This bronze drum is quite exquisitely made. In addition to the various patterns that Chen Wenzhe had seen before, there is also a three-dimensional buffalo cast on the inner wall of the bronze drum.
This vividly shaped bronze drum is the first time it has been discovered even in eastern and western Guangdong.
This must be a treasure among bronze drums. If it were graded, it would definitely be a first-class cultural relic.
Possible first-class cultural relics naturally need to be carefully appraised. You must know that the counterfeiting methods of bronzes are unprecedented.
The basic methods of bronze identification are comparative method and comprehensive analysis method.
The objects that need to be identified as counterfeit will be compared with the real ones one by one in terms of copper quality, casting process, shape, decoration, inscriptions, etc., and the various conditions of the counterfeit objects will be used as negative standards for inspection, and then all aspects of the object will be synthesized.
Conduct an overall analysis.
As for the specific identification method, the first point must be comparison.
The main thing is to look at whether the bronze ware in front of you is consistent with the shape, decoration, inscription and other aspects of the real ware that you have seen in the past. However, there are often contradictions between various aspects of fake ware;
Next, check the surface rust color to see if it is naturally formed by long-term corrosion.
The real vessel must be dense and have a metallic luster, and be integrated with the body.
The rust color on the surface of the counterfeit is usually made by rapid corrosion. It is characterized by being very thin and floating on the surface.
Thick fake rust, usually made with paint-tone colors, is dark and dull, has neither metallic luster nor layer, floats on the surface of the instrument, is loose, and easily falls off;
The patterns and inscriptions on the real vessels are natural and vivid, and the style is simple and vivid.
The counterfeit ones are dull, soft and lifeless.
After taking a few glances at the three-legged frog drum, there was nothing interesting about it. Whether it was the decoration or the shape of the drum, it was no different from what he had seen before.
This is enough to show that the successor of Yue Yu Bronze is well-deserved.
The imitations made by others are good. Now that I see the real thing, I can use that bronze drum as a reference!
Chen Wenzhe's eyes fell on the other two bronze vessels.
Judging from the shape of the vessel, it must be a copper cauldron, that is, a large pot.
Judging from the decoration, it seems to be from the Han Dynasty, which is relatively early.
The copper cauldrons of the Han Dynasty were generally made of a cauldron and a retort, which were cast separately and then joined together by buckles or sleeves.
Through this copper cauldron, it is not difficult to find that as a practical utensil, this bronze cooker has the characteristics of simplicity, simplicity, and plainness.
This simplicity, simplicity, ancient and elegant temperament, and the decorative style of "complete but not decorated" are in sharp contrast to the solemn, mysterious, gorgeous and noble bronze ritual vessels of the Shang and Zhou dynasties.
This reflects the evolution process of the development of bronzes in my country from complexity to simplicity.
This is a typical feature of the Han Dynasty bronze cauldron, which is not difficult to identify.
So is this a bronze cauldron and drum from the Han Dynasty?
Just because the decorations date back to the Han Dynasty does not necessarily mean the items are from the Han Dynasty.
Bronze casting has a history of more than 2,000 years in our country.
Some of them are used as ritual objects to witness the majesty of the royal family, some are used as weapons and have experienced the wind and sand on the battlefield, and some are scattered among the people and sink into the market life...
The three things Chen Wenzhe encountered were probably things on the battlefield.
Needless to say, the bronze drum is a war drum, but what about the cauldron?
A pot as big as the one in front of you must have been used for marching and fighting. Who would use such a big pot for cooking?
Such a large copper cauldron has never been exhibited in any major domestic museum, right?
Chen Wenzhe has read numerous "treasures" recently, and now he can't help but sigh when he sees this big copper cauldron.
This large copper cauldron has a diameter of 68 cm, a total height of 55 cm, and four ears with a circular braid pattern.
However, now there are only 3 ears left of this big copper cauldron.
If it is genuine, it will definitely need to be restored in the future in order to ensure the visual beauty when viewing it.
When repairing, the lost wax method must be used to fill in the defects, and then soldering is used to restore the original 4-ear shape of the copper kettle.
Looking at the patina on the exterior, after years of washing, the surface of the copper cauldron and drum has been eroded, and a large amount of patina has appeared. Some even have cracks, which will have to be repaired in the future.
If this piece were genuine, it goes without saying that it would be a first-class national cultural relic.
There is another piece that you don’t need to look at. It is a small copper cauldron. If it is authentic, it will be at least a second-class national cultural relic.
It is said that you don’t need to look carefully, but actually you still need to look at it.
After just a few glances, Chen Wenzhe discovered that copper coins were actually used as gaskets inside the small copper cauldron!
Chen Wenzhe saw at a glance that there was an abnormality inside the small copper cauldron. There were traces of rust removal there.
If this wasn't caused during Wu Er's appraisal, it was caused by the collision.
No matter what, during the process of removing rust from the inner bottom of the small copper cauldron, I accidentally discovered that there were four copper coin-shaped patches arranged in a rectangular shape on it.
Chen Wenzhe cleaned it a little and found that the patch had obvious outlines and a square hole in the center, which could be concluded to be an ancient copper coin.
The patch can only be seen on the inner bottom of the copper cauldron, but not on the outer bottom.
The function of this patch should be a gasket, which can control the thickness of the bottom and prevent the outer mold and the inner mold from adhering when the copper kettle is cast.
In the production of bronzes, it is common to use gaskets, but it is rare to use copper coins as gaskets. This may prove the ancients' pursuit of wealth.
After measurement, the small copper cauldron has a diameter of 55 centimeters, a total height of 44 centimeters, and round ears with rope patterns.
Due to severe oxidation, the small copper kettle was seriously damaged.
There are traces of mold casting, and it is not cast using the lost wax method.
This is a good thing, otherwise, Chen Wenzhe would suspect that this is a carefully made high imitation.
There are two pots, one is a first-class cultural relic, and the other is a second-class cultural relic.
So what about that bronze drum with six frogs and eight awns and a sun pattern? This must be a war drum.
This bronze drum has a diameter of 60 centimeters and a height of more than 28 centimeters. Because it is damaged, it is impossible to measure it accurately.
There are now three three-legged frogs remaining on the drum surface, but fortunately the general shape is intact.
If this is to be restored, it can only be copied based on the most complete preserved frog, and the six three-legged frogs that should be ringed on the drum surface should be restored.
Restoring all the frog decorations must be to ensure the integrity of the drum surface and to satisfy the viewing purpose of the bronze drum.
As for the foot ring under the bronze drum, there is no need to fill in the gaps, but to retain its incomplete beauty. The purpose is to make us deeply appreciate the vicissitudes of history.
Although he had seen more complete and exquisite bronze drums, Chen Wenzhe still looked more seriously this time.
Next, Chen Wenzhe noticed that the patterns on the drum head and body of this bronze drum were as rich and diverse as ever.
Sun pattern, copper coin pattern, bird pattern, geometric pattern and string pattern are arranged in parallel.
Judging from the structure of the pattern combination, the pattern is stamped on the outer wall of the drum body (scientific name: Waifan) using a pattern-engraved template. There are obvious traces of overlapping and dislocation between groups, and the arrangement is high and low.
Orderly, seemingly casual and natural.
This bronze drum must have been used by the Han Dynasty army. It was a practical instrument.
"Brother Wu Er, can you tell me where you bought this?"
"Hey, you'd never expect it!"
When Chen Wenzhe asked this question, Wu Er felt proud.