Chapter 113: Five-Beam Gold-Thread Consort Coronet (Monthly Ticket Bonus 55)

"How did he combine this technique?"

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "I reckon it's a thin layer of coating (Tang Gold Mud), followed by a thick layer (Ming Gold Mud)! The thin layer is baked over charcoal (Tang method), and the thick layer is temperature-controlled with precision (Ming method)..."

Wang Qi Zhi naturally understood the principle, but he just didn't quite grasp: "What's the point?"

Lin Sicheng was concise: "Simulation!"

After a moment of thought, Wang Qi Zhi suddenly realized: Over the thousand-plus years from the Tang Dynasty to the present, as time passed, the gold molecules merged, the mercury molecules slowly dissipated, the gaps in the Gold-gilding layer gradually narrowed, and the gold layer naturally became increasingly dense.

But the genuine article has not yet reached the point where the gaps completely disappear; when observed with a high-magnification lens, the boundary lines of the layers can still be seen.

Therefore, in order to imitate it as realistically as possible, the imitation uses this cross-era Gold-gilding technique: it must both make the Gold-gilding layer dense and leave traces behind.

Secretly pondering, Wang Qi Zhi looked at the price on the tag, his eyes stalling slightly: 150,000? And it was written clearly: Imitation.

But don't doubt it, there are people who actually buy them, and they are definitely not out of their minds.

They buy them to bury in a dirt pit, or use other methods to soak them for two or three years, and once dug up, they can be sold as Raw Pit Goods.

Even three million would be a low price, and even if you discovered you'd been swindled, you wouldn't dare to report it...

Wang Qi Zhi examined it carefully: "How about we try imitating one too?"

"We could certainly imitate it," Lin Sicheng said with some hesitation, "but Teacher, where would we put it once it's done?"

Wang Qi Zhi was stunned.

He certainly wasn't doing it for the money: because it takes too long, imitating one of these would take years at the very least.

And in a year's time, if he repaired a few more Bronze pieces and Lin Sicheng repaired a few more porcelain pieces, they could earn ten times 150,000.

Wang Qi Zhi just had itchy hands.

But to put it bluntly, this thing is just a copper-cast tomb chamber; there really is nowhere to put it.

"Forget it then!"

Wang Qi Zhi looked around again, pointing at a Pearl Crown: "Hey, this should be a Phoenix Coronet, but the style, why is it a bit strange?"

Lin Sicheng took a glance: "It is indeed a bit strange, it looks a bit like... a Tang Dynasty female official's Phoenix Coronet?"

"That's unlikely, right?" Wang Qi Zhi questioned, which was rare for him. "I can understand the inlaid pearls and the inserted phoenix-wing Step-shake Ornament, but a gold-thread female crown? I have no memory of that."

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "I reckon it's an imitation."

"I know it's an imitation!" Wang Qi Zhi tried hard to recall. "But an imitation of which one?"

"An imitation of..."

Lin Sicheng responded subconsciously, but just after spitting out two words, he suddenly froze: That's right, an imitation of which one?

Looking at the five pearls on the forehead, one knows that this type of crown was designed exclusively for high-ranking female officials, unique to the Tang Dynasty, and only existed during the reigns of Wu Zetian and Tang Xuanzong. Those qualified to wear it had to be empresses or close female attendants to the crown prince, such as the famous Shangguan Wan'er.

Therefore, very few were made at the time, and not a single physical specimen has been passed down.

There are relevant documents, and there are patterns, but only one:

Carved on the wall of the outer coffin of Yide Prince Li Zhongrun, the grandson of Wu Zetian and son of Tang Zhongzong Li Dan.

It was discovered to have been looted in 1970, and after a Rescue Excavation, all items except for the immovable Cultural Relics were sent to the Shaanxi History Museum.

Later, through a joint restoration by the Shaanxi History Museum, the National Museum of China, and the Forbidden City, the two female officials on the coffin wall look roughly like this:

Therefore, except for the color of the five pearls on the forehead, this crown is basically identical to the two in the picture, whether in size, shape, ornaments, pearl beams, or even the phoenix-wing Step-shake Ornament.

But the problem is, what was restored was only the picture, not the crown. Even the restored image didn't come out until 2022.

That is why Wang Qi Zhi didn't have the slightest impression of it.

But then another problem arises: how was this gold-thread crown imitated?

Suddenly, Lin Sicheng had a deduction: This crown was definitely imitated by a Researcher at the Shaanxi History Museum, or at the very least, they composed and designed it.

It was precisely because they participated in the restoration research of the "Yide Prince Tomb Palace Maid Painting" that they were able to imitate this crown to such a degree.

Looking again at the Bronze pagoda next to it, as well as yesterday's Ring-wall Gold Bracelet and Agate Cup, the answer was obvious: remove the "at least," and there is a 99% chance that this crown was imitated by a Researcher at the Shaanxi History Museum.

Looking at the craftsmanship: the crown body is made primarily using Filigree Inlay. Then, copper-silver alloy wire is drawn, Gold-plated, and woven into a mesh structure.

The surface of the crown body is carved with phoenix and scrolling flower patterns using a sharp chisel. The phoenix wings are decorated with Gold Foil, while the flower patterns are outlined with even finer gold wire, with cinnabar, azurite, and Granulation added to create a "gold and jade shining together" effect.

Not to mention the precision, it follows ancient methods entirely: Gold-gilding for the frame, Granulation for decoration, hammering for shape, and line carving for patterns.

It just uses silver-copper alloy wire; if it were mixed with any gold, people would believe it was dug out of a Tang Dynasty prince's tomb.

After looking for a long time, Lin Sicheng let out a breath: "A master!"

More than just a master?

Wang Qi Zhi nodded vigorously: "A master among masters!"

He even had an impulse: to buy it and study it properly.

The longer he looked, the stronger it became.

Looking at the price again: 96,000... is it not expensive?

But no one knows a teacher like his student; just as he raised his hand to call the clerk, Lin Sicheng pressed his hand down: "Teacher, what are you doing?"

Wang Qi Zhi looked as if it were a matter of course: "Buying it, of course!"

No... why go as far as buying it?

"If we study it, we can imitate it too."

"Of course!" Wang Qi Zhi nodded. "The problem is, Gold-bead Welding (Fried Bead Gold Inlay) was lost long ago. How are we going to imitate it? You don't know how to do it too, do you?"

Lin Sicheng paused, his mouth shut tight like a sealed gourd.

Of course he knew how.

In 2019, a tomb accompanying the Tang Qianling Mausoleum was looted, and the Shaanxi History Museum and the Shaanxi Archaeological Institute conducted a Rescue Excavation. Afterward, based on the murals and documents in the tomb, they restored the Granulation + Welding technique through simulation experiments.

But that was already 2020, so even if Lin Sicheng knew how, he wouldn't say.

He was just curious: the technology was only restored more than a decade later, so how did this person know how to do it?

Just as he was thinking this, Wang Qi Zhi sighed again: "And such a person, I reckon, is not easy to meet!"

That is certain; after all, they are doing private work.

Even if you know for a fact that he is the one who forged it, he likely wouldn't admit it.

So Wang Qi Zhi thought about buying one first as a stepping stone.

"Don't be in such a rush; let's keep looking. What if there's something better and cheaper?"

Wang Qi Zhi thought for a moment: "That's true!"

The teacher and student began searching again. After walking only two steps, Wang Qi Zhi stopped. He turned his head back and stared blankly at Lin Sicheng.

After taking two looks, Lin Sicheng didn't know what to say: a First-Class Cultural Relic, the Tang Dynasty Gold and Silver Flat-removal Mirror with Four-Luan Bird and Ribbon Pattern.

The gold parts are Gold Foil, the gray parts are silver foil, and the black parts are raw lacquer.

This one is, of course, a forgery; the real one is at the Provincial Museum.

What surprised the two of them was the craftsmanship used to make the Bronze Mirror: foil making, Engraving Flowers, Gold Pasting, lacquer coating, and polishing.

To put it simply: after applying the gold and silver foil decorations, one must apply at least three to five layers of raw lacquer, forming a lacquer layer over five millimeters thick, and wait for it to air-dry before polishing.

This continues until the gold and silver patterns are flush with the lacquer surface, the surface is as smooth as a mirror, and the gold and silver patterns are integrated with the lacquer base, presenting a "Flat-removal" effect.

That is why it is called "Gold and Silver Flat-removal"; it is the artistic pinnacle of combining ancient metal inlay and lacquer techniques.

Japan has two such pieces, the Tang Dynasty Lacquer-backed Gold and Silver Flat-removal Octagonal Mirror and the Gold and Silver Flat-removal Leather Box, which are treated as national treasures.

But the specific technique had long been lost, even earlier than "Gold Bead Welding," and it was lost after the Song Dynasty. It wasn't until 2022, when the Hubei Provincial Museum accidentally collected relevant documents, that it was finally restored.

Yet here, one has appeared?

There is no need to doubt it; it uses the ancient method. The teacher and student aren't so blind that they couldn't tell.

The gold and silver foil were made by mold-stripping and engraving, with concentric rings of handmade gold wire on both the inside and outside, inlaid patterns, multiple layers of lacquer, and repeated fine manual polishing with charcoal.

Just polishing the lacquer layer flat takes three months.

Now look at the price: 160,000.

It's quite fair: after all, it uses real gold for the foil, and quite a lot of it.

Wang Qi Zhi's palms began to itch again, and Lin Sicheng felt as if a cat were scratching at his heart.

From Wang Qi Zhi's perspective, just based on the lost master skill on this mirror, it would be worth three times 160,000. So Lin Sicheng really had no suitable reason to dissuade him.

But if he didn't dissuade him, he really would...

"Teacher, don't be in a rush, look again!"

"I have looked!" Wang Qi Zhi was exceptionally firm, "There are quite a lot of items in the shop using the granulation technique, but there is no Gold Bead Welding."

Therefore, this is the only piece the master and apprentice have found so far that is a replica applied with a typical lost technique.

The problem is, 160,000?

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "Look again!"

There are still so many items; perhaps they could run into one that "uses a lost technique" while also having a smaller form and a price that isn't quite so high.

If that really doesn't work, they can go find that Teacher Bai from yesterday and buy back that Agate Cup.

It was only 42,000...

"Then you look, look carefully, I'll rest for a while!" Wang Qi Zhi rubbed his brow, "I feel like my eyes are a bit blurry!"

It would be strange if they weren't blurry; after being excited all night without closing his eyes, and with his nerves stretched so tight, even an iron man would have blurry vision.

"Then you take a nap!"

"No need to nap, it's already eleven o'clock!" Wang Qi Zhi checked his watch, "Let's look for another half hour."

"Alright!"

Lin Sicheng nodded and handed the Flashlight to Ye Anning, who had been acting as an invisible person, so she could help him provide auxiliary light when necessary.

Then he picked up the Magnifying Glass, prepared to change to another counter to look.

Having walked over, already three or four steps away, he subconsciously stopped and turned back.

A gold crown sat quietly in the glass cabinet, shining brilliantly.

It was quite beautiful, but the more Lin Sicheng looked at it, the more he felt it was somewhat incongruous.

At first glance: it looked a bit like a Sable-Cicada Coronet from the Song and Ming Dynasties.

"Song History: Records of Carriages and Clothing" Volume 4: The Sable-Cicada Coronet, also known as the Cage Cap, is square in shape, like a flat cap. It is decorated with silver, with silver flowers in the front, topped with a hawksbill cicada, three small cicadas on the left and right, holding a jade nose, and a sable tail inserted on the left. When the Three Excellencies and the Prince attend the Great Court Assembly, it is worn over the Golden-Virtue Coronet.

But the Sable-Cicada Coronet of the Song Dynasty originated from the Golden-Virtue Coronet of the Tang Dynasty, while this one is a Youyou Coronet, and it lacks a cage cap, so it definitely isn't that.

It looks a bit like a Ming Dynasty Fuma Coronet?

The Ming Dynasty followed the Song system: from the first rank to the ninth rank, the difference is determined by the number of beams on the crown. The Duke's crown has eight beams, plus a cage cap and Sable-Cicada. The Duke and Marquis have seven beams, the Earl has six... the Fuma has five beams, with three small cicadas on the left and right, holding a jade nose, with a pheasant tail inserted on the left, and no cage cap.

It indeed has no cage cap, but the problem is, the front of the crown is decorated with the silver bead flowers of a Song crown?

In any case, it just felt incongruous, especially given the premise that everything else around it was a forgery that couldn't be more fake, making this one feel particularly jarring.

After taking two looks, Lin Sicheng stepped back and raised the Magnifying Glass.

But after looking for only a few moments, his pupils shrank slightly: Red Gold wire?

It is not the red gold of 99% purity, but the red gold from the Ming Dynasty, which, according to the "Records of Carriages and Clothing," was used to weave crowns for the Fuma by smelting "five parts gold, three parts silver, and two parts copper" and then drawing it into red-gold colored gold wire.

It is exactly this color before his eyes: yellow with a slight hint of white.

The most critical point is: it doesn't look like it was artificially aged later.

Lin Sicheng's heart jumped: it couldn't be that in a shop full of forgeries, a real item had suddenly popped up?