Riding the wind of rebirth

"Don't you still have questions about the rhino-picking box?" After this matter was over, Qi Lao rolled up "Six Albums of Baiyang Qingteng" and looked like he was going to take it back to the room to continue observing for a while: "Take this Come out and take a look."

"This is it." Zhou Zhi took out a brocade box, opened it and took out the contents: "The main reason is that it confuses people."

There is plenty of sunshine in the north in winter. This rhinoceros box has experienced natural oxidation and long-term rubbing, and has already produced a thick patina. The layers are fine and there is an occasional layer of red silk lacquer in the middle. It appears in the sunlight. A horny texture, more and more similar to rhinoceros horn.

One of the most valuable types of rhino horns is when the rhinoceros gets old, a white core grows inside the horn, which extends from the bottom to the top, and is called the "Tongtian Rhinoceros".

The processed objects also have layers of naturally growing textures sandwiched with a trace of white lines, which is very similar to the visual effect of the current rhinoceros box.

"Is this the box you were talking about?" Mr. Wang picked it up and looked at it.

There is no doubt that the door of the thing is wide. The big problem now is that the box has been repaired and there are still some old marks on it, which is a bit ridiculous.

It stands to reason that the craftsmanship of the Qing Palace Building Office can be repaired to perfection, but this box seems to have been deliberately left with some clues.

"Both the workmanship and the format of the gold characters on the base paint are in line with the craftsmanship of the lacquer workshop of the Manufacturing Office." Mr. Qi spoke first: "The gold characters on the gold paint are the prescribed method for lacquer workers."

"However, this rhinoceros carving technique is sophisticated and the moiré lines are beautiful. It is more exquisite than the crabapple basin I collected." Mr. Wang rubbed the box: "The texture has been softened. It should not be something from the Qianlong Dynasty, and it can only be repaired later. The bottom is repaired, it doesn’t seem like there is any damage to the object itself, it’s more like adding a layer of paint, specifically to leave an engraved base.”

Using a magnifying glass, he carefully observed the scratch-marked rhino box on the bottom edge of the lacquer box that had been covered up by later work. Qi Lao asked: "Old man, is the style of scratching and leaving words on the inside of the bottom edge of the rhino-tick box only... "

"Then it's most likely the word 'Zhang Chengzao'!" Mr. Wang slapped his thigh.

"Who is Zhang Chengzao?" When it comes to miscellaneous appraisal knowledge, Zhou Zhi is completely inadequate in front of the two old men.

"Zhang Chengzao" means "Zhang Chengzao". Zhang Cheng was a famous lacquer painter in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province during the Yuan Dynasty. Because of its superior geographical location and high economic level during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Jiaxing became an important lacquer industry center in the south of the Yangtze River, with successively Zhang Cheng and his sons Zhang Degang, Yang Mao, Peng Junbao and other famous lacquer masters."

Qi Lao said: "The "Jiaxing Prefectural Chronicle" records that 'Zhang Cheng and Yang Mao were from Yanghui in Xitang, Jiaxing, and Tihong is the most famous one.' "Gegu Yaolun" also said that 'Zhang Chengyang was born in Yanghui in Xitang in the late Yuan Dynasty. The most famous red color is red, but the red color is thin and not strong. The red color is often floating. The Japanese island country of Ryukyu loves this thing very much."

"We have Zhang Cheng's red gardenia plate in the Forbidden City, and the National Museum has his red box with a walking stick to watch waterfalls. In addition, there are also private collections in island countries."

Mr. Wang said: "But his rhinoceros-cut utensils are more precious. There are only two pieces at present, one is a lacquer box with rhinoceros moire patterns, which is hidden in Anhui Museum, and one rhinoceros-cut moire plate is hidden in the Palace Museum."

"Judging from the knife work, decoration and paint color, this one is almost the same as the other two. If the traces covered up are the three words 'Zhang Chengzao', then this is a Yuan Yuan that was stamped on the bottom by Qianlong craftsmen. Substitute utensils.”

"Your eyesight should be better," Qi Lao said, "Will you take a closer look?"

Everyone looked carefully again and were almost certain that there should be three characters there. The first character was indeed a left-right structure. The starting position of the stroke was the same as the character Zhang, and the last stroke was a long stroke. The second character had a heavy stroke on the lower right. , it is not clear whether it is a reverse hook or a backstroke. The starting point of the third character and the backstroke at the bottom can be vaguely distinguished.

"If you follow the structure of the three characters 'Zhang Chengzao', it can fit in." Lin Wanqiu said: "But whether it is correct or not cannot be arbitrary."

"If you want to make a conclusion, you have to take X-rays." Mr. Wang said, "How about taking it to the National Museum of China for identification tomorrow?" "Will X-rays affect the next identification?" Zhou Zhi asked Said: "Isn't it said that if one X-ray is taken, the carbon [-] identification will last hundreds of years?"

"Hahaha..." Mr. Wang was happy: "It is indeed the same truth, but if it has been X-rayed, it can no longer be used for carbon [-]."

"Actually, it's okay to make carbon [-] first," Qi Lao said, "but you have to take samples, which will be harmful to the artifacts."

"Is there any other way?" Lin Wanqiu asked.

"There are many methods for identifying the age of organic matter." Qi Lao said: "But they all have the effect of radiation, or you need to take samples of the artifacts."

"Has anyone tried infrared thermal imaging scanning in China?" Zhou Zhi suddenly asked.

"What?"

Zhou Zhi heard a story in his previous life, that is, a scientist used infrared imaging technology to scan Picasso's work "The Blue Room", and found a portrait of a man wearing a bow tie under the image.

The image of "Blue Room" is of a woman taking a bath, while infrared thermal imaging technology scanned a man with a beard, leaning slightly forward, and holding his chin with his right hand.

This is a "painting within a painting". It is possible that Picasso first painted a male portrait, and then for some unknown reason, it is most likely that the male portrait did not sell, so he repainted "" on the canvas of that painting. Blue Room".

And this situation is not an isolated case. This discovery has also led major museums to use this technology to scan their own collections, and many "pictures within pictures" have been discovered one after another.

There are similarities between painting with oil paint and covering with raw lacquer, and Zhou Zhi couldn't help but think of this method.

"It is to scan the reflected light that is invisible to the naked eye, photograph it and adjust it to be visible to the naked eye." Zhou Zhi explained how this thing works: "For example, at night, we cannot see a person in the dark with the naked eye, but the person himself With temperature, it releases infrared rays, and infrared imaging technology can detect heat sources in the dark.”

"The stacking of different layers of paint will also lead to different degrees of absorption and reflection of thermal radiation in various parts of the object. Such differences should also be reflected in the imaging."

"You mean that something that cannot be distinguished by the human eye does not mean that the instrument cannot distinguish these three words. Or can these three words be seen using the instrument you mentioned?"

"That's about it, but I think it's hard to find hospitals or general scientific research units with such equipment."

"Where can you find it? This is the capital. If you can think of it, we should be able to find it."

"There must be one at the Institute of Optics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, or the military."

"Then let's go inquire about the Chinese Academy of Sciences." Mr. Wang said: "The army..."

"Let Mr. Ma and I ask." Yu Bin took out the mobile phone.