The purpose of the sachet is to keep the wearer smelling fresh and it was said that its owner had a bad body odour. However the silver sachet with the gyroscope looks like something that has gone 1000 years back from the future.
Silver Sachet in Open-work with Patterns of Grapes, Flowers and Birds 葡萄花鸟纹银香囊
Silver, Gold | Tang Dynasty (618-997) | Dimensions – (Outer Case) D: 4.6cm, (Gold Sachet) D: 2.8cm, (Chain) L:7.5 cm | Shaanxi History Museum, Excavated from Hejiacun, Xian City in 1970. 金银器｜唐（公元618年一公元907年）｜外径4.6厘米，金香盂直径2.8厘米，链长7.5厘米｜陕西历史博物馆藏，1970年西安市何家村唐代窖藏出土
The Silver Sachet in Open-work with Patterns of Grapes, Flowers and Birds 葡萄花鸟纹银香囊 from Tang dynasty (618-997) was unearthed in a cellar in Hejia Village 何家村 in 1970. It was among many amazing relics from the Tang dynasty that came from the same cellar.
According to the fifth volume of the Old Tang Book《旧唐书》卷五1, An Lushan 安禄山 rebelled, Tang Emperor Xuanzong 唐玄宗 (685-762) and others fled Chang’an and passed through Ma Weipo 马嵬坡. Yang Guifei 杨贵妃 was killed and buried here. Later when Xuanzong returned and ordered her tomb to be reinterred. When they dug up the tomb, the body had decomposed, the shrouds remained and the sachet was still there.
“蹙金妃子小花囊，销耗胸前结旧香。谁为君王重解得，一生遗恨系心肠。”
唐 张祜（792年-854年），《太真香囊子》
Because of its association with Yang Guifei, it was hypothesised by scholars that these sachets are commonly used by the concubines in the inner court. The outer diameter of the sphere is 4.6 cm, the diameter of the golden incense urn 金香盂 is 2.8 cm, the length of the chain is 7.5 cm, the open artwork on the the spheres is motifs of branches, flowers and birds in the style of the ancient Silk Road, demonstrating the superb craftsmanship of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
Principle of the Working of a Gyroscope
A gyroscope can be considered a massive rotor fixed on the supporting rings known as the gimbals. The central rotor is isolated from the external torques with the help of frictionless bearings that are present in the gimbals. The spin axis is defined by the axle of the spinning wheel. The rotor has exceptional stability at high speeds as it maintains the high-speed rotation axis at the central rotor. The rotor has three degrees of rotational freedom.
The working principle of a gyroscope is based on gravity. It can be explained as the product of angular momentum, which is experienced by the torque on a disc to produce a gyroscopic precession in the spinning wheel. The invention of the gyroscope is usually attributed to the French physicist Jean-Bernard-Leon Foucault in 1852. This sachet predates Foucault’s gyroscope by 1000 years.2
Open-worked Silver Sachet Decorated with Intertwined Floral Motif 镂空缠枝纹银香囊3
Silver, Gold | Tang Dynasty (618-907) | Shaanxi History Museum Collection, Acquired in 2008. 金银器｜唐（公元618年一公元907年）｜陕西历史博物馆藏，2008年征集
Another silver sachet was on display but it was acquired from another source, which proved that the production of these silver sachets was common in the Tang dynasty. There were many Tang poems that described the use of these sachets as an incense burner, hand warmer and weights for bed curtains. It also mentioned the gyroscope mechanism.
You can buy one home from the museum gift shop, a full working model as an incense burner.
#ShaanxiHistoryMuseum #陕西历史博物馆 #China #ChineseCulture #Chinese #香囊 #唐代 #TangDynasty
About Chinese National Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese National Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
- 《旧唐书》卷五一讲，安禄山反叛，玄宗等逃离长安，途径马嵬坡时，赐死杨贵妃，并葬于此地。玄宗后来自蜀地重返京都，念及旧情，密令改葬。当挖开旧冢时，发现“初瘗时以紫褥裹之，肌肤已坏，而香囊仍在……” 这里记载的香囊，就是这种金银制作的，不易腐坏的香囊。 ↩︎
- 香囊外壁用银制，呈圆球形，通体镂空，以中部水平线为界平均分割形成两个半球形，上下球体之间，一侧以钩链相勾合，一侧以活轴相套合，下部球体内又设两层银质的双轴相连的同心圆机环，外层机环与球壁相连，内层机环分别与外层机环和金盂相连，内层机环内安放半圆形金香盂，外壁、机环、金盂之间，用银质铆钉铆接，可以自由转动。
这样无论外壁球体怎样转动，由于机环和金盂重力的作用，香盂始终保持重心向下，里面的香料不致洒落于外。尽管已经经历了一千多年，其仍然玲珑剔透，转动起来灵活自如，平衡不倒，其设计之科学与巧妙，令现代人叹绝。 ↩︎ - This silver sachet decorated with openwork of fluttering birds and intertwined floral motif 镂空缠枝纹银香囊 is used for keeping incense imported from the Western countries along the Silk Road. It can either be hung in the room or carried around with similar working principle of gyroscopes. ↩︎
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