Pillow in the form of a tiger with a wild goose and reeds, Shanghai Museum
With the 2022 New Year approaching, to celebrate the Year of the Tiger and the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, the Shanghai Museum, together with the Kyushu National Museum, Japan, jointly present the exhibition A Joyous New Year: China-Japan Exhibition Celebrating the Year of the Tiger on January 18, 2022.
Tigers have been a prominent artistic subject since ancient times in China, where there are many tiger-themed archaeological discoveries, historical accounts and mythical folktales historical accounts and mythical folktales historical accounts and mythical folktales historical accounts and mythical folktales. The Chinese tiger culture has been spread to Japan for a long time. A total of 10 artifacts are displayed, of which 6 pieces are displayed onsite and 5 pieces online, including the “pillow in the form of a tiger with a wild goose and reeds” from the Shanghai Museum and the large dodecagonal dish depicting a tiger and bamboo in underglaze blue” from the Kyushu National Museum.
Tigers are represented in folk traditions as guardians that ward off disasters and evil spirits. By highlighting “joyous tiger”, the exhibition aims to present the resilience of the Chinese nation: with great optimism and hearty laughs we send away the cold winter and strengthen our faith in a better future, hand in hand with each other. It is genuinely hoped that the exhibition can bring warmth and strength to the audience from both countries, and we can work in solidarity and ring in the new year in fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic around the world.
The exhibition will last until February 27, 2022.
Source: Shanghai Museum