six enterprises in Hunan, the \u201cMinfanglei\u201d was successfully purchased through private sale to be \u201creunited\u201d with its lid a century later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The repatriation of cultural objects has been a controversial international subject. Parties involved may look to the Hague Convention (\u201cConvention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict\u201d adopted in 1954 at the Hague Convention) and the UNESCO issued \u201cConvention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property\u201d (issued in 1970), but the crux of these controversies often sits at the dispute between universalism and nationalism, often rendering the process of repatriation fraught with difficulties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, the repatriation of Chinese cultural artifacts is mostly being driven by individuals or enterprises engaged in private purchases or donations. In 2002, China established \u201cThe Special Fund for Rescuing Lost Cultural Relics from Overseas\u201d, which is the first non-profit organization based in the Mainland whose purpose is restoring lost cultural relics back to China; it also primarily operates through corporate donations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the evening of June 28th, a ceremony … Continue reading