Shenyang museum exhibits imperial antler throne
The Imperial Antler Throne of Huangtaiji, one of the most precious treasures of the Shenyang Palace Museum, is on public display in the museum for the very first time.
The museum in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province, was home to the earliest emperors of the Qing dynasty, China's last feudal empire. The antler throne on exhibition, which is believed to have been made between 1627 and 1643, was exclusively for the use of Huangtaiji, the Qing Dynasty's founding emperor.
The throne's height is about 120 centimeters. It is mainly made of brown wood and includes exquisitely carved patterns; the symmetrical arms are made of delicate antlers. Historians believe the antlers were from an elk caught by Huangtaiji when his army was attacking a city in Liaoning.
A poem written by Qianlong Emperor, the sixth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, was carved on the back of the throne as a tribute. Its rectangle-shaped seat is made of weaved coir rope; a wooden footrest is positioned in front of it. The throne, which is of great historical and artistic value, served as inspiration for the later emperors when they designed antler thrones of their own.
The throne, which had long been in the museum's storeroom, had only ever been on public display once before—in Taipei in 2011. This precious item is now open to the public at the museum's Jingdian Pavilion for the first season of 2017. Other highlights of the museum are scheduled to be exhibited at the pavilion afterward.
