It is not impossible to collect giltware as goldware. After all, if it is well preserved and the giltware looks golden, isn't it still gold?
Although the piece of copper in front of you is not a gold item, but is made using gilding technology, it is definitely a treasure and is even more valuable than many simple gold items.
Francium is a wine vessel, "Shuowen·Jinbu" states: "Francium is also a square bell."
This type of vessel first appeared in the middle of the Warring States Period, and became an important ritual vessel during the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties, and was widely distributed.
"Finally something has changed. All the gilded bronzes here are. I wonder where the real bronzes are hidden?"
There are so many artifacts here, and Chen Wenzhe cannot use backtracking one by one to trace other hidden treasures.
Anyway, he is not in a hurry, he slowly checks bit by bit, and with a little patience, he will always find all the treasures here.
Chen Wenzhe was very satisfied with the discovery of a heavy-grade gilt copper piece.
If such a treasure appeared on the cultural relics market, it would definitely be earth-shattering.
And here, there are quite a few things of this level.
For example, the two pieces of gilt copper shop heads placed next to this piece of gilt copper are not small in size, with a length (including rings) of 11.5 cm and a width of 7.6 cm.
The two pieces of shop heads are the same size and shape, both are in the form of animal faces and are gilded on the surface.
The animal's face is decorated with scaly patterns, fat ears, big eyes, eyebrows and beards all rolled up, and there are curly combs around the edges.
Judging from the size, they should be decorations on lacquered wood.
There is also a plate and a basin placed in front of the pair of copper shops.
He didn't take it seriously at first, but when he saw the inscription on the plate, he felt a little strange.
If you think about it carefully, what is engraved on it is "Zhao Ji Muchan"?
A bathing thing, and a woman's bathing thing?
This is a gilt copper plate with a height of 15.6 cm and a diameter of 68.5 cm.
The copper plate has an open mouth with a flat rim, a straight belly, a round bottom, thin walls, and a plain surface with gilt all over.
The four characters "Zhao Ji bathing plate" are inscribed on the abdomen, and the inscription on the body of the vessel clearly indicates that the plate is a bathing vessel for Queen Zhao Ji.
It's a pity that this artifact should not be used by Qin Yiren, that is, Qin Shihuang's mother.
Because this thing should come from the royal family of the King of Chu, that is, it belongs to the queen of the King of Chu.
Now look at the small basin next to it. This thing was called a silver pot in ancient times.
It is 19.5cm high, 45.7cm in diameter, has a flat silver rim, a short straight neck, annular ears on each side, and a flat bottom.
Inscribed on the abdomen is "The eunuch's family members take a bath, one stone, one bucket, eight liters, weighing twenty-one kilograms, twelve dozen Zhu, the first emperor".
"Guangyun" says: "Copper Cho is also a small basin!", "Cho is also a warming vessel."
From this we can see that it is a warm water utensil for washing and bathing.
It’s true, the things hidden here are not only the burial objects of the King of Chu, but also the burial objects of the Princess of Chu. I just don’t know where the gold jade clothes are hidden.
This cave is not small, at least it is much bigger than he felt when he first saw it.
Many places here are filled with things, especially some uneven places, where piles of gold and silverware are piled up.
Things are placed in a rather messy manner, usually in the same category, with large gold and silverware containing small jewelry and so on.
There are so many piles. If they are not packed into boxes, it will be very troublesome to rummage through them.
Anyway, it had to be done sooner or later, and he couldn't rely on others. Chen Wenzhe simply took a wooden board, nailed it with a few nails, and made a simple wooden box.
First, place some large containers that look very strong and stuff small items inside.
While cleaning things, he also took pictures. He also recorded the contents of each box to form a table.
By doing statistics like this, you can also have a good idea.
This time Chen Wenzhe stopped messing around and started cleaning from the entrance of the cave.
The most numerous statues placed at the entrance of the cave include golden beasts and golden Buddhas.
The most conspicuous thing here is a large row of small and exquisite golden beasts. These treasures were also the first thing Chen Wenzhe saw.
Therefore, I didn't check other things specifically at that time. After all, there were too many gold items here.
Now when I clean it carefully, I realize that there are quite a lot of treasures here.
Let’s not talk about the golden beast. Let’s just talk about the golden Buddha. This one is extraordinary.
One of them is a standing statue of Sakyamuni, wearing a shoulder-length cassock, with a height of 10.5 centimeters; the other is a gold statue of five Buddhas, with a height of 15.8 centimeters, with five seated Buddhas in relief on the front.
The Buddha statue's bun, facial features, clothing style, clothing patterns, etc. all have the typical Gandhara statue style.
After holding it in his hands and weighing it, Chen Wenzhe confirmed that these two Buddha statues were both made of pure gold and the production process was Fanzhu.
Seeing these two golden Buddhas, Chen Wenzhe felt a little emotional, this is also an epoch-making thing, right?
Many people still believe that there was no Golden Buddha in the Han Dynasty. This is not right!
Previously, it was generally believed that independent Buddhist statues that reflected the significance of religious beliefs did not appear until the Sixteen Kingdoms period.
The previously unearthed Buddha statues have advanced the age of the current gold and bronze Buddha statues unearthed in domestic archeology to the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
The pair of Buddha statues in front of Chen Wenzhe are not big in size, but their entire bodies are made of gold.
These two golden Buddha statues are relics from the late Eastern Han Dynasty, because there are inscriptions on them, which read "November 24th, the first year of Yanxi".
Through these two Buddha statues, it can be determined that the introduction of Buddhism into the country in the late Han Dynasty should be accurate.
With these two Buddha statues, it can be confirmed that Buddhism definitely existed in the Han Dynasty.
With the precious discovery, Chen Wenzhe became more active in his work.
He soon discovered that in addition to the two pure gold Buddha statues, he quickly pulled out two other Buddha statues.
One of the single Buddha statues stands barefooted on a lotus base, wearing a shoulder-length cassock. His left hand is bent at the elbow and raised, holding a corner of the cassock. The raised right hand is slightly damaged, but the fingerprint can still be identified as the fearless seal;
The other piece is composed of five seated Buddhas. The Buddha statues are all sitting on a lotus throne with their legs crossed, with their hands folded and their palms facing upward in meditation. There are peach-shaped headlights and backlights behind them.
The two Buddha statues are both made of bronze, are small in size, with heights of 10.5 and 15.8 centimeters respectively, and are in the shape of sheets.
Looking at the craftsmanship, it should also be made by mold casting.
There is also a button cast on the back of the standing Buddha statue. It is practical and may be attached to other items.
In other words, this is not a complete device!
Through some damaged areas, Chen Wenzhe judged that this was not a golden Buddha, but a gold and bronze Buddha statue.
The so-called gold and bronze Buddha statues refer to Buddha statues made of copper as the main material.
In the early days, bronze was mainly used, but after the Yuan Dynasty, brass, red copper and other materials were common. Some statues also had gilt on the surface of the copper body.
Compared with stone carvings and clay sculptures, there are fewer gold and bronze Buddha statues in existence, and they are generally small in size.
This is mainly because bronze statues can be melted into metal and reused.
Therefore, it has often been a focus of attention during the official destruction of Buddhas and wars. Many gold and bronze Buddha statues may have been completely lost as a result.