SHANGHAI MUSEUM part 2

THE PAINTING GALLERY:

Like the Calligraphy Gallery, the lights in the Painting Gallery dimmed automatically.  I tried to photograph paintings that did not fit the usual mode of mountain/ tree landscape, but in truth, this is Chinese painting.   There were a few pieces in here that might have gone into the Calligraphy Gallery.

Like the calligraphy, the paintings speak for themselves.  

 

 

 

 

 A fairly large number of paintings were collected by a Filipino businessman who loved Chinese painting.  It was his wish that the paintings be returned to China upon his death.  Thus, there is a room named after him containing rotating samples of the work he collected.  I took a slide of the information but it turned out blurry. 

FLOOR THREE:  THE SEAL GALLERY

Of course the seal was important in China. We see the stamps on documents and on art works as well.  A great many of the seals were small, and carved in a way that did not enable photography to show them off.   Here are a couple that seem especially eye-catching.

FLOOR 4: CHINESE CURRENCY GALLERY/DISPLAY OF ANCIENT SILK ROAD COINS

I've never been much of a coin collector.  My motto these many years has been to spend it before you lose it in a piggy bank, and  to tell the truth, I had a pretty hard time keeping the coins separate in my mind.  I found it interesting that at one point China's credit was so bad a German bank and others issued their own Chinese notes.

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FLOOR 4:  ANCIENT CHINESE JADE GALLERY
I've heard talk for most my life about Imperial Jade, and the color green that is so special, so it was with great interest and anticipation that I wanted to see this jade collection and know with my own eyes the color of Imperial Jade.

Well, you may have guessed already some of the truth.   The museum says the most highly prized color what WHITE.  And throughout the exhibit I do not remember seeing one totally green jade object.  If money were jade, it would be white, not green.

A dragon belt buckle

FLOOR 4:  CHINESE MING AND QING FURNITURE

This was one of my favorite galleries.  The furniture was beautiful, and I was remindeed of a time when

The color and shapes  caught my eye.   This is a folding chair.  

Not a big sofa, but a bed.

What a great piece!

This was quite impressive, with the birds on both sides. The detail is amazing.

Here it is again

Another bed.  We almost bought one with a canopy top like this has, but it wasn't nearly so fancy/   Why didn't I buy it?   You need a huge room for something like this.

I believe this was found in someone's grave.  These little miniatures showing how the funeral procession must have looked.

  

FLOOR 4:  CHINESE MINORITY NATIONALITIES' ART GALLERY


I peered into this gallery was was stunned at the beauty of the costumes.   There are 55 minority groups China, with 5 areas granted autonomous control over their affairs.   The costumes represented here are contemporary and are stunning. These are life-size manikins. 






























 

 

 

This is the end of my flash tour through the museum.  If you want to see more and better photos try this website:    http://www.travelchinaguide.com/picture/shanghai/museum/

I was in the museum for about 3-4 hours, and yes, I did rush through some exhibits and I wanted to spend more time with others, but it was getting late.  When I arrived, there was a sign that said the wait time in line was 1 hour.  It was a hot 87 degree day.   I was glad for the "Green" Door policy.

When I left, it was after 4 PM--maybe 4:30.   Here's what I saw:

 Yes, it is the END OF THE LINE sign.   The officials cut the line off; these would be the last people in for this day.

And it was time for me to trudge back to the Metro station.