Polish amber pieces to be displayed at Yunnan museum

“Beauty Trapped in Time", an amber exhibition that shows beautiful pieces from Poland, will be staged at the Yunnan Provincial Museum from January 10 to March 10. Polish diplomatic missions in China facilitated the cultural exhibition.

Amber makes a symbol of the central European country. And the grand amber show in Yunnan will consist of 845 exhibits, including antiques collected in the 1970s to 90s, as well as 400 plus gems, sculptures and decorations by 106 Polish designers. 

The ancient Greek historian Nicias believed amber to be congealed droplets of sweat formed on the Earth as the Sun set beneath the waves. Other ancient writers depicted these “droplets” of fossilized sap as the tears of gods or heroes on various quests. Amber symbolism also encompasses the animal world. 

Over 2,000 years ago, Mediterranean merchants bought amber from the Baltic Sea region, trading with local nobilities for gold at their return and opening the Amber Road as a result. When it was later mingled with the Silk Road, Polish amber found its way to China, while Chinese tea began to be sold to Poland.

Reporting by Li Yuechun (Yunnan Daily); Trans-editing by Wang Shixue