Han Kongque said with a smile: "The blue and white of the Xuande official kiln occupies a very important position in the history of the development of Chinese ceramics. It reflects the society, economy, culture, art and even ideas of the time from one side, so it is similar to the Manchu and Qing Dynasties.
are completely different.
As porcelain used in the palace and exquisite works of art, Xuande official kiln blue and white has unique artistic charm, which has a lot to do with the completeness of the system and the maturity of technology at that time. The work has always been praised by later generations as a model of blue and white craftsmanship.
From the Chenghua Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, large-scale firings were made. The most successful ones were the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong dynasties of the Qing Dynasty. They were modeled on the Xuande blue and white flowers in the Qing Palace's old collection, and were carefully fired. The shapes, sizes, and decorations were all very unique.
It is very similar to the original work and has the charm of Xuande blue and white. Therefore, the blue and white of the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty are still different.
For example, the Kangxi Dynasty imitated Xuande's blue and white ladies' pattern bowls, bowls with tangled branches, flower mouth bowls with broken branches and fruits, fish baskets with tangled branches, and goblets with patterns of sea animals.
Yongzheng Dynasty imitation Xuande blue and white bamboo stone banana leaf pattern jade pot spring vase, flower and fruit pattern plum vase, flower pattern book pattern lamp, group dragon pattern sunflower style wash, sea water dragon pattern celestial sphere vase, ribbon ear gourd vase, morning glory square corner
bottle.
The Qianlong Dynasty imitations of Xuande blue and white brocade covered jars, phoenix pattern jars, pine, bamboo and plum figure plates, lotus plates, flower and fruit pattern pots, etc., all reached a very high level, but the imitations are just imitations, and they are not the same as the precious Xuande blue and white ones.
There is still a big difference, and it is because of this that it is more proven that this batch of porcelain is from the Xuande period, not the Manchu and Qing Dynasties."
"So you have confirmed that these are all porcelains from the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty?" Liu Xu said.
Han Kongque nodded and said: "It's not just as simple as Xuande porcelain from the Ming Dynasty, but also authentic official kiln wares. This is the most important thing."
"Official kiln utensils? Then the harvest this time is really big." Liu Xu looked at Han Peacock and said.
Han Kongque said: "Of course, the south is an important Silk Road. Historically, silk, paper, porcelain, ironware and other production and living items have been the bulk of China's exports to overseas countries. As long as you find any ship here
A sunken ship is a huge fortune."
"What if it is transported silk? Due to the seawater environment, it is difficult to preserve organic materials such as silk and paper for a long time. Metal items such as iron will also be severely corroded. Only porcelain can be protected from corrosion for a long time." Liu Xu said lightly.
.
Han Kongque said with a smile: "The cultural relics unearthed from underwater shipwrecks that we can see are basically porcelain. Many research topics in underwater archeology are also developed around them."
"It's unbelievable how well-preserved porcelain is." Han Ronghua said while holding the exquisite Xuande blue and white three-fruit pattern pot.
Han Kongque explained: "The water-exhaust porcelain we see so far can be generally divided into two types: new and old according to the state of preservation. The so-called old means that the glaze of these utensils itself has been severely worn, and the glaze on the utensil body (especially
Exposed tire parts) are often covered with shells, corals and other impurities.
This situation occurs because the sunken ship is located mostly on a sandy and gravelly seabed. The seabed with this geological structure is generally relatively hard and dense. The hull structure of the shipwrecked ship directly contacts the seabed, causing it to break.
The ribs, bilges, partitions and other components of ancient ships are mostly connected by nails and adhesives of different shapes, which will lose their function over time. Today, if we look down from above some ancient shipwrecks, we can see that.
It is a scattered, orthographic planar disintegrated ship shape with the keel as the center.
Therefore, during the sinking process, part of the porcelain was dumped overboard and scattered directly on the seabed. The porcelain left inside the ship will also be directly exposed to seawater as the packaging materials decompose. This situation is common in the Mediterranean and Arabian Seas. This is especially common in sea areas such as Xisha and Nansha waters in my country’s South China Sea.
Due to tidal action, exposed porcelain will be impacted twice by low-tide seawater. The utensils and sea sand will constantly rub against each other, causing the glaze on the surface to be polished. Finally, it will completely lose its luster and feel very rough when touched.
There is also a rather special situation, that is, the sunken ship is buried under deep sea mud. A careful inspection of my country's coastal geography shows that from north to south, there are the Liaohe River, Haihe River, Huaihe River, Yellow River, Yangtze River, Qiantang River, and Fujian River. Injected by major rivers such as the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, these inland rivers bring a large amount of sediment into the sea, which not only causes the turbidity of the sea water, but also forms a thick layer of mud on the continental shelf.
After a ship sinks, the silt on the seabed will form a downward suction force. Coupled with its own weight, the ship's hull is usually buried several meters below the seafloor level. It will not reach a relatively stable environment until it comes into contact with the dense sediment layer.
.
When porcelain is transported onto a ship, it is usually packaged in wooden boxes, bamboo baskets, or even large ceramic items such as jars and urns. Unlike the former, which is scattered directly on the surface of the seabed, the porcelain is better protected.
Among the ancient shipwrecks that have been discovered along the coast of my country, the No. 1 Song Dynasty shipwreck of Nanhai, the Qing Dynasty shipwreck of Fuji, Jianping, and Tanwanjiao are all of this type. The Song Dynasty shipwreck of Mokpo Xin'an discovered in South Korea in the 1980s is also similar to it. The porcelain in these sunken ships is protected by packaging and sea mud, and is actually in an isolated and closed environment.
This kind of utensils are usually shipped directly to the ship after being produced at that time. There are no traces of use, and the glaze is not worn at all. It feels like a new imitation. It shines like new after it comes out of the water. It is hard to believe that it has been buried for hundreds of years.
Years and years.”
"Are you saying that the batch of porcelain discovered now was also preserved because of this situation?" Although Liu Xu had read a lot about antique appraisal and other aspects after getting to know Han Peacock, she did not study it in depth, so
I only know a little bit about it.
Han Kongque nodded and said: "These pieces were all preserved under such circumstances, so they look as new as before. But not all porcelain is so lucky, and not all porcelain has that kind of treatment, so you see,
This one is different.”
As he said that, Han Kongque picked up a blue and white flat pot, and when he saw the eyes of Liu Catkin and Han Ronghua, they were all attracted. Han Kongque said: "This is a complete blue and white porcelain vessel that has been desalted. The reason why it is preserved
It is so good because it is porcelain and because it is in a very good environment. Although it has not been damaged, it has been soaked in sea water.
Regardless of the texture of the utensils, long-term immersion in seawater will generally have adverse effects on their protection. Except for gold products, which are relatively corrosion-resistant, general silver, copper, iron, tin and other materials will be seriously affected.
, became difficult to preserve. The cross-sections of many metal cultural relics were as bright as new when they were first exposed to water, but they were quickly oxidized after exposure to air and eventually turned into powder.
The situation of porcelain is slightly different, but there are also some problems. At present, the easiest and most feasible way is to replace it with a method that continuously reduces the salt content. However, in the end, it still needs to be soaked or sprayed with fresh water, which is currently more common internationally.
way of doing.
However, this method takes up a lot of space, wastes fresh water resources, and only delays the damage of cultural relics. It is still not the final solution, so dehydration technology is still a problem until now.
How to desalinize and dehydrate effluent cultural relics in order to achieve the best protection effect is still an internationally recognized problem. However, it is completely possible to do some simple delaying treatment for some porcelain with less damage.
Enough, just like this blue and white flat pot."
"What about the porcelain that was directly buried in the mud or parasitized by marine life? Is that worthless?" Looking at the exquisite blue and white flat pot, Han Ronghua was full of interest in the porcelain scattered directly on the seabed.
Feeling of regret.
Han Kongque said: "As long as they are treated well, they can be restored. For porcelain with a large number of marine parasites wrapped around it, because the porcelain has a smooth surface and a very hard enamel, you only need to use a relatively hard sharp tool and gently rub it along the gaps.
With light force, it can be peeled off the glaze step by step. Of course, technicians must be particularly careful at this time, master the strength, and try not to scratch the enamel.
As for the methods of soaking in various acidic solutions that are widely circulated, judging from past experience, no matter what kind of acid solution is used, the effect is often counterproductive and may even aggravate the damage to cultural relics.
If the porcelain is exposed on the sandy seabed, the enamel will basically be completely damaged due to years of seawater erosion and sand polishing, and it will be impossible to restore its original appearance."
"It's a pity. So many exquisite porcelains will definitely be damaged a lot, and if they are damaged, they cannot be repaired. This is a pity," Han Ronghua said.
Han Peacock sighed and said: "Yes, once it is damaged, it is almost impossible to repair it. This is also a common phenomenon of Hailao porcelain. There is another common phenomenon of Hailao porcelain, that is, the glaze layer of the porcelain will be finely broken.
ice cracks with black spots.
The reason for this situation is that changes in underwater temperature cause the expansion coefficients of the glaze and the soil to be different, resulting in inconsistent shrinkage and cracking of the glaze. Another reason is that there are a large amount of carbonized wood and iron in the sunken ship.
The products, together with the sea mud, gradually penetrated into the surface of the vessel through cracks over a long period of time.
Once the porcelain itself is separated from the environment surrounded by sea water, and is exposed to the air for a long time and is dried, the salt that has penetrated into the body of the vessel will continue to precipitate from it, causing the glaze layer to crack and cause it to peel off from the carcass. This is known in Cizhou.
This is especially true for porcelain products that often use cosmetic clay, such as kilns.
In essence, it is just a good wish to restore the cultural relics from the sea to like new. In reality, if the porcelain is damaged, it is almost impossible to repair it. Therefore, although there are many Hailo porcelains, the best ones are well preserved.
Not much, which is one of the reasons why the price of high-quality Hailao porcelain is rising year by year."
"Compared with the weakness of porcelain, gold and silverware is better. No wonder Western countries used gold and silverware as tableware in ancient times!" Han Ronghua said. (To be continued...)