Taobrowser: Co-Host an Exhibition With the Palace Museum at Your Home
Where can you buy that? You already know the answer: Taobao. But navigating China’s biggest e-commerce platform can be a nightmare for foreigners, so we’re helping out by rounding up useful stores to browse in our column, TaoBrowser.
Beyond pure function, home decor and furnishings can be an expression of personality as well as a chance to embrace the latest trends. Sophisticated baroque, Northern European normcore, and Japanese wabi-sabi all had their time, but now many talented designers are throwing their hats in the ring of modernized traditional Chinese decor.
If you've ever visited Guanfu Museum – known for the cats that wander its courtyard as much as its antique Chinese furniture – the aesthetics of traditional Chinese interior design may have already piqued your interest. Fortunately, you don't have to spend your entire savings on an auction piece or become a tomb raider to snatch up a few objects and furnishings inspired by ancient Chinese relics and antiques. Our old friend Taobao can help with that.
三星堆博物馆文创 sānxīngduī bówùguǎn wén chuàng Sanxingdui Museum
Every new discovery that is unearthed from the Sanxingdui ruins ignites discussion among academics and Chinese netizens alike, excited to ponder their bizarre shapes and speculate on the mysteries behind their history. While you shouldn't count on completing your Halloween costume by borrowing one of these bizarre masks from the museum, they are available on its official Taobao store, which is a perfect opportunity for armchair historians to bring a sense of the ancient Shu Kingdom into their own homes.
The museum has also launched a crowdfunding project for their last design, a cup inspired by the extended-eyes mask, one of the strangest looking discoveries from the ruins.
故宫博物院文创旗舰店 gùgōng bówùyuàn wén chuàng qíjiàn diàn The Palace Museum
Besides the fact that it is the largest, most significant historical museum in the country and an unparalleled masterpiece of traditional Chinese architecture to boot, the Palace Museum is also one of mainland China's earliest national institutions to sell creative cultural merchandise online.
After years of creative exploration and the dedicated work of talented local designers, the Palace Museum has seen success with the release of multiple product lines featuring its own collections, such as 千里江山图 qiānlǐ jiāngshān tú The Scroll of Thousands of Miles of Mountain and Water and 清明上河图 qīngmíng shànghé tú Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival. Categories of products range from books to furniture and toys to cosmetics. If the Palace Museum is trying to integrate traditional aesthetics with a modern lifestyle then I have to say they have done a great job so far.
你好历史旗舰店 nǐ hǎo lìshǐ qíjiàn diàn Hi: Story
Hi: Story is not affiliated with any museum or academic institution, but received its authorization from the National Treasure, a TV show produced by CCTV that introduces the story behind remarkable antiques and artwork in the form of live melodramas. The authorization has granted this store the freedom to offer products that go beyond the limitation of certain institutions and target the younger generation, resulting in a more playful style.
If you like to take risks with blind boxes, then their Tang Dynasty Fair Lady Yoga Box and Iconic Poets Box may be next on your to-buy list. Their night lamp series is also worth considering for its beautiful blend of origami art with the traditional lantern to create the sensation of the floating light that is often depicted in ancient poems
Read: Can't Make It To Sichuan? Don't Worry! Sanxingdui Relics Have Landed in Beijing
Images courtesy of corresponding museums and designers
