I picked up the ancient mirror and weighed it. It was made of thick material.
Very heavy.
It feels great when pressed.
What is somewhat peculiar is that there are patterns or patterns on both sides of this bronze mirror.
Generally speaking, bronze mirrors only have patterns on one side, and the other side is polished to shine.
The front pattern is engraved with the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is the background of the appearance of talented men and women in ancient times.
The clouds and mist in the distant mountains are transpiring.
The moonlight in the sky is cold.
In a garden full of pavilions and pavilions, a young scholar and a woman in palace clothes were admiring the moon, while several maids were preparing tea, cakes and other items.
The back is very simple. Apart from some auspicious decorations, there are only four ancient seal characters engraved on it: "Have a precious son early".
After looking at it for two or three minutes, Shen Yu gently put down the ancient mirror.
"Boss Wang, can you tell me the origin of your mirror?"
Wang Yuqian had already waited for Shen Yu to ask: "This mirror is an inheritance from my ancestors. My grandfather bought it in an antique market at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China. At that time, there was no market at all, and all the streets were selling antiques. The kind of stall.
"Expert Shen, I don't want to sell this mirror. I just want to know its age and whether it is from the Han Dynasty or the Tang Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.
"Don't laugh at me, don't talk about dating. I don't even know if it is a real old object. You must know that the skills of forgery in ancient times were much better than today. If it is fake or cannot be dated to the Ming Dynasty, I will Wouldn’t it be a joke to pass it on to future generations?”
Shen Yu nodded: "Let's use the elimination method first. This mirror is complete and has a smooth mirror surface. There are no defects or added patina on the whole. This seems to rule out the possibility of splicing the broken mirror together."
After saying that, Shen Yu flicked the bronze mirror, and the mirror immediately made a deep and mellow sound, which was very pleasant.
"There is no problem with the sound."
After saying that, Shen Yu took out a strong flashlight and turned on the bronze mirror. "This mirror is thickly coated and has exquisite casting technology. It is incomparable to ordinary products with rough mirror surfaces and rough patterns.
"Not to mention anything else, modern people simply can't carve out the four ancient seal characters "Zao Sheng Gui Zi" on it. I infer that this mirror was also made by a mirror master in ancient times. It cannot be compared to the imperial bronze mirror, but it must have been made by a high-ranking official. Used."
Having said this, Shen Yu turned over the bronze mirror and said, "This mirror was not unearthed, nor was it 'bathed' with acetic acid or other solutions. It can be said with certainty. It is a real ancient mirror with a large door, dating from the Qing Dynasty. There is no problem with the above."
Wang Yuqian breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, "It's good if it's true."
Shen Yu smiled: "But there is one thing, the real value of this mirror may not be very high."
Wang Yuqian was startled, "Why is this?"
Shen Yu explained: "In ancient times, bronze mirrors were indispensable daily necessities for both ordinary people and dignitaries. Who do you think doesn't use mirrors?
"Moreover, compared with fragile porcelain, bronze mirrors are so strong that they can be said to be non-destructible. You can hold them in your hands and play with them at any time without fear of breaking them.
"Precisely because bronze mirrors cannot be broken or rusted, there are many handed down from generation to generation, which has caused the market price of bronze mirrors to never rise.
"Okay, now that we've determined that it is an ancient mirror, we can use the age elimination method.
"First of all, the mirrors of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods can be excluded, as can the mirrors of the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty. The decorations at that time would not have this garden style, nor would there be such elegant patterns as the scholar lady admiring the moon under the moon.
"Tang mirrors are not the same. It is said that the bronze mirrors of the Han Dynasty are the best. In fact, the exquisite craftsmanship, beautiful shape, thick texture, and rich decoration of Tang mirrors are unprecedented and unprecedented. It was the most prosperous period.
"Due to time constraints, when Tang mirrors are passed down to this day, the patina is mostly solid and not easy to peel off, or the patina has been integrated with the mirror body and has reached the point of bone rust. This mirror has patina, but it is very small, so it can basically be ruled out."
"Is that Song Jing?"
Wang Yuqian asked.
Shen Yu shook his head, "No expense was spared in using copper for this mirror. The Song mirror can also be excluded. In the Song Dynasty, copper sources were scarce and copper coins were not enough. In the first year of Qingli, the imperial court issued an edict: Anyone who takes copper coins out of the country will be sentenced to death for more than one principal offender. The usual amount of money is almost a thousand copper coins, and this amount of money is a death sentence. This shows how short of copper the Song Dynasty was."
Li Tietou asked: "Qinan, what about the following? Can I just bring 999 copper coins?"
Shen Yu was speechless, "How could the wisdom of the ancients not think of this? It is also a serious crime to commit crimes and be sent to the army, and it is strictly forbidden to sell money to make utensils. The strictness of the copper ban in the Song Dynasty can be seen."
Yu Maolin thought for a while, "Xiao Shen, are you saying that the bronze wares of the Song Dynasty are already worth more than the copper coins themselves?"
Shen Yu nodded in agreement, "Brother Yu, you are right. It is indeed the case. The copper ban belongs to the copper ban. However, the economy in the Song Dynasty was good and there were many rich people. These people had a great demand for copperware.
The demand is so great that the value of copper itself is much higher than the face value of copper coins.
Zhang Fangping, a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty, said that if you melt ten copper coins, you can get one or two coppers, and then make the melted copper into an exquisite copperware and sell it, and you can make five times the profit.
Therefore, some people secretly melt copper coins into copper materials and earn the price difference."
Wang Yuqian interjected and asked: "Expert Shen, does this mean that the bronze mirrors of the Song Dynasty were more exquisite?"
Shen Yu took a sip of tea and said, "No, the production of bronze mirrors in the Song Dynasty mostly focused on practicality and did not seek to be gorgeous.
I just mentioned that the Song Dynasty was short of copper.
The production of bronze wares has not yet reached its turn to use good copper for bronze mirrors.
Musical instruments, ritual utensils, bronze statues, and temple ritual utensils are the big ones.
In addition, folk pots, lamps, plates, stoves, cups, spoons, chopsticks, various types of jewelry, copper hooks, copper rings, paperweights, pen holders, wax stands, and some holders for placing objects are also heavy users of copper.
When placed on a bronze mirror, it is mostly just thick copper.
It can be used to calculate everything.
Because copper was so scarce, bronze mirrors in the Song Dynasty were generally thinner.
Therefore, the possibility that this ancient mirror that gave birth to a child early is a Song mirror can be ruled out."
Seeing the disappointed look on Wang Yuqian's face, Shen Yu consoled him: "Boss Wang, don't be disappointed either. Listen to me and continue.
By the Yuan Dynasty.
The mirror shapes are mostly in the shape of six rhombuses and six sunflowers. The shape of the mirror is different from this bronze mirror.
The patterns of bronze mirrors are not much different from those of the Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, and Song Dynasty. Most of them are fairy mirrors, character story mirrors, dragon pattern mirrors, etc.
Bronze mirrors from the Yuan Dynasty are relatively rare, so we can consider them as one of our choices.
Then came the Ming Dynasty.
Bronze mirrors of the Ming Dynasty are very similar to those of the Han and Tang Dynasties.
People in the Ming Dynasty worshiped the past.
For example, the Xuande furnace was cast according to famous ancient ritual vessels.
Including Ming Dynasty porcelain, jade, and decorations that can be found in ancient books, they will definitely be arranged.
Moreover, the decorations on bronze mirrors in the Ming Dynasty are very auspicious. Old people usually use the decorations and words such as the East Sea, while young people often use decorations and words such as "long life and wealth", "winners in the toad palace", and "five sons to succeed" when getting married.
Judging from the overall style, Boss Wang, your bronze mirror must be an ancient mirror from the Ming Dynasty."
