By Xinyi Li, EDITOR
A Chongqing-style bed carved with flowers and birds and fully-painted with gold is shown in the Ancient Beds Exhibition Hall of Chongqing Bayu Folk-Custom Museum in Yubei District, Chongqing. It was said that craftsmen took three years and used up over 200 grams of gold to make it.
There is a national second-level cultural relic - Chongqing-style Babu bed, made of over 200g gold, which was a dowry in the past
An Integration of Luxury and Elegance
Chongqing Bayu Folk-Custom Museum sits in Bijin Park, next to the Shuanglong Avenue of Yubei District. Surrounded by luxuriant trees, fragrant flowers and singing birds, it is a secluded land in the bustling world.
The Chongqing-style Babu bed carved with flowers and birds and fully-painted with gold is 2.9 meters high, 2.8 meters wide and 2.8 meters deep, and has three lintels. It stands at the right of the second exhibition hall on the first floor of the museum. The bed, shining under the lights, is grand and elegant.
The carved flowers of the bed
It enjoys three features. First, it is made of Phoebe zhennan, rather than common cypress. The wood-carved tassels on the second lintel are extremely lifelike. Moreover, a shelf to store quilts in the bed is carved in the shape of a plum blossom, the orchid, the bamboo, and the chrysanthemum.
Found in the Utility Room
Who owned the bed? How was it found?
Actually, the bed is a national second-level cultural relic, which was made during the reign of Emperor Tongzhi of Qing Dynasty. Mr. Dai, then head of the wealthy Dai Family who lived in Xujiaba, Yubei District, decided to give the exceptionally exquisite bed for his daughter as a dowry.
The carved flowers of the bed
He collected precious raw materials, recruited skillful craftsmen, and spent three years making this bed.
It was worth noting that Mr. Dai unstintingly used more than 200 grams of 24K gold to paint the bed, which make it glittering today.
Relative links:
Rongchang Ramie: a Millennium-Old Craftsmanship in Chongqing
Chongqing Travel Guide: A Private Cheongsam Museum Where the Oriental Beauty Starts
Source: Chongqing Morning News