Chapter 1817: Listen to sounds, see shapes, identify rust and smell
Among antique bronze mirrors, the silver back is the top grade, the lead back is the second best, and the green back is the third best.
If the lead back is buried for a long time and becomes pure black, it is called a black paint back. The price is particularly high, but this color is also easier to fake.
On this basis, you can also identify the authenticity of the bronze mirror by listening to the sound, looking at the shape, identifying the rust, smelling and other aspects.
Listening is to distinguish the authenticity by knocking the sound produced by the bronze mirror.
Because the proportions of raw materials such as copper, tin, and lead are different when new and old bronze mirrors are produced, they emit different sounds.
There is a big difference in sound between a new imitation bronze mirror and an old one.
In addition to sound identification, "looking at the shape" is also an aspect of identifying ancient bronze mirrors.
A bronze mirror longer than 20 centimeters is basically a flat surface.
The curvature of the large bronze mirror is very large, and the curvature of the small bronze mirror shrinks unnaturally.
Therefore, people and scenery reflected in imitation bronze mirrors are often unclear or even deformed.
The curvature of new imitation bronze mirrors is generally proportional to the size of the mirror.
Glacial acetic acid is a colored and transparent acidic chemical solvent originally used in photography darkrooms.
After being soaked in water, newly imitated bronze mirrors do not have several smells. One is the smell of sulfuric acid; the other is the smell of alkali burning; and the other is the fishy smell of copper.
After using some chemical action, or scratching off the rust on some old copperware, and using glue to stick it on, you can use water to identify it.
Only high-quality collections can become the objects of competition among small houses, and their appreciation potential is also limited.
Generally, the rust color is produced and requires better protection.
For powdery rust where the immersion method is effective, you can use a circle of sludge to surround the rust removal area, use a dropper to drip concentrated acetic acid to decompose the rust, and then use a needle tip to pick the rust heavily. Before scrubbing with water, use ammonia hydroxide to neutralize it. .The imitation is too bad and needs maintenance. After all, even if it is an imitation, its value is very low.
Bronze mirrors are a daily necessities used by the ancients for cosmetics and grooming. They are ornamental, practical and collectible. They can be called treasures in your country's ancient cultural heritage.
Therefore, the sound they make is the same.
An hour ago, use a large wooden stick to touch the blocky ancient mirror until it falls apart.
Eighth, the preservation condition is poor. Because the bronze mirror has been buried for a long time, the greater the degree of corrosion, the worse it will be;
Before dipping the bronze mirror in water, smell it with your nose. Newly imitated bronze mirrors usually do not have the smell of sulfuric acid, the smell of alkali burning, or the smell of copper.
When Chen Wenzhe later appraised this bronze urn, he had never seen it before and had not studied it systematically.
The old bronze mirrors do not have a copper scent, which is exactly the earthy scent they had before they were unearthed.
Therefore, few collectors believe that to judge the collection value of a bronze mirror, the above seven points should be considered in particular.
In particular, larger bronze mirrors do not have a sharp curvature. Bronze mirrors over 20 cm are basically a flat surface, with obvious undulations of curvature.
The old bronze mirror has a copper scent, and the copper scent mentioned above is exactly the earthy scent before it was unearthed.
Such antique bronze mirrors naturally need to be protected from damage.
One situation is that it does not touch water. The rusty area does not touch water. It is against the flow, just like a lotus leaf touching water.
So, how can you collect a satisfactory bronze mirror?
Where there is no rust, it touches water and goes against the water, just like a lotus leaf touching water.
The sound of new imitation bronze mirrors is crisper, even harsh.
No matter what kind of bronze it is, there are several ways to identify its authenticity.
The rust color under ancient bronze mirrors should be kept as original as possible, as it is less likely to cause harmful rust.
A true collection must have high artistic and historical significance.
In particular, rust is a mixture of soil and calcium and magnesium salts, or a mixture of soil and copper rust.
When conditions are lacking, vinegar can also be used to remove rust.
Of course, there are really few ways to look at rust, because there are even fewer ways to imitate antique rust.
After processing, first use a soft brush dipped in water and brush hard to remove the soil under the ancient coins.
First, the artistry is low, reflecting the low technology of ancient times, such as the hollow mirrors of the Warring States Period, gold-plated mirrors of the Han and Tang Dynasties, mirrors inlaid with mother-of-pearl, gold shells, silver shells, transparent legs and other special craft mirrors;
Seventh, there are many varieties, and at worst they can bear witness to a historical event, such as polo playing in the Tang Dynasty, which proves that football originated in China;
If you get an ancient mirror with inscriptions and markings on the back, the patina on the back must be wiped off to preserve some of the characteristics of the unearthed ancient coins.
Apart from listening to sounds, it is not about seeing shapes.
Before rust removal, place it in clean water, rinse away the glacial acetic acid solution, absorb the water with a soft towel or cloth, and spread it flat under clean paper to dry.
If you put the imitation bronze mirror in water, several things will happen.
Observe the shape of the bronze mirror and identify the authenticity of the bronze mirror based on its shape.
In fact, to judge the value of ancient bronze mirrors, we cannot rely on the complicated four words of "listening to the sound to see the shape" and "distinguishing the rust and smell".
Besides identifying rust, it is especially important to identify authenticity under bronze.
In terms of rust, the rust of a newly imitated bronze mirror was added later.
After identifying the authenticity, determining the collection value, and obtaining the bronze mirror, how to maintain the bronze mirror has become a problem again.
Then put on rubber gloves, hold the ancient mirror in one hand, and scrub it with a brush with the other.
After a series of identification techniques have been used to identify the authenticity, the next step is not to judge the value of the ancient bronze mirror.
In addition to "looking at the shape", identifying the rust and the smell of copper on the bronze mirror can also identify the authenticity of the bronze mirror.
The rust under the newly imitated bronze mirror was made before. Several things will happen if you put it outside the water. One case is that it is stained with water.
But it's the same, without some subtleties, such as smell.
That kind of rust removal method takes about a day and night to barely dissolve the copper rust, and the efficiency is extremely poor.
However, I am now in a bronze mirror museum, and they are all antique bronze mirrors.
Bronze mirrors are not made of freshly smelted copper, and they do not have a coppery smell.
Seventh, the turbidity of the decoration is the key. In the collection of bronze mirrors, we pay attention to the pattern, and the head mold mirror is the most popular.
It must be a genuine product. Sometimes, rust may form on the ancient mirror, and the coin inscription cannot be read, or if there is harmless rust, the rust needs to be removed.
Old bronze mirrors generally have a deeper, mellower sound.
In order to ensure that the bronze mirror can have a realistic and opaque effect, when the ancients cast the bronze mirror, the size and curvature of the mirror had a strict proportional relationship.
Knock the bronze mirror with your hand and judge the authenticity by the sound it makes.
Under the appraisal of bronze mirrors, these fraudulent techniques and appraisal methods are also figured out.
In addition to those identification methods, it is no longer listening to the sound.
Because when new and old bronze mirrors are produced, the proportions of copper, tin, lead and other raw materials are the same.
It must be somewhere else, if Chen Wenzhe wants to do that.