Longquan Museum

Longquan Museum

Longquan Museum is a patriotic education base.

The Longquan Museum is located on Jiugu Mountain in Gongyuan, Longyuan Town, Longquan City, Lishui, Zhejiang Province. It serves as an educational base for the local community to promote the historical and cultural heritage of Longquan.

The Longquan Museum is situated with the beautiful "Longyuan Park" to its east, the "Longquan Hotel" to its south, and the "Children's Park" and sports square to its northwest. Cars can drive directly to the museum entrance. The area around the museum is filled with green pines and cypresses, creating a beautiful landscape. From the stone steps at the front of the museum, visitors can look out over Longyuan Town and take in the scenery of most of this mountain city. The museum houses a fairly rich collection of cultural relics, including stone axes, stone spears, and pottery tripods from the Neolithic Age, bronze swords from the Warring States Period, and more than 3,000 cultural relics of Tang Dynasty celadon. There are also photographs of the Northern Song Dynasty Longquan celadon five-tube vase and other items, including copper Buddha statues that were made into special stamps issued by China Post in 1998. The collection focuses primarily on Longquan celadon, with over 3,000 celadon cultural relics of Grade 3 or above. Photos of the Northern Song Dynasty Longquan celadon five-tube vase were included in a set of special stamps.

The Longquan Museum is divided into three exhibition halls: the Longquan Celadon Exhibition, the Longquan Sword Exhibition, and the Longquan Ecology Exhibition.

Longquan Celadon Exhibition

The Longquan Celadon Exhibition Hall consists of three exhibition rooms, covering a total area of 386 square meters. The first exhibition room is the Brief History of Longquan Kiln Celadon, which introduces the entire process of the emergence, development, peak, and decline of the Longquan Kiln. The second exhibition room is the Special Exhibition of Longquan Celadon, displaying celadon artifacts, shards, and kiln tools. The third exhibition room is the Modern Longquan Celadon Exhibition.

Longquan Sword Exhibition

The Longquan Sword Exhibition Hall covers an area of 125 square meters. The displays mainly feature modern Longquan swords, and there is also a simulated scene of a Longquan sword shop from the Republican era.

Longquan Ecology Exhibition

The Longquan Ecology Exhibition Hall spans 125 square meters and displays specimens of animals and plants from within Longquan, especially those from the Fengyangshan National Nature Reserve. It also features dioramas of animals and plants, as well as a model of the Fengyangshan Reserve.

Collection of Cultural Relics

The Northern Song Dynasty Longquan Kiln five-tube bottle features a light bluish glaze and a grayish-white body. It is primarily decorated with lotus and lotus leaf motifs, using carving and appliqué techniques, resulting in exquisite craftsmanship and vivid patterns. The five-tube bottle, commonly known as the five-end pot, is a type of funerary object and a typical ware of the Longquan Kiln. It is often found in burial sets alongside flared-neck long-necked bottles.

The Southern Song Dynasty Longquan Kiln powder-green glazed tiger vase is missing its lid. The shoulder and neck are adorned with a molded tiger, while the lower part features a molded flying bird. The vase has a thick, lustrous powder-green glaze and a grayish-white body. Its shape is regular and dignified. The tiger vase and dragon vase often form symmetrical dragon-tiger vase sets, which are common funerary objects of the Longquan Kiln. Starting from the Southern Song Dynasty, they replaced the burial combinations of five-tube bottles and flared-neck long-necked bottles.

The Yuan Dynasty Longquan Kiln bean-green glazed Guanyin statue stands 28.8 centimeters tall. The figure wears an ornate crown, with openwork flame patterns on the back. Guanyin’s face is full and round, with a dignified demeanor. The right leg is bent, the right hand rests on the knee, and a parrot is molded beside it. The left hand holds a ribbon, with a vase placed nearby, and a tiger is molded on the lower left side. The glaze is bean-green, thick and lustrous, with a grayish-white body. The face, neck, chest, hands, and feet are left unglazed, showing a vermilion-colored clay body.

Further Reading:

· National Second-Class Museum of China