Once, a staff member of Shaanxi History Museum was asked, "What is the most precious cultural relic in your museum?" The employee immediately smiled and said, "There are too many precious cultural relics in Shaanxi Bo, and the Guangzhen Museum has 18 treasures, all of which are priceless." But he thought for a moment and replied, "If you must say the most precious thing, it may be the agate cup with the head of the golden beast. Some experts once said that it can be worth half of Hong Kong! " The words of the staff are full of pride. What is the golden animal head agate cup? Can a cup really be worth half of Hong Kong? This has aroused the curiosity of many people. Regardless of whether "half of Hong Kong" is exaggerated or not, it shows that this cup is extremely noble and must be a national treasure among national treasures.
Back in the 1970s, a foundation was being dug at a construction site in hejia village, a southern suburb of Xi. Suddenly, less than 100 cm from the ground, the workers dug up a huge clay pot. Out of curiosity, everyone opened the pot and saw that almost everyone was dumbfounded. I saw that the pot was full of dazzling gold and silver jewelry!
The treasure that fell from the sky made people feel too unreal, and then everyone continued to dig, and soon found another clay pot and a small silver pot of the same size on the north side of this clay pot. Open the earthenware jar, which is also full of gold, silver and jewels, but open the small pot, and there is only a "strange" glass inside. Whose are these things? Why are you buried here? Basic common sense told everyone that it must be a cultural relic, so I quickly informed Shaanxi History Museum and experts rushed to the scene.
Surprisingly, the experts were excited about this strange-looking "wine glass" when they saw the general reaction of gold and silver. It seems to be carved with a whole striped red agate, and the color is pure. The cup is curved, just like a prone cow's head. The cow's mouth is covered with a cage-shaped gold hat, which can be removed. The liquid in the cup seems to flow from the mouth. There are two curved antelope horns on the bull's head, and the decoration is very strange.
Experts say that the natural silk-wrapped red agate stone made of this kind of cup is very rare in terms of texture. Coupled with the ingenious design of the craftsman, from the color, material and texture of agate stone, it is carved into a cup-shaped finished product with claw-like texture, which seems to be natural and self-contained. It is really rare. When people are curious about its value, they joke that it is "priceless, and its value is at least half that of Hong Kong". Obviously, this golden animal head agate cup is a well-deserved national treasure. However, who is its owner? What kind of life experience is still an unsolved mystery.
Some experts believe that it must be from the western regions, not made in China, because this kind of red agate is hardly produced in China. According to the literature, agate of this color is mostly produced in Central Asia and West Asia. In addition, the style of animal head decoration is rare in China, but there are similar styles in the west. Laitong, a drinking vessel found in Crete, ancient Greece, looks similar to this. It was probably made in Greece, spread to Central Asia, used the red agate here, and then came to China via the Silk Road. As for the time, it is probably the time of the Tang Dynasty. There is such a historical material in the Book of the Old Tang Dynasty: "In Kaiyuan 16, Dakang presented the animal head agate cup". Dakang refers to the surrounding areas of Uzbekistan today. Is it possible that it is this cup?
However, some people think that this kind of natural treasure is not necessarily "imported", but it is likely that our ancestors copied it according to the style of the western regions. The production technology of the Tang Dynasty was not blown out. However, no matter how it came from, it is undeniable that it has immeasurable value. In 2002, in the first list of cultural relics prohibited from leaving the country, an agate cup with a golden beast's head was listed among them. You must not miss going to the Shaanxi Expo.