Riding the wind of rebirth

As a result of this incident, Zhou Zhi's team lined up again. After drinking two sips of water, Zhou Zhi hurriedly speeded up the progress.

It should be said that everyone now recognizes the authorities more. Although Zhou Zhi is young, his performance just now is remarkable, so there is no "national treasure helping an expert" plot that is common in later generations.

Moreover, the experts are not complacent. They communicate and discuss with each other when encountering areas of confusion. They do not shy away from the treasure collectors in front of them, and they are not worried at all that their authority will be damaged.

However, there are very few such objects worthy of discussion. The Wei Zixi painting I just encountered and the previous peacock blue glaze small bottle are considered to be the masterpieces I encountered today.

Most of the rest are strange but not of high value, and even more are dishes and bowls that are used daily at home.

Not to mention, there are quite a lot of hand-me-downs among these things. Although they do not belong to official kilns, private kilns from the third and third dynasties of the Qing Dynasty are not uncommon. Their value can now range from a few hundred to several thousand. If they are sold, it will be enough to improve a house. A few months of human life.

"...This thing is called Tuli. Why is it called Tuli? It means it is good for traveling. It is similar to the current beauty and manicure set." Zhou Zhi took an object and explained to an old woman opposite: "Later it became a commonly used tool for women. For additional decoration, you see here is a button, which can be fastened to the buttons of clothes. Below is a chain, and the chain is connected to a silver tube. This silver tube is used to hold needles. There is another chain underneath, and the chain is connected to a There are several holes at the bottom of the silver coin, and there are several chains connected to it, which are connected to ear picks, toothpicks, razors, tweezers, and yours also has a thimble, which will definitely look good when you wear it on your hand for needlework. "

"Grandma, this one is made of silver, similar to my grandma's. Keep it well and leave it to your children and grandchildren in the future..."

"Elbow elbow, come here and take a look!" Lao Wang on the other side was holding a small porcelain in his hand and shouted to Zhou Zhi: "Come and tell what this is."

Zhou Zhi walked over and took a look, but it was a porcelain. The porcelain had a base, and there were two small containers above the base. The containers were square and round, about two inches high. The porcelain also had two lids, one of which had a hole with a copper coin pattern. One lid is flat-packed.

The overall glaze is bean green, with obvious characteristics of Longquan kiln. I looked at the bottom layer again and found that the texture is fine and dense, with an oily feel: "something from Qianlong."

"I also said it was Qianlong's thing, but what is this thing? This gentleman said it was a seal box, which I don't think is right." Lao Wang wore sleeves on both hands, round glasses on the bridge of his nose, and a blue woolen The "cadre hat" is still the standard attire of an art master: "What do you think?"

Zhou Zhi smiled: "The seal box is not made of porcelain, it is usually made of bamboo and wood. Think about it, seals are usually made of gold and stone, and porcelain is hard. If you try to put the two together, it will be easily bruised. Yes, is that true?”

"Then what's the name of this thing?" The person opposite was holding something for appraisal. He also had a bookish look on his face, and he seemed to have a very serious personality.

"This is called a double bucket." Zhou Zhi said, "A kind of ancient study stationery."

As he spoke, he pointed to the round container with holes: "This is a wax bucket, used to hold document sealing wax." Then pointed to the square container: "This is a paste bucket, to hold paste."

"Are these two common utensils in study rooms back then? The wax on book envelopes is easy to understand. This paste..."

"In fact, more paste is used than sealing wax." Zhou Zhi explained: "The paste bucket is a container for holding paste in the study, and it is covered to prevent rats from stealing." It is recorded in Tulong's "Kaopan Yushi" of the Ming Dynasty: 'Paste There are several types of buckets made of copper and pottery, including wine cup type and long barrel type, which are not made today." "In the Qing Dynasty, paste buckets and wax buckets began to enter the study room again, and ancient people's books began to be used. They are all linear, and the paper binding is not the same as today’s books, and they often need to be repaired.”

"And daily classes, creations, and correspondence take up a considerable part of my time, and paste is often used."

"Ordinary letters are usually glued in envelopes, but the more important ones are written on sunflower paper, sealed in a poetry tube, and sealed with wax for the servants to deliver."

"So that's it..." The old man suddenly realized: "The older generation said this was a seal box. I thought that if it were a seal box, there would be strict restrictions on the size and shape of the seal. Ancient scholars could not use only one square and one round in their lives. The two seals are at least seven or eight in number, so my doubts have been cleared up today.”

"Yeah, don't underestimate the paste. In ancient times, the paste was also very sophisticated and worthy of such porcelain."

"You need to wash off the gluten first, precipitate the starch, and then boil it with radish water. When boiling, you need to add alum, add borneol in the middle, and finally add ground spice."

"The paste obtained in this way has a fragrant aroma, and the viscosity can be adjusted freely with water. It is not violent and has little shrinkage in the dry and wet states. It is also insect-proof, mildew-proof, and has moderate acid and alkali. But it is a very special skill. "

In fact, the ancient method of making paste is much more complicated than the popular science today. For example, the record in "Decoration Chronicles" requires using peppercorn soup to shake into the flour and let it slowly settle without stirring. After one night, stir well and let it settle. After a few days, drain off the peppercorn soup, mix alum and frankincense with new water, use a special technique to boil the paste until it is cooked, then cut it into pieces and add the original peppercorn soup to cook for a second time, and finally get a suitable paste. .

In the Ming Dynasty Gao Lian's "Ya Shang Zhai Zun Sheng Eight Notes" and the Qing Dynasty Fang Yizhi's "Physical Knowledge·Volume 8·Decoration Methods", the added ingredients are more complex and seasonal. With the change of climate, Change the recipe as needed.

However, there is no need to show off these advanced knowledge here, just talk about basic science.

"In ancient times, the water used to dilute the paste was collected from the mouth of the water boiler. If it were changed to today, it would be distilled water..." After saying this, Zhou Zhi suddenly slapped his forehead: "I understand! I want to understand. !”

Both Lao Wang and the old appraiser were shocked: "What do you understand?"

"I understand why the surface of the core of Zhang Daqian's "Huangshan Tour" album is so clean!" Zhou Zhi was very excited that he had solved this mystery: "Generally, after the binding of traditional Chinese paintings, they are calendered and coated with alum, but Mr. Daqian did the opposite. After the "Huangshan Tour" album is mounted, the surface is washed with clean water!"

"So..." Lao Wang didn't believe it: "Isn't he afraid that the painting core and the paper support will be separated again?"

"After getting it wet, roll it over with a towel immediately." Zhou Zhi was so happy that his back molars were almost exposed, as if he had picked up some big treasure: "In addition to the technique, he also has great confidence in the cloth-headed paper and his own paste. Hahaha, today’s trip was not in vain. I chatted with the old gentleman and figured out a puzzle!”

"He is talking about another thing. Please put the things away." Seeing the confused look on the face of the old man opposite, Lao Wang said to him: "There is nothing wrong with the things. Double buckets of bean green glaze and wax paste, from the Longquan kiln during the Qianlong period. Such utensils are rare, and the rarest thing is that both lids are in place, so they must be collected carefully." (End of this chapter)