Shell decoration culture

Shells have been used as decorative objects since ancient times. According to science magazine, scientists found 41 perforated shells in Stone Age tombs in the forest sea of South Africa. In China, shell is also one of the original ornaments. Traces of shell jewelry were found in the ruins of cave people about 20,000 years ago. Seashells were one of the luxurious burial objects in early ancient times.

Chinese traditional auspicious pattern of one of the eight treasures - white law snail

Shellfish grain -- due to the worship of women in ancient times, there were patterns related to sex as early as yangshao culture, namely shellfish grain, one of the early totem worship in China.

This exhibit is a copper casting mould from the eastern zhou dynasty. Shellfish grain appeared very late in the bronze ornamentation, among which the use rate of bronze ware in jin state was high. Especially in the middle and late tao fan, shellfish is everywhere lace decoration

Shell carving is one of the early traditional crafts in China. During the spring and autumn period and warring states period, simple shell carving with bird and animal patterns appeared. The craft of mother-of-pearl reached its peak in the tang dynasty. It is the shell shell carved into a variety of patterns according to the design requirements paste on the back of the plain mirror, then painted, grinding, and then carved in mother-of-pearl feather pattern. Lacquer ground is black, mother-of-pearl is white, cast in black and white contrast exudes inviting brilliance and luxuriant. In order to make the mother-of-pearl mirror more beautiful, the lacquer ground between mother-of-pearl objects is filled with green, green, yellow, red and white conch shells and fine jade, all the more colorful, like the rosy clouds. The object lens of "mother-of-pearl flower and bird" unearthed in luoyang, henan province in 1955 is one of the representative works. It is now in the museum of Chinese history.