The Heritage
A Heritage Forged by Hand
In 2006, the forging technique of Miao silver ornament — 苗族银饰锻制技艺 — was inscribed on China's first national list of intangible cultural heritage. Every piece in this archive is shaped by that living tradition: silver melted, hammered, drawn and assembled entirely by hand.
The Process · 锻制流程
Four Movements of the Forge
The Workshop · 工坊纪实
The Smiths at Work
Pattern Studies · 纹样档案
The Pattern Archive
Ten pattern plates recorded across the collection. They are kept as archival documentation of the craft's visual vocabulary — the reading of individual motifs varies among Miao communities and regions, and their interpretation is best left to scholarship on Miao culture.