After discovering such a thing, even the uneducated villagers knew it was a treasure.
Therefore, some good people immediately said, "This is the appearance of the father of the Tong family. Before he was buried, a 'dragon' emerged from the grave. The Tong family will become prosperous in the future!"
As soon as these "auspicious words" came out, the surrounding villagers also echoed them, and a funeral inexplicably turned into a "happy event";
There was no need to dig a grave, and the Tong brothers carried the "copper plate" home.
They walked through the market in a swaggering way, and the onlookers were talking about it.
It was even more lively when we got home. The Tong brothers placed the dug "copper plate" in their father's funeral shed. There were even more people watching on the inside and outside;
The news seemed to have wings. Within half a day, two cars rolled up dust and arrived at the door of "Tongjia".
In 1984, cars were still relatively rare, let alone in rural areas, so more people were talking about it now;
Someone said, "The Tong family is really going to be prosperous. Before the old man was buried, the noble man who 'drove a car' came to visit."
The strange thing is that these "car drivers" are not here to pay homage, but are people from the city's cultural management department;
Looking at it today, this situation is not surprising. People who are not knowledgeable think that the Tong brothers have dug up a "treasure", but those who are knowledgeable know that these are "unearthed cultural relics."
Comrades from the city want to take away the "copper plate", how can the Tong family be willing?
After a long explanation, in order to appease Tong's family, the comrades from the cultural management department said that the "copper plate" should be brought to the city for appraisal first.
Of course this is gone forever, which is what it should be.
As for what those people promised, if it is really a token of "Daddy Tong Appearing", they will return the things and compensate them.
It can certainly be achieved, and compensation will be paid later.
I won’t go into details about what happened next. The “copper plate” was identified as a precious cultural relic, and the Tong brothers were publicly commended and received 200 yuan, certificates of honor, banners, etc.;
Although the "Tong family mourning" has come to an end, the research on the "copper plate" has just begun.
After appraisal by many experts, this unearthed cultural relic was named "Bronze Dragon Plate with Kui Pattern";
In 1995, an appraisal team composed of famous experts such as Zhu Jiaxin and Geng Baochang officially designated it as a "Class A cultural relic", which is also commonly known as a "national treasure cultural relic".
Generally speaking, this "bronze dragon plate with Kui pattern" should be a product of the late Shang Dynasty.
It is 26 centimeters high, 61.5 centimeters in diameter, and weighs 22.5 kilograms;
The shape of the vessel is open, with a wide flat rim, no ears, a gently retracted abdomen, high round feet, and a stepped skirt. The pattern on the abdomen, in particular, is uneven and extremely gorgeous.
Each set of patterns on the abdomen is mainly composed of two birds in the same direction, with cloud and thunder patterns as the background, and the birds are also decorated with cloud patterns;
There are also complex patterns on the "base" circle feet. Each group of patterns has the Kui dragon pattern as the main pattern, and also uses the cloud and thunder pattern as the base.
The most eye-catching thing is the image of a dragon protruding from the plate.
The relief "dragon head" emerges from the center of the plate and is about 10 centimeters higher than the plate. This "dragon" seems to be ready to jump out at any time;
This "Shang Dynasty Bronze Dragon Plate with Kui Pattern" is large in size and exquisite in workmanship.
The most important thing is that the decoration is rich and exquisite, and it is the largest bronze plate ever found.
Therefore, this large bronze plate is also known as the "King of Pans" and has great historical significance and research value.
It stands to reason that most places where cultural relics are unearthed exist in ancient tombs or ancient cellars;
But the strange thing is that after that, experts went to "Guan Weitong Village" many times for on-site exploration, but found nothing.
In other words, the "bronze dragon plate with Kui patterns" exists independently.
Of course, such a big "plate" cannot appear out of thin air.
It’s just that time is too long, and what exactly happened more than 2,000 years ago cannot be studied today;
Because of this, the actual value of the "Bronze Kui Pattern Panlong Plate" has always been the focus of debate in the industry.
Looking at it today, "Qin copper, Han jade, Tang Jin, and Song books" are basically the standards for precious cultural relics;
Bronze ware was popular from the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Qin and Han dynasties, and was recorded as "gold" in history. It was also the "important weapon of the country" for many princes in the pre-Qin period.
Nowadays, the "Bronze Dragon Plate with Kui Pattern" with a diameter of 61.5 cm is enough to be called a "heavy vessel" due to its large size alone;
Coupled with the exquisite workmanship, complex patterns, and unique "dragon head" image, some experts believe that the value of this bronze cannot be reflected by a string of numbers.
However, some people believe that although the "bronze dragon plate with Kui pattern" is identified as being from the late Shang Dynasty, there is no historical record;
The value of cultural relics is mainly reflected in the "supporting history". Since there is no history, the value of this "Kui Pattern Dragon Plate" has been greatly reduced.
According to similar artifacts auctioned in the past, its value should be in the "tens of millions" and difficult to exceed "hundred million".
Of course, this is the valuation before year 00.
Now it is estimated that regardless of whether it has inscriptions or not, and whether it carries history or not, just the dragon pattern on it can make it worth over 100 million.
After all, he is the King of Pans, and it is the largest bronze pan. Just this gimmick can double his worth.
Chen Wenzhe naturally doesn't care how much this plate is worth, but he can't stop thinking about Zheng Yu.
This plate was sent by Zheng Yu. No matter what, the value must be clarified.
Not to mention anything else, you can determine the value of this plate just by looking at the dragon on it.
The dragon has always been the totem of the Chinese nation. It ascends to the sky, enters the sea, and rides on the clouds and mist.
As a decorative pattern, it has been used on various carriers for a long time. Dragons have appeared on painted pottery plates as early as 4000 to 5000 years ago.
Entering the Bronze Age, the image of dragon naturally appeared more on bronze vessels.
The "bronze dragon plate with Kui pattern" in front of Chen Wenzhe is larger in size and the workmanship is naturally more sophisticated.
As for the rich decoration and exquisite shape, these are normal.
After all, it's so big, so it's easy to tell that it's a treasure.
Therefore, even among the bronze plates of the Shang Dynasty, it is definitely the best and the well-deserved "King of Plate".
Why does Zheng Yu think this piece is a bronze tripod? Because it is half a meter tall and more than one meter in diameter.
Who would believe that such a large bronze vessel is a plate?
That is to say, Chen Wenzhe has extensive knowledge and can tell at a glance that it is an enlarged version of the bronze dragon plate with Kui dragon pattern.
Otherwise, he would not dare to judge easily, this is just a plate.
If it is determined that this plate is an antique, then this plate will be the real king of the plate in the future.
Judging from the age, this plate is probably from the Shang Dynasty.
Calculating it this way, this one should be the same as the one discovered earlier, or even come from the same place.
It's a pity that even if Chen Wenzhe can confirm these, he can't explain them.
In 1995, the bronze dragon plate with Kui pattern was designated as a national first-class cultural relic, but the identity of this piece is still doubtful.
Because there are too many fake products like this nowadays, but Chen Wenzhe can tell at just one glance that this thing is genuine.
However, the place where it was unearthed still needs careful study.