牛氣沖天：新潮銀壺

胡新潮、胡杰凱父子倆聯(lián)手創(chuàng)作牛壺的時間是2020年4月份，因為疫情，大家情緒比較低迷，作者的初衷就是提振信心，期待牛來運轉。作品選擇了《五牛圖》中的五頭牛和華爾街牛，六頭牛凸顯在壺身，栩栩如生，朝氣蓬勃。東方牛體現(xiàn)出一種勤勞勇敢的精神，西方牛則象征著財富和力量。六頭牛融匯在一起，體現(xiàn)東西方融合的精神。同時用上祥云這個元素，表現(xiàn)出渾厚古樸的風格，象征著我們牛年六六大順、牛氣沖天。

胡新潮，出生于永康市金工世家，家族從清朝康熙年間就開始從事銀器制作，系楚寶堂第九代傳人;其子胡杰凱為第十代傳人。父子倆不僅傳承了老祖宗的手藝，還不斷創(chuàng)新，其銀壺和銀餐具作品在業(yè)內首入國禮，填補了新中國成立以來全國銀器行業(yè)入選國禮的空白，被譽為“國禮銀壺第一人”。

Silver Kettles

Hu Xinchao and his son Hu Kaijie began to design a silver kettle in April 2020， after Covid-19 pandemic had hit China hard. The two masters wanted to inspire people to forge ahead. Of the six ox images， five are from the Five Oxen， a painting of the Tang Dynasty， and one is a reproduction of the bull on Wall Street. The six oxen look sinewy and powerful. The five oxen in the oriental style symbolize the spirit of hardworking and bravery whereas the Wall Street bull suggests fortune and power. The six oxen showcase the fusion of the west and the east. The number of oxen is a sign of success.

The Hu family started making silver artifacts in the Qing Dynasty. Hu Xinchao is the 9th-generation descendant of the craft and his son Hu Kaijie is the 10th-generation master. The father and the son have not only carried on the family craftsmanship but also innovated.

Some silver kettles and silver tableware they made have been selected as state gifts， the first of this kind since the founding of the Peoples Republic in 1949. The father and the son are known as masters number one in the circles of silver kettle making.