Collecting copper kettles makes me happy. The shape of this copper kettle is natural and simple, the workmanship is beautiful, noble and elegant, comparable to the ancient art relics, which can be used and hidden. In ancient copper artifacts, there are various modeling styles, this phenomenon affects ordinary people from top to bottom, symbolizing the meaning of dignity, and copper is called red gold in ancient times, which is also one of the noble substances. Let's take a look at a copper kettle from the Qing Dynasty that has been treasured for many years.
Casting a copper kettle has always gone through more than ten steps such as cutting, molding, casting, polishing, hot cautery, sealing wax, etc., each link is small and focused, and it does not take two or three months of work to become a big tool. The shape of the pot is hexagonal prismatic, the design is ingenious, the shape is exquisite, the casting is decent, smooth and traceless, the view gives people a stable, dignified, simple, natural feeling, this copper kettle length: 13.8 cm, height: 8.3 cm, width: 8.0 cm, weight 426 grams. Usually we see that the leakage hole in the pot has multiple holes, three holes, and only one hole is found in this pot. It conforms to the characteristics of pot making in the Qianlong year of the Qing Dynasty (pictured). The ingenious modeling and craftsmanship are the result of the extraordinary skills and ingenuity of ancient Chinese craftsmen. Judging from its casting process and copper quality, the pot should be close to the Qing Dynasty copper kettle, and the original owner was the collection of Mr. Tang Leiming, a purple clay pot collector in Tongling. At that time, he happened to be interested in a landscape painting in my collection, and both parties were willing to exchange it, and eventually the pot changed hands and became my collection. Get this pot, the author is very cherished, often with Tibetan friends to appreciate, is a collection of fine products.
The earliest copper kettle found was in the Warring States Period, which was the historical era of the transformation of the slave society to the feudal society, when the vassal states successively changed the law, refreshed the maladministration, greatly promoted the growth of the productive forces, and formed an unprecedented economic prosperity, a hundred schools of thought, and a flourishing literary and artistic situation in Chinese history. The copper kettle has a long history, and has been valued by collectors in many periods of history, not only because of its material function, but also because it has the most important spiritual, artistic and historical value, so it has great collection prospects. In recent years, bronze collecting has heated up, and a number of high-priced auction items have appeared. As an important part of ancient Chinese art, there are more than a dozen copper kettles with unique shapes in the bronze collection collected by the author over the years, which are fun to taste and interesting. I often study and identify the authenticity of copper kettles with Tibetan friends, and the author's methods of identifying copper kettles mainly look at the following points:
1. Observe the text at the bottom of the copper pot to see the fineness of the copper;
2. See whether its smelting workmanship is delicate or rough;
3. Look at the carvings and patterns of the body of the pot;
4. Look at the shape of the pot.
We all know that the copper kettle is a copper vessel, which is not only a wine vessel, but also a water container, used to boil water, and was also used as a measuring vessel in the Han Dynasty. According to the material, copper kettles can be divided into, copper kettles, brass kettles, and white copper kettles, among which copper kettles are of the best quality, with higher copper content, purer and easier to maintain. According to the process, it can be divided into handmade copper kettle and cast copper kettle, the author should have a cast copper kettle, copper texture. According to the literature, the shape of the copper kettle in various periods in ancient times is unique, and the changes are great, such as the pot of the Shang Dynasty is mostly flat and round, with a big belly, piercing ears like a tube, and a circle of feet. The pot of the Western Zhou Dynasty has a round long neck, a big belly with a lid, and ears on both sides, which is used as a beast title ring. The pot in the spring and autumn period, with a long belly and a long neck, is very different from the pot at the beginning of the week. The jugs of the Sengoku period are closer to later bottles. At this time, there was a square pot, which was the ancestor of francium in the Han Dynasty, and there were also pots with special shapes such as octagonal shape and gourd shape. The author has seen a lot of copper kettles over the years, but copper kettles are only a small category of ancient bronze utensils, and all kinds of utensils are complex, so how can we judge whether an ancient artifact has economic value? (Not just copper kettles) here to discuss with Tibetan friends, the author believes that the key is to look at these points:
1. Determine the amount of the collection, the rare is expensive, and the economic value of the rare thing is definitely higher and higher;
2. The artistic value of the collection, based on the pure appreciation of the artwork, the better the condition and quality, the higher the economic value;
3. The history of the collection, the historical age is also one of the important factors that determine the economic value;
4. The background of the collection, the background determines the role of the collection in the historical environment, which is also related to the economic value of the collection in later generations.
We can check the approximate age of this copper kettle and check the history to know that the 60 years of the Qianlong Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty was the heyday of the development of feudal society in the Qing Dynasty. Every year, hundreds of thousands of bronzes are cast, and both craftsmanship and decorative arts have reached the point of perfection. Qianlong bronze ware is not only different from the quiet Kangxi bronze ware, but also different from the elegant Yongzheng bronze ware, it is to win with dense ornamentation, neat dyeing and painting, and novel modeling. The picture is diverse and the shape is novel. The original traditional craftsmanship has been raised to a new stage.
As the old saying goes, there are fewer than a thousand cups of wine for a confidant, and life must be happy. Thinking about wine and gossiping, and gathering with three or five friends is always indispensable. In ancient times, people drank and had fun, and pots were also indispensable. Bronze is not something that ordinary people can own, it is passed down to the world as a symbol of power and status, and a ritual vessel for remembering meritorious deeds. The copper-making technology in the Qianlong period reached its peak in ancient times. Because the bronze ware made in the Qing Dynasty was made of excellent materials and repeatedly smelted, the general furnace material had to be refined four times, and the official bronze ware improved the copper smelting technology to twelve refining; Secondly, the new process is used to change the sand turning method to the lost wax method, and the finished product is smooth and beautiful!
Ancient bronze ware is mainly round, and the utensils designed with plant plum blossoms have higher requirements for their craftsmanship! It is found only in a small number of artifacts and is very rare. The collection has survived for many years, but it is still very well preserved. The shape of the body of the pot is unique, the surface pattern is fine, extremely realistic, the manufacturing process is miraculous, and then to appreciate: the shape of this product is regular and coordinated, from the abdomen down the hexagonal regular gradual contraction, there are bell-shaped windows on all six sides, the pattern is plum blossom, the mouth cover is displayed by the plum blossom pile, and the bottom is engraved with the "Sun Xiangjuan system" four-character paragraph, which is obviously the name of the ancient craftsman, because of the age, it has not been verified. This collection is rare to see, the current copper kettle investment market is hot, the market has risen sharply, the collection is a rare precious utensil, has a huge investment value and collection value.
Throughout this copper kettle, the overall shape is solemn and luxurious, chic and vivid, the ornamentation is delicate and accurate, especially the plum blossom picture of each window, unique, lifelike, and the ingenious treatment of concave and convex ornamentation, so that the utensils are more noble and incomparable, not inferior to the official cast copper kettle! Analysis and speculation: The copper kettle in the author's collection is consistent with the characteristics of the Qianlong period, therefore, I think this copper kettle should be the utensils of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and you are welcome to comment.
Author: Guo Xuejun