1979 The Life of Idle Fish

Chapter 117 The Seahorse Grape Mirror

Luo Tao's eagle eyes were really sharp and he could spot his prey even from a long distance.

There is a faint light in a pile of bronze vessels in the southeast corner. Is this the legendary treasure?
Luo Tao walked over steadily and quickly.

He squatted slightly and picked up a smooth bronze mirror. It was about fifteen centimeters in diameter and felt quite heavy in his hand.

The mirror surface is very smooth and can still reflect human figures. It is slightly damaged by collisions. There are no rust spots on the mirror surface, and the whole body is mercury silver.

There is a button of the auspicious animal Qilin on the back, surrounded by eight seahorses. The outermost circle of branches has a grape pattern with entwined branches, and there are also auspicious animals such as phoenixes and birds.

The decoration is relief style, exquisitely made, simple and elegant, and the auspicious animals and grapes are vividly carved.

The word "beautiful" cannot describe it.

Luo Tao thought to himself that this bronze mirror could not be the "Seahorse Grape Mirror".

The Seahorse Grape Mirror was recorded in the "Bogu Illustrations" of the Song Dynasty. It is also called the "Sea Beast Grape Mirror", which is the name of the "Xiqing Ancient Mirror" of the Qing Dynasty.

This type of mirror has various names, but most of them are two.

The "Seahorse Grape Mirror" was a product of the early Tang Dynasty, and was most prosperous during the Tang Gaozong and Wu Zhou periods.

Birds, animals, plants and flowers were the main themes of bronze mirror decoration during this period.

The hippocampus grape mirror is the most eye-catching type of bronze mirror in the Tang Dynasty. Its decorative patterns are full of mystery, and it is called the "mirror of many mysteries" by later generations of experts and scholars.

However, this bronze mirror is a bit too new, and I can't help but murmur in my heart that more than 1000 years is no joke.

Luo Tao played with the bronze mirror repeatedly, while his brain was spinning rapidly, trying to find out the knowledge about the bronze mirror.

"What's wrong? Brother, I like this." Sun Li asked when he saw that Luo Tao couldn't put it down.

"Oh...oh, haha! Kind of, it looks pretty good. Brother Sun, can you sell all these to me?" Luo Tao listened to him talking to himself and didn't want to think about the knowledge about bronze mirrors anymore.

Thinking what if it wasn't, he would rather punch it than let it go. Although Luo Tao didn't know why this bronze mirror was still so new?But it's certainly not a modern artifact.

There is not only this bronze mirror in this pile, but also several bronze mirrors of different sizes, as well as bronze cups, Li, Gui and other objects. I don't know whether they are genuine or not. Let's buy them first.

"This…"!
Yes, look at the embarrassment on this face.

"Haha, Brother Sun is just a little kid. How about you accept it and have a cup of tea?" Luo Tao understood the meaning when he saw this. We have been working together for several years, and no one knows who is who.

No matter how good the relationship is, you have to be realistic. Nothing that can be solved with money is a big deal.

"Hey, brother, what are you doing? How can I accept this money from you..."

Luo Tao didn't wait for him to finish, so he cut off his words and said: "Brother Sun, this is public or private. Brother, I know that you have always been selfless and devoted to the public. You must take this money. I can't make it difficult for you." Don’t do it.”

"Ahem, then, I'll accept it."

Good guy, why don't you give in a few more times?
This grandson is really good at acting, he can act freely, and the key is that he can make people deeply sympathetic and admire him. It would be a pity not to be an actor.

"You should receive this money. I can't let you make a mistake for such a trivial matter. Then my sin will be huge." Luo Tao flattered me with a playful smile. Our acting skills are not bad.

"Brother, please be considerate and I will accept the money. When I have time, I will treat you. You can't refuse."

"Okay, okay, brother, I'm here."

The two of them showed off their acting skills for a while. Acting without a script was really tiring, and they both said a lot of flattery and compliments.

Seeing that it was getting late, Luo Tao said goodbye and left. Sun Li found another sack and filled it with the pile of broken copper.

"Brother Sun, please pay more attention to your brother from now on, and don't forget."

"Don't worry, I'll come find you as soon as I find something good." Sun Li said, and looking at the smile on his face, the meaning was a bit intriguing. "Haha, okay, then, Brother Sun, please stay and see you later."

"Okay, I'll see you off not too far away. Please walk slowly. See you later."

Luo Tao rode a tricycle and rushed home.

When I got home, I put the furniture in the east courtyard, and put the copperware in the study room.

Luo Tao began to browse through the historical sites and found a few books that had some sporadic introductions.

Mercury silver bronze mirrors are cast from high-tin bronze. The copper mirrors are crystal clear and bright white through the ages. They are called silver backs. In the antique shop, this color is also called mercury ancient or mercury Qin.

There are not only mercury qins, but also pure black ones, called black lacquers, lead backs, and green ones.

Mercury is most likely to appear in ancient jade, and it also has other names, such as Chen Mohei, pure lacquer ancient, gold mink beard, black lacquer ancient, etc.

The mercury qin that is less than a thousand years old is generally not too dark, the mercury qin that is less than 2000 years old is not bright, and the mercury qin that is more than 2000 years old is dark, thick and bright.

Luo Tao put down the book and picked up the sea beast grape mirror on the table to look at it again and again. It seemed to be true.

Made in pottery mold, the surface is smooth and moist, and the edges and corners are relatively rounded, which are all characteristics of bronze mirrors from before the Tang Dynasty.

Because after the Song Dynasty, most of them were made with sand molds and low-tin bronze, the tin content was significantly reduced, the lead content was increased, and the proportion of zinc was also increased. Therefore, the copper is yellow with white flashes or yellow with red flashes.

This time I picked up the treasure, and after admiring it for a while, I reluctantly wrapped it in oil paper and carefully placed it in a dry place.

After dealing with this exquisite piece, I then took care of the remaining pieces of bronze. While reading books and checking information, I also identified the authenticity and age of the bronzes.

After working for a long time, I can finally say that they are all genuine. The reason why I dare not make a final conclusion is entirely because Luo Tao himself does not understand bronzes. Most of them follow the script and they are almost complete.

The remaining bronze mirrors are from the Tang and Song dynasties, with a lot of patina, and the decorations can only be vaguely seen. Most of them are sea animals and grapes, and one has plum blossom cloud patterns, as well as jue cups, Ge and Gui. Something from the Spring and Autumn Period.

Since these bronze mirrors had a lot of patina, Luo Tao planned to clean them with vinegar. However, the bronzes such as Ge and Gui were not safe to be used as guinea pigs for experiments.

I had no choice but to wrap it up in oil paper first, and wait until I met an understanding person to deal with it.

Taking the washbasin, he went straight to the kitchen and poured most of the remaining bottle of Baiku into the washbasin. He carefully put the vinegar bottle back into its place, planning to wait for a while. I'll buy another bottle and come back to replenish it.

Carrying the washbasin, I returned to the study and put in two bronze mirrors to test the water. If everything was fine, I would boldly put the rest in.

After finishing all this, Luo Tao went to Uncle Wang and bought a bottle of white vinegar. He entered the kitchen like a thief, unscrewed the newly bought white vinegar, poured half of the old bottle into it, and finally cleaned the battlefield and pretended that nothing was wrong. As if returning to the study.

hehe!I'm afraid that my mother, Su Guilan, will scold Luo Tao for being a prodigal when she sees it.

It was a good idea, but unfortunately no one could cover up the smell of vinegar that filled the yard.

As soon as Su Guilan entered the hospital with little October in her arms, she said, "What's wrong with this vinegar bottle, Tao'er."

"Hey, what's wrong? Mom."

"What's wrong? There's such a strong smell of vinegar, can't you smell it?"

"Really?" Luo Tao felt extremely guilty and pretended to sniff it a few times.

"Ahem, I can't tell you. Little October is going to go play with your dad. I'm going to see if a cat got into the kitchen and got jealous."

Su Guilan put down Little October and the wooden horse and went to the kitchen.

When Luo Tao saw this, he quickly stuffed the washbasin under the Arhat's bed and came out to pick up Little October.

　Thanks to [Wuling people make a profession of catching cats] for the [-]-coin reward
　　
　
(End of this chapter)