Gold and silverware collection, how much do you know?

Gold and silver in the history of cultural relics occupy an important position, is an important carrier of traditional Chinese culture and art. Gold and silver is a precious metal, moderate hardness, ductility, easy to hammer forming, and bright natural color, and not easy to oxidize discoloration, is a good material for making crafts. Since mankind discovered, after recognizing the gold and silver, it will be processed into a variety of gold and silver products. Gold and silver products in the Shang Dynasty has appeared, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period has been gold and silver inlay process. Gold and silverware appeared later, rare before Han, to the Tang Dynasty began to have more discoveries.

Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties

Gold and silver ware

Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, China's various traditional handicraft production have reached a historical peak. Folk collectors if there is a good collection can be exchanged, the existing Beijing Hanhai Beijing Poly? Spring auction collection selection 13167727768 to treat with sincerity, can cooperate with bureaucratic aristocrats, landlords and merchants have been widely used gold and silverware and jewelry inlay crafts. Yuan dynasty gold and silverware to exquisite and handsome openwork carving pattern, showing a superb decorative skills. Jiangsu wuxi south suburb of qian yu tomb unearthed a number of gold and silver ware in the gilt petal type silver, the most characteristic. This device with silver were hammered into a flower-shaped calendars and trays, petals above the shadowy engraved folded flowers, the surface of the gilt, for the Yuan dynasty silverware in the fine arts. The production process of the Ming dynasty gold and silverware more exquisite, treasures more in the emperor's tomb. Beijing Dingling Mausoleum unearthed Wanli emperor's gold silk crown and Wanli filial piety Jing empress's jeweled point cui phoenix gold crown, is the model of the Ming dynasty gold and silver craftsmanship. The emperor's gold crown all with gold wire knitting and become, the top of the crown burin two gold dragons playing beads, vivid image, the dragon body to coarse gold wire for the bone, the use of pinching, relief and other techniques welded into a leakage hole scale pattern, this crown is a combination of weaving and burin craft boutique. Queen's Gold Crown is the application of extremely complex filigree inlaid jewelry point Cui process, inlaid with more than 5000 pearls, more than 100 gemstones to decorate the nine dragons and four phoenixes, gemstones bright and dazzling, the dragon and phoenix, the production of fine, superb craftsmanship for the Ming dynasty gold and silverware in the rare treasures.

The Qing Dynasty gold and silver craftsmanship unprecedented development, the royal use of gold and silver is all over the canon, rituals, crowns, life, saddlery, furnishings and Buddhist rituals and other aspects. Fine collection in the Palace Museum in Beijing, which has a silver vase, the body made of chrysanthemum petal shape, the first silver wire sub-petal system, and then welded together and become a thin neck, feet, fine craftsmanship, gorgeous, solemn and exquisite, reflecting the achievements of the Qing dynasty court gold and silver technology. Qianlong period of gold and silver, its production process has Fan casting, hammer, welding, point Cui, and a combination of protruding, sunken up, Yin shallow, Yang shallow, hollowing and other techniques, but also appeared in the gold and silver on the point of burning transparent enamel, to fill the gold wire burning enamel of the new technology. Such as silver gilt inlaid enamel ink stone box, ink stone quality for silver, cover burin twining flowers, embedded in the middle of a piece of silver, burnt orchid enamel to make the dragon playing beads decoration, the whole ink stone box is rich and magnificent, on behalf of the Qianlong period of gold and silverware manufacturing process of the highest level.

Characteristics

Gold and silver ware

Spring and Autumn and Warring States Gold and Silver Ware--Fresh and Lively

The variety of gold and silver wares increased, and gold and silver wares appeared. From the point of view of the artistic characteristics and production process of gold and silver wares, the styles of north and south were very different. Gold and silver ware unearthed in the north and its gold fine craft developed. The southern region of gold and silver ware is mostly vessels, most of the production method from the bronze process.

Qin and Han gold and silver - rich and prosperous

Qin Dynasty gold and silver production has been the integrated use of casting, polishing and other technologies. Han Dynasty gold and silver from for jewelry, ware shape simple, mostly plain. Gold fine craft gradually developed and mature, gold and silver form, decoration, color is more delicate and exquisite, rich and colorful.

Wei Jin and North and South Dynasties gold and silver - exotic

Wei Jin and North and South Dynasties period of gold and silver in greater numbers. The social function of gold and silverware to further expand, the production technology is more skillful, the shape of the vessel, the pattern is also constantly innovative. The more common gold and silverware is still decorated.

Sui and Tang gold and silver - opulent, colorful

Ancient Chinese gold and silverware since the Tang Dynasty is increasingly prosperous. Category rich, chic shape, beautifully decorated gold and silver will remind people of the Tang culture and art prosperity. Tang Dynasty gold and silverware can be divided into food, drink, containers, daily miscellaneous, decorative and religious utensils.

Song and Yuan gold and silverware - fresh and elegant

Song dynasty gold and silverware is light and delicate, elegant and beautiful, perfect national style. Styling is extremely elaborate, with a wide variety of styles, characterized by the elegant and simple. Yuan dynasty gold and silverware similar to the song dynasty, in addition to daily utensils and jewelry, furnishings increased. From the modeling and decoration is very elaborate, more plain. However, some of the Yuan dynasty gold and silverware also showed a tendency to decorate ornate and complex.

Ming and Qing dynasty gold and silver - gorgeous and colorful

Ming and Qing dynasty gold and silver tends to be gorgeous and colorful, the court atmosphere is strong. Shape of the elegant and luxurious, gem inlays and colorful dragon and phoenix patterns, symbolizing nobility and power. Ming dynasty gold and silver vivid and simple, decorative structure tends to be dense. Qing dynasty gold and silver both traditional style, but also other artistic influences. Qing dynasty gold and silverware can be fine, fine two words to summarize. Composite technology is developed, gold and silver and enamel, jade and gemstone combination, adding the noble and gorgeous objects.

Testimonials

The gold inlaid gemstone Tibetan scripture box is now hidden in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Gold and Jeweled Sutra Box Gold and Jeweled Sutra Box, Qianlong, Qing Dynasty, 7cm high, 21cm long, 8cm wide.

A sutra box is a box used to store Buddhist scriptures. This two pieces of sutra box made of gold, embedded pearls, rubies, lapis lazuli and other stones for decoration, showing the royal richness. Scripture box cover painted Shakyamuni Buddha and two disciples figure, bright colors, when the palace painter. Scripture box for Manchu writing scripture - "Great Compassion Sutra", for the Sanskrit folder.

Folded gold inlaid pearl gem tower

Now in the National Palace Museum.

Gold and Pearl Pagoda Gold and Pearl Pagoda, Qing Dynasty, 129 centimeters high, 62 centimeters long at the base.

Tower seat wooden, square, for the gold lacquer lotus petals Sumeru seat, burin engraved with bells and mortar pattern, Baoxiang flower pattern, girdle decorated with lion pattern. Three round tower base, burin engraved lotus petal pattern, Sanskrit, embedded gems. Pagoda shoulders decorated with animal face, animal mouth celluloid. Pagoda body set up on the front of the niche door, the door inlaid pearl two weeks. Pagoda brake thirteen layers, full of engraved Sanskrit. Drum-shaped Huagai, hanging around the edge of more than 1,000 coral beads, pearls, lapis lazuli composed of necklace. Top for the red coral and white jade system of sun and moon, treasure beads for cat's eye stone system. [1]

This tower was originally enshrined in the Chonghua Palace Chongjing Hall Buddha Hall, Chonghua Palace is the residence of the Qing Emperor Qianlong when he was a prince. Tower *** with 85,000 grams of gold, large pearls 293, turquoise, red coral, lapis lazuli and other various precious stones more than 500 pieces. The whole tower using the hammering, burin, inlay and other crafts, delicate and exquisite, all kinds of gems embellished between them, more noble, gorgeous, is the Qing Palace made large pagoda in the fine arts.

Identification of authenticity

Gold and silver

The authenticity of gold and silverware identification mainly includes two aspects, one is the texture of the identification of its materials, and the second is the identification of its manufacturing years. According to the present scientific and technological means, the identification of the texture of the gold and silver ware has been able to make a more accurate formulation. Identification of the texture of the gold and silver materials, from experience has also accumulated some simple and easy to implement methods.

First of all, the density of gold, generally speaking, for the same volume of metal objects, gold products to be much heavier, too light products must be a forgery; Secondly, the hardness of gold and silver small, soft texture, ductility, if you use the metal object in the gold and silver products gently scratched test, generally leaving a dent for the genuine, leaving scratches is a forgery; Once again, the gold and silver of the chemical nature of the more stable, especially the gold, not easy to be oxidized in air, while the copper and iron products are easy to be oxidized. Oxidation, and copper and iron products are easy to oxidize and rust. Gold in acidic solution in its color unchanged, and copper products touch nitric acid will lose luster. If it is gold-plated, the surface layer of gold-plated easy to fall off, not only fall off part of the easy to rust, even if the gold-plated surface is also easy to be covered by copper.

Of course, when the ancient gold and silverware unearthed, some of the surface with patina, especially silver products. This situation is due to the fact that the gold and silver objects were exposed to other corroded copper before they were unearthed, such as buried with copper objects, and stained with patina. Another reason is that the texture of most silverware in ancient times was a copper alloy containing certain components, and when the copper oxidized and corroded, a patina covering layer was formed on the silverware. However, most of these cases can be treated by removing the patina to restore the original color of the object. In addition, experienced people can also through the sound, taste and color of the artifacts, feel, etc., to identify the authenticity of gold and silver. However, this requires the accumulation of rich practical experience.

In addition, with the forgery of ancient copper, jade and other artifacts is different, the forgery of gold and silver is the most common in the texture of the material is fake, mostly for the purpose of making high profits. In the age of the forger is not yet common, which also caused the identification of the age of gold and silverware, whether from the theory or practical experience are insufficient, the lack of systematic research and experience in this area.

Characteristics and break

Gold and silver ware due to the material is valuable and its complicated production process, generally not as easy as bronze, jade, porcelain, as the attention of the forger, in the antique market rarely see ancient gold and silver forgeries, imitations, and even if there are also through the following various methods easier to identify it.

1, first from the material on the identification, generally speaking, the Tang Dynasty gold to gold, silver or gold, copper alloy is common, its gold content accounted for about 80%, copper or silver for 20%, equivalent to the current 18K gold, soft and hard moderately, bright, dazzling color, more suitable for processing, burin. Liao dynasty gold, higher gold content, generally more than 90%, and even made of red gold.

2, modeling, based on modeling to determine the age of the main should pay attention to two points: First, all kinds of artifacts in the overall characteristics of the era, such as commercial to early Han gold and silver products only gold sheet decorated with gold leaf, armlets, masks and gold matrices, etc., this period of no vessels, and make cups, bowls, plates, pots began to appear in the Tang Dynasty, in particular, we should pay attention to is only unique to a certain age of the modeling or varieties of the banana-leaf shaped bowls such as the Song Dynasty, Liao Dynasty, such as the cockle pot; Second, the various shapes appear to disappear time, that is, the existence of objects in the spatial and temporal range, such as the disk, in the Tang, Song and Yuan period are relatively common, but the peach-shaped and double peach-shaped box is only seen in the Tang Dynasty, and the eight-curve long cups are mainly popular in the Wei and Jin period to the Tang, and later is rare.

3, decoration, based on decoration to determine the age, the main grasp of three points: First, the era or region specific to a certain pattern, such as the Mogu pattern is only seen in the Tang Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, the other era are not; Second, the same pattern in different times of different characteristics, such as the Tang Dynasty dragon, generally appearing in a single, three-clawed image, more simple, and the Ming Dynasty dragon more pairs of appearances, for the mountain dragons to catch up with the beads, very rich! Divine and fierce look. Another example is the phoenix of the Tang Dynasty, some are like long-tailed birds, some are like peacocks, and the flying birds are not very different, the phoenix of the Ming Dynasty is the body curled, the image of fierce; third, refer to the same period of other materials on the objects, due to the atmosphere of a particular era style restrictions, often show similar or the same characteristics in the pattern, such as the Warring States period of the gold marigolds, the chi dragon pattern, the cloud and thunder pattern on a large number of the same period of bronze and lacquer ware

4.

4, process, ancient Chinese gold and silver technology, from the Shang and Zhou to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, each era in the inheritance of the predecessor on the basis of continuous innovation, and thus the formation of the craft characteristics of each era, before the two Han Dynasty, the early process due to the influence of the bronze process, the main use of Fan casting process, in addition to the Fan casting process during the two Han Dynasty, but also from the West imported the gold wire drawing and frying beads welding and other technologies, the Wei-Jin and Tang Dynasty, the influence of the bronze process has been basically eliminated, and the artifacts have a lot of the influence of the bronze process, the bronze process of the Tang Dynasty. The influence of the bronze process has been basically eliminated, the decoration and molding of the main use of sorting and burin process, the Song and Yuan period of popular sandwich technology, since the Qin and Han dynasty used to see the silk inlay, welding and gold bead technology is almost gone, and filigree, inlays are mainly popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties, burnt transparent enamel process only in the Qing dynasty.

5, inscription, the scientific excavation of gold and silver artifacts unearthed, due to a clear burial age, stratigraphic relationships and other accompanying objects, its age or period of judgment is relatively easy. And for those informal archaeological excavations found in the age of gold and silverware, can only be indirectly deduced through the comprehensive analysis of the inscription language, modeling, ornamentation, manufacturing technology, etc. (Pseudo-ware is not in this case).

The inscription is the most direct and important basis for the generation. From the development of China's gold and silver, before the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the inscription on the gold and silver is rare. After the middle of the Tang dynasty, there is a significant increase in the inscription of gold and silver. With the help of inscriptions, not only can it be relatively easy to determine the age of the artifacts, but also to understand the name of the artifacts, the use of the artifacts, the production organization and other related information.

Collection and market outlook analysis

The so-called gold and silver, is a precious rare metal gold and silver as the basic raw materials processed from the utensils, ornaments, etc. Since ancient times, the Chinese people have been to gold and silver as a symbol of wealth. Because of its scarcity has been monopolized by the royal aristocratic ruling class, gold and silver ware not only has its own economic value, but also contains the aesthetic value of art, so it not only symbolizes the wealth, but also used as a symbol of identity, status, rights of the hierarchy, it is desirable to belong to the collection of aristocratization, so the collection, appreciation of gold and silver ware is not an easy thing.

In recent years, China's art market continues to heat up, the international price of gold and silver continues to soar, so that the price of ancient gold and silverware is also rising.

But compared with bronzes, ancient porcelains, ancient paintings and calligraphy, ancient coins, etc., the price of gold and silver is still in a more balanced state. Especially in the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China period of silver, the collection threshold is low, exquisite workmanship of the silver smoker, silver bracelets, long life locks and other objects in the 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan, as for the general workmanship of the silver gilt flower hairpins only 200 yuan or so, the price of silver earrings, but 150 yuan. Of course, compared with silver, the price of gold is much higher. A few years ago, in the overseas auction market, there were many high-priced ancient gold vessels.

A Tang dynasty lotus petal pattern double lion gold bowl estimated at 800,000 yuan, in 2010 by a Shanghai auction house to 2.45 million yuan; a Tang dynasty exquisite silver gilt flower riding pattern flower mouth vase in Guangzhou was auctioned 4.785 million yuan; a Tang dynasty silver gilt flower four heavenly kings four spirits four dragons square vase auctioned 5.5 million yuan; another Tang dynasty gold phoenix pattern leather pouches pots in Beijing It fetched RMB 880,000 yuan. In the international auction, in 2007, Hong Kong Sotheby's (microblogging) launched a Qing Yongzheng dynasty gold cast open type folding flower pattern covered pot, sold for 5.2975 million Hong Kong dollars.

Another Northern Song Chunhua Yuanbao "for the support" gold coin, 9 years ago in Beijing auction market valuation of only 30,000 yuan, and the spring auction in 2009 is still the same auction company was shot 302,400 yuan, which shows that collectors of such artifacts enthusiastic about the potential space for appreciation and huge value-added. From the above figures it is not difficult to see, the value of gold and silver in four key points: First, the complexity of the process and the degree of exquisite. Secondly, the value of the palace imperial ware is higher than that of ordinary practical ware. Third, the artifact itself carries the history and cultural information and connotation. Fourth, the weight and color also determines the value of a piece of artifacts (especially gold).

According to data analysis and statistics, the current domestic market, most of the prices of ancient gold and silver still stays at the level of 10 years ago, while other categories such as porcelain, painting and calligraphy prices rose nearly 10 times higher, ivory, rhinoceros horn carvings prices all the way up, soaring dozens of times to hundreds of times.

In addition, the current antique art market is also filled with a lot of ancient gold and silver imitations (most of the materials are not precious metals) to fake the real, not a few people who fell for it, and therefore to varying degrees inhibit the price of ancient gold and silver, while from the people's traditional concepts, its price is not necessarily fluctuations in the price of the gold market index.

Therefore, we say that we are currently in the Shengshi collection and the gold market, an inflection point, investment in ancient gold and silver when a wise move. Just in time, can still be said to be less risky, the future appreciation of space is still very large.