How to Identify Bronze Ware

The first

Bronzes are a variety of utensils made of bronze (an alloy of red copper and tin), born in the Bronze Age of human civilization. Since bronzes are found all over the world, they are also a symbol of a worldwide civilization. The earliest bronzes appeared in the Two Rivers Valley region of Western Asia between about 5,000 and 6,000 years ago. Large bronze knives carved with the image of a lion from the Sumerian civilization are representative of early bronze. Bronze was gradually replaced by iron more than 2,000 years ago. Chinese bronzes are beautifully crafted and have the highest artistic value of any bronzes in the world. Chinese bronzes represent the high technology and culture of China during the pre-Qin period. It mainly refers to the artifacts made of copper and tin alloy in the pre-Qin period, which is called "Bronze Ware" for short. It includes cooking utensils, eating utensils, wine vessels, water vessels, musical instruments, carriages and horses, bronze mirrors, belt hooks, weapons, tools and weights and measures. Popular in the late Neolithic period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, to the Shang and Zhou artifacts are the most exquisite. The first appearance of small tools or ornaments. The Xia Dynasty began to have bronze containers and weapons. In the middle of the Shang Dynasty, the variety of bronzes was already very rich, and inscriptions and fine patterns appeared. Late Shang to the early Western Zhou Dynasty, is the heyday of the development of bronze, a variety of types, thick and heavy, inscriptions gradually lengthened, the pattern is rich and colorful. Subsequently, the bronze body began to become thinner, and the decoration was gradually simplified. From the late Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period, due to the popularization of the use of iron, bronze tools are less and less. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, with porcelain and lacquer into daily life, bronze containers varieties reduced, simple decoration, mostly plain, the body is also more light and thin. Ancient Chinese copper, is a great contribution of our ancestors to the material civilization of mankind, although from the current archaeological data, the emergence of China's copper, later than some other parts of the world, but in terms of the scale of use of copper, casting technology, styling art and varieties, there is no other place in the world that can be compared with the ancient Chinese copper. This is one of the reasons why ancient Chinese bronzes occupy a unique position in the history of world art and have attracted universal attention. The color of bronze is beautiful when it is really made, a golden earthy yellow that turns green little by little because of rusting when buried in the earth. Since bronzes are made entirely by hand, no two are alike, and each is unique and unrivaled in the world. So how to identify the authenticity of ancient bronzes? The most simple and direct method is:

(1) Look at the copper, weigh. From the weight of the bronze, the general pre-Shanghai ware light and thin, the late Shang heavy quality thick, solemn and majestic. Western Zhou ware has the inscription and thick, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States ware thin and light fine. To the Han Dynasty bronze heavy clumsy and short.

(2) look at the crust, identify the rust color. Real rust has green, blue, red, black and other colors, with a metallic luster. In the paste bone is black rust, its upper layer is red rust, and then above is blue or green rust. Where the rust color single, loose texture, a gouge off, or rub with alcohol off, are generally "quick" fake.

(3) look at the type. To tripod, for example, the late summer and mid-shanghai have round, square form. Square tripod is generally close to square, the ear is straight, the foot is mostly conical or flat.

(4) Look at the ornamentation, recognize the inscription. From the decoration to identify pseudo, Fan casting method (the first mud mold, sculpture a variety of mirror back patterns, inscriptions, after drying in the firing, so that it becomes the mother mold, and then the mother mold of mud model, the same drying and firing into a ceramic model, melting alloy, the alloy poured into the ceramic model cavity into the ware, after the removal of the model and then cleaned up, polished and processed into a finished bronze ware.) General decoration groove small inside large, appear symmetrical decoration has high and low misplaced traces; lost wax method of casting pattern symmetry consistent. From the inscription on the identification of forgery, summer and pre-commercial bronzes without inscription, the middle of the business began to appear inscriptions, mostly 4 - 5 words to the hieroglyphics mostly, the font is bold, the late Shang inscriptions gradually increased, generally around 10 words, the Western Zhou period inscriptions increased. Spring and Autumn period inscription font strong and long and thin, appeared "bird and insect book" and wrong gold inscription. During the Warring States period, the inscriptions were simple, slender and shallow. Qin and Han Dynasties, the inscription of the fine and shallow. In the Han Dynasty, inscriptions were mostly in clerical script, rectangular in shape, with thicker strokes than in the Warring States period.

(5) smell flavor, listen to the sound. Real ware whether heirloom or unearthed goods, there is no pungent acid, odor, choking odor. With the hand on the artifacts repeatedly and quickly rubbed, to be rubbed to the fingers hot, and then smell the smell on the hand, the old things have aged artifacts that are similar to the moldy sweetness, pseudo-artifacts are sour, choking the gas. In addition, from the sound of identification, pseudo-ware knocking sound bright and turn tone (turn tone that is the frequency of higher and longer upward), the true sound of the lower and shorter. The above method is only hobby collection of comrades reference.

The second

Can be concluded as follows. Cultural relics identification work, in summary. To visual identification of the main, scientific and technological instrument identification as a supplement, a scientific method of work. Cultural relics is the carrier of culture, embodies the humanistic connotation, and thus it is more dependent on the identification of professionals rich in knowledge and practical experience. But such as bronze alloy ratio, porcelain glaze elemental composition, with or without additives, as well as painting and calligraphy with paper, ink, color, mud and so on, the required data rely on scientific and technological means to assess access, and then after a comprehensive analysis of the professionals, to reach the correct conclusion. So the visual identification and scientific and technological means of combining the methods of identification of cultural relics in the direction of development

Cultural relics identification work is also integrated into many scientific and technological means. Such as thermoluminescence, C14 spectral analysis and so on, technology is highly developed today. Scientific and technological means in the identification of cultural relics in the use of the traditional visual comparison method provides a new reference information. The author combined with the energy spectrum analysis method, talk about the experience of bronze identification.

Will be a large number of through scientific excavation and local heirloom bronze objects as a standard ware, energy spectrum analysis. Its elemental content is collected into the database in chronological order, and then the elemental content data of the artifacts to be identified are compared with it to conclude whether the artifacts to be identified are compatible with the standard ware.

Smelted alloy. Bronzes were cast from this alloy. At that time called this alloy for " Ji Jin " because copper, tin, lead alloy is golden yellow, before the Qin ( 21st century BC to 221 BC ) China's Bronze Age. Bronze" refers to the addition of tin, lead and other metals to pure copper. Then the cast objects were called " gold ware"

In order to increase the hardness and toughness, bronze is divided into four categories: ceremonial weapons, weapons, production tools and other household items. The alloy ratios of the artifacts were different for different periods and uses. Pure copper with tin. Lead was added to increase the fluidity of the copper liquid. Zhou Li ? Kao Gong Ji" has: six points of its gold and tin in one, called the bell tripod of Qi ( agent ) five points of its gold and tin in one, called the axe gold Qi, four points of its gold and tin in one, called the golfer's Qi, the gold and tin half of the said Jian flint Qi ... This is the ancient record of the ratio of alloys of bronzes, the modern science and technology of fluorescence spectrometry, a large number of bronze specification for spectroscopic analysis, found that childish stability period of the The alloy ratio of the artifacts basically matches with the ancient documentations. Using this method, the researchers collected a large number of alloy ratio data of different periods and uses, and summarized the historical law of the development and evolution of bronze wares. Of course, I will facilitate these data laws open, but certainly with the help of this high-tech means, can be some of the alloy ratio does not comply with the law or elemental types of pseudo-artifacts excluded

There are also differences of opinion on the use of scientific instruments. There is a view that, however, the cultural relics identification community. The use of scientific instruments identification is not accurate enough. The reason is that such as the ancient bronze fragments after melting and then casting, its chemical composition will naturally be consistent with the time, the instrument is difficult to distinguish. In addition, the ancient bronze debris melting, the original rust is lost, the casting of artifacts that is the gold of the new equipment, the need for more than a thousand years to generate the rust can only be forged. At this point, you need to rely on the eyes and experience to determine the authenticity of the ancient bronze due to the buried underground history is too long, the natural formation of patina often have several layers. Often there is a black patina on the bone, a red patina on top of that, and a green or blue patina on top of that. Distinguish the authenticity of the patina, to see whether there is crystallization spots. Crystallized spot is a bronze after thousands of years of change, the object of a point or more points on the expansion, resulting in the bottom of the rust turned over, so that the surface of the green rust surface, showing a brown, red, black between the convex spot. Facing the light side view, can see fine crystal light flash, this spot is slightly higher than the surface of the ware, hand feel convex feeling. The big ones are like coins, and the small ones are like soybeans. The synthetic fake spots do not have crystal light flash. If the surface of the crystallized spot, we must carefully identify whether the spot and the artifacts, some counterfeiters will be the real crystallized spot on the removed, and then attached to the pseudo-artifacts. This kind of forgery, even if you do a good job, will leave traces. As the saying goes, the cut is not spinning round " As the generation of patina crystallization spots need a fairly long historical time, it is difficult to imitate realism. Therefore the correct identification of patina crystallization spots has become one of the effective methods of bronze identification. Then combined with the object shape, decorative charm, light and heavy hand, the overall patina color and other aspects of the factors, you can identify the authenticity of the bronze objects