Jianbao life

Chapter 618 The Controversial Bronze Cauldron (continued)
Look at the shape first, that is, look at the shape of the utensils first, because the utensils made in each era have its own characteristics of the times.After looking at the flowers, that is, to observe the patterns, each era has its main patterns, which complement each other with the shape.Take it in your hand and look at the bottom, that is, take a closer look at the mold lines, cast warts, gaskets, cast repairs and reticulations left underneath.

The cast wart mentioned here refers to the residual copper liquid in the pouring hole and the vent hole, and the cast wart is formed after cooling.Open your eyes tightly, speak slowly, that is, read first and then speak, and judge after analysis.

Based on a proverb, Chu Chen carefully observed the bronze tripod in front of him, just like the one he saw for the first time just now. Whether it is the shape of the vessel or the painting method of the decoration, it is a typical feature of the bronze tripod of the late Shang Dynasty. , looks exactly like the real thing.

This made Chu Chen feel a little strange. Could it be that the inscription on it was caused by accidental factors?
Thinking of this, Chu Chen shook his head secretly, feeling that the possibility of this situation is really unlikely.It is necessary to know that for a bronze vessel, its decoration, shape and inscription should all be unified and not contradictory.Since the ornamentation and shape are characteristic of the late Shang Dynasty, the inscriptions should be the same.

Just like dressing up, under normal circumstances, unless there is a special need, or the person has a mental problem, it is impossible for someone to wear a padded jacket in the summer.

What's more, in the Shang Dynasty, the tripod was a very sacred utensil, otherwise it would be impossible to say that the emperor is nine tripods. In this case, the production of a tripod often takes a lot of energy and time for a craftsman , therefore, the possibility that the inscription is faulty is unlikely to exist.

Because of this, even though Du Shengqing said that just now, Chu Chen still had a lot of doubts about the authenticity of this bronze tripod.

But things are so strange, although he thinks that this bronze tripod is highly likely to be an imitation, but the shape and decoration look the same as the real one, and he really can't see anything wrong for the time being.If the bronze tripod is proved to be a fake in the end, then the level of the counterfeiter is really too high.

Closer to home, since there is no problem from the shape and pattern for the time being, Chu Chen continued to read according to the proverb.

The inscriptions need to be checked carefully, rust spots and ground are checkpoints.This sentence means that the inscriptions generally have a fixed orientation, but some of them do not, and the inscriptions covered by rust affect the judgment.Therefore, when observing the style of the inscription, you must pay close attention to it.

In addition, the rust spots and the ground on the bronzes are formed by oxidation of long-term objects, so the rust is hard, divided into layers and sections, and the ground is still clear and bright.False rust is the opposite. Therefore, rust spots and ground are the key to distinguishing fakes.

In addition, the cast flowers of bronze wares are narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, and those with pattern tumors and broken cracks must be authentic. Similarly, cast inscriptions with pattern marks and original oxide layers that have not been moved must be true inscriptions.On the contrary, if there is fake rust, lack of oxide layer or damage, it is fake if it is not imitated.

And then, the more Chu Chen looked at it, the more surprised he was. Although he had carefully observed the inscription before, he still looked at it carefully and found that except for the writing style of the characters, other features were exactly the same as the real one.In addition, this bronze ware is a cooked pot, and all the characteristics of the cooked pit are not different.

In this situation, Chu Chen couldn't help muttering in his heart, thinking, what's going on?Could it be that the conclusions of the previous senior experts were wrong?In the late Shang Dynasty, did the inscriptions have another way of writing?Is it because there are too few finished products that only the bronze tripod in front of me has survived to the present?

In fact, Chu Chen had thought about this result a long time ago. You must know that it has been 20 years since Du Shengqing obtained this bronze tripod. There will be things today.

But, others couldn't confirm the authenticity of the bronze tripod, but Chu Chen couldn't be bothered. After all, he still has supernatural powers, which are artifacts for identifying antiques.So he immediately used the ability, and the result also made him feel a little surprised, because this bronze tripod was actually a product of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.

"At that time, who could have such a high level of forgery?"

Chu Chen thought about it silently, and then thought of the bronze tripod that Du Shengqing bought in Suzhou City, and he immediately thought of a person, Zhou Meigu.

There are four most famous areas where modern bronze wares are imitated and faked, among which Suzhou City is one of them. The counterfeit wares in Suzhou City have unique features in copper material, skin color, rust spots, inscriptions, etc., especially the cooked ones. The pit bronze wares are the most famous, and Zhou Meigu made the most exquisite ones that are all fake.

Regarding Zhou Meigu's fraud, Ma Guoquan's "Modern Indian Biography" described it in detail.Meigu is well-known in the art world for its seals, and it is easy to forge seals.

It is said: "I am good at imitating ancient seals. I got an old tooth stamp at a cold stall at a certain age. I used the seal method of the Song Dynasty to engrave the four characters "Dongpo Jushi". There will be a trip to the island country. People from the island country at that time should commemorate Dongpo's birthday. The act, Meigu used this to mark it, and those who are in charge of it will buy it at a huge price and copy it in the commemorative collection cloud if they get a treasure.

Later, he turned to imitating bronze wares, and cooperated with Huang Guilun, Tao Yingfu, Li Hanting, Jiang Baoshan, etc., each contributing his own expertise, imitating a large number of ancient wares such as tripods, pots, scorpions, cups, bowls, plates, and sacrificial statues. Quaint and lovely.He has traveled to the east seven times and sold his production.The "Wu Lu Company" run by Wu Qizhou and Lu Qinzhai competed to obtain their works, which were exported to Europe and the United States.

Chu Chen is not surprised that such a person with a high level of bronze imitation can imitate the fake work in front of him.

But a fake is a fake, no matter what, it is impossible to get it real. After confirming his judgment with supernatural powers, Chu Chen took the bronze tripod carefully, observed it inside and out, and then re-applied it on the decoration. I found a seemingly inconspicuous flaw on the Internet.

After finding that place, Chu Chen stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. Even with his body, squatting for a long time did not feel very comfortable.

Guan Guokang quickly asked, "Xiao Chu, how are things going?"

The other people in the room also looked at Chu Chen with concern.

"Whether something is true or not, I don't dare to jump to conclusions. I'll just talk about a place I saw just now!"

After all, the master is still in front of him, and Chu Chen is not willing to tell the result directly. Besides, if he tells the result directly, but the other party disagrees with his judgment, it will be an offending thing.

"Xiao Chu, just speak straight!" Du Shengqing said with a slightly apprehensive expression.

Chu Chen said: "The body decoration of this bronze tripod is divided into three layers. The upper layer is the protruding animal pattern eyes and the edge of the door, the second layer is the main decoration, and the bottom layer is the cloud and thunder pattern. The three layers are arranged in an orderly manner. , very three-dimensional. The tripod legs are decorated with hooked thunder patterns..."

The cloud-thunder pattern appeared in the late Neolithic period and may have developed from the swirl pattern.By the late Shang Dynasty, cloud and thunder patterns were relatively rare.

Hook-connected thunder pattern is a kind of thunder pattern. It is used as oblique mountain-shaped lines and hooked with oblique lines. Generally, the mountain-shaped lines are thick lines, and the filled-in thunder patterns are thin lines. There are also mountain-shaped lines as dashed lines and thunder patterns as Yin tattooed.

Du Shengqing frowned and said, "Is there any problem? I think the decoration is quite normal!"

Chu Chen pointed to the tripod's foot and said, "The problem is the Goulian Thunder Mark at the tripod's foot."

"Ah!" Guan Guokang and Du Shengqing were extremely surprised when they heard the words, and they all lowered their heads to observe carefully.

After a while, Du Shengqing said: "There is no problem with hooking up the Thunder Rune. The depiction is very smooth and powerful. It should be made by a skilled craftsman."

Guan Guokang also frowned, and his opinion was the same as Du Shengqing's, but since Chu Chen said so, there must be a basis for it, so he raised his head, ready to hear the basis for what Chu Chen said.

Chu Chen explained: "You two must know that the Goulian Leiwen was first seen in the middle of the Shang Dynasty, and prevailed at the end of the Shang Dynasty and the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty. Moreover, there are some differences between the Goulian Leiwen of the Shang Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty. Specifically, this bronze On the tripod, I read from the literature that this kind of hooked thunder pattern should only have existed in the early Zhou Dynasty, and it has not been discovered in the Shang Dynasty."

Hearing what Chu Chen said, Guan Guokang frowned and wondered if there was indeed the information Chu Chen said in the books he had read, but Du Shengqing's expression began to turn a little bit bad.

After all, Du Shengqing's main collection is bronze wares. Decades of research have made him quite knowledgeable in this area. Before, he felt that Gulian Leiwen existed in the middle of the Shang Dynasty, so he was interested in this bronze tripod from the late Shang Dynasty. Thunderlane didn't find it strange either.

In addition, these hooked thunder patterns really looked like they were made by craftsmen at that time, and they were basically the same as the hooked thunder patterns of the Shang Dynasty, so he really didn't pay much attention to this aspect.

But there is basically no difference, which does not mean that there is really no difference. Now recalling the books he had read before, Du Shengqing found out with a painful heart that he had never seen any book in which the hooked thunder pattern of the Shang Dynasty would be in front of him. this performance.

Some people may say, maybe it was not discovered before?

If it is alone, it may not be sure like the previous inscription, but if it is added with the inscription that is different from the style of the late Shang Dynasty, the chance of imitation is very high.

"Not careful! I was not careful!" Du Shengqing sighed in frustration.

Seeing his father's expression, Du Liyu asked in astonishment: "Dad, is it true that the bronze tripod you collected is wrong?"

Du Shengqing nodded: "Hey! In the past, the inscriptions were wrong, and you could survive for a while, but now the decorations are wrong, and there is a [-]% chance that it will be a fake. Laoguan, I'm so sorry!"

Guan Guokang smiled slightly, waved his hands and said, "What's the matter? Is there anyone in our industry who can stay away from it all his life? Besides, there are many people in our industry who know about your bronze tripod, and many people have seen it with their own eyes. , Didn’t you still not discover the problem of hooking Thunderlane? Let me tell you, the fakers are too skilled.”

(End of this chapter)