Chapter 114 Encountered a Master
After examining it carefully, Lin Sicheng was at least 70% certain that this gold-threaded five-beam crown was a Ming Dynasty imperial son-in-law's crown.
Moreover, it must be a royal gift, because according to the "Regulations on Carriages and Clothing," only the emperor and the crown prince are allowed to wear gold crowns. And even if it is a royal gift, the son-in-law cannot wear it casually: only on grand weddings and sacrificial ceremonies.
But I'm only 70% sure, I'm still 30% short!
Lin Sicheng slowly exhaled: "Turn on the lighting!"
Ye Anning snapped out of her daze and quickly turned on her flashlight.
Lin Sicheng stood to the side, holding a magnifying glass.
The crown and hat peak are covered with gold leaf and engraved with ruyi cloud patterns. They have undergone a polishing process: the agate or jade has been repeatedly polished, which gives the impression that "the patterns are clearly there, but they look like they were painted on."
Behind the hat mountain is a gold wire mesh, woven in the unique Ming Dynasty technique of "weaving lantern holes".
The name is not pleasant, but the craftsmanship is extremely complex. Just like the one in front of us: about three or four hundred gold wires, each no more than 0.2 millimeters in diameter, with a misalignment of no more than 0.01 millimeters between the top and bottom.
The pattern must not only be evenly spaced and uniformly dense, but also absolutely free of knots. The gold net must be woven to the exact shape of the cicada's web.
Lin Sicheng even suspected that the craftsmen who made this hat were the same group who made the crown for Wanli.
Looking at the crown beam, there are five sections on the left and right, with sixteen braided strands made of gold wire, which are then welded into ropes using the "ash-piling method" of the Ming Dynasty.
To put it simply: a model is carved from charcoal or wood, then wire is welded onto it, and the mold is burned after it is joined. The resulting gold rope is hollow.
The key point is that the patterns on the outside of the five golden beams are exactly the same, and even the patterns inside the hollow parts are exactly the same, which can be said to have brought the ancient art of gold stacking to its extreme.
Looking at the crown edge, that is, the rough-looking outer edge: it is lined with red gold beams and piled with gold beads on the outside.
The bonding method used was the Ming Dynasty's "water-walking" technique: the red gold beam was melted and then the gold beads were attached to the surface.
The method used for making granulated gold beads is the dripping method, also known as the water-frying method: melting the gold and dripping it into warm water.
This method has one key feature: it allows for precise temperature control, ensuring that all the gold beads produced from multiple blasts are of the same size.
Just like what's right in front of us: two crown edges, two mountain edges, eight in total, and the number of beads used is at least seven or eight thousand, if not tens of thousands, but they are all the same.
At this point, Lin Sicheng was 90% certain: the main body of the golden crown was the crown of the imperial son-in-law.
There was only one thing: the gilded silver flower jade ornament in the middle looked to him like it was a product of the Song Dynasty.
The gilding and silver plating were mostly done using Tang Dynasty techniques, with at most a touch of the Song Dynasty's "pressing method": using a mold and a heavy object to press patterns onto the gold ornament, which was much shallower than chiseling.
However, the jade ornaments in the middle were made using the "pressed jade method" unique to the Song Dynasty: using hard jade such as agate to repeatedly grind and polish the surface of the jade ornaments.
Jade polished in this way will have a unique mirror-like effect, just like now: when Lin Sicheng put his face close up, it could reflect his image quite clearly. Because it's so bright, at first glance, the jade looks like it's fake.
Putting all that aside, just looking at the color: the mesh has a faint yellow tint, which is due to mercury residue left after the gold wires were plated with gold amalgam, and this residue oxidized over many years. I estimate it to be around four hundred years old.
If you tilt the light slightly to the side, you can clearly see that the silver ornament on the forehead has a slightly reddish tint. This is because after the internal silver oxidizes, the silver sulfide seeps out and neutralizes with the gilding layer, resulting in a color gradient.
But it would take seven or eight hundred years for it to penetrate to this extent.
Therefore, no matter how he looked at it, he felt that these were two cultural relics: a Ming Dynasty gold-threaded five-beam imperial son-in-law's crown and a Song Dynasty sable-and-jade ornament for a prince or duke.
But what's strange is that it was glued on, just ordinary glue sticks, smeared on haphazardly and then shoved on. You can see it without a flashlight or a magnifying glass.
But who cares why it's so sticky, I'll just buy it first.
And look at the price: 350,000, is it like finding a bargain?
Lin Sicheng put away his high-powered scope and waved. The hostess, who was almost asleep, came over: "Hello, sir!"
"I'll take it all!"
"ah?"
The greeter thought that the morning would just pass by like this.
Upon closer inspection: Wow, so young, so handsome...
Her eyes started sparkling, and just as she was about to say something, Ye Anning glanced at her gently.
The greeter paused for a moment, then gave an awkward smile: "Please wait a moment, I'll go get the keys!"
She turned around and swayed her slender waist as she ran towards the bar.
Wang Qizhi was half asleep when he heard the sound and groggily opened his eyes: "What bun!"
Lin Sicheng pointed: "A replica of a Ming Dynasty gold-threaded crown!"
"What?"
Why would you buy a Ming dynasty piece instead of a Tang dynasty piece?
He muttered to himself, got up, and walked over. He glanced at the price again, and Wang Qizhi narrowed his eyes: Three hundred and fifty thousand?
Looking at the hat again, it does resemble the craftsmanship of the Ming Dynasty, but the logic is flawed.
The female official's crown next to it was only 96,000 yuan, made with a technique that was seven or eight hundred years earlier, and there were so many of them, so complete, but Lin Sicheng insisted on stopping him from buying it.
Needless to say, the bronze mirror was made using a lost art, and its price was less than half that of the hat, yet Lin Sicheng still prevented him from buying it.
But when it comes to him, with just this tattered hat, he dares to take out 350,000?
Could it be that they have too much money to burn?
Thinking back on his student's past achievements, Wang Qizhi felt a surge of excitement.
Look again, look more closely... That's right, it's a Ming Dynasty water-cracked bead and a Ming Dynasty water-welded bead?
He looked at Lin Sicheng with a suspicious expression.
Lin Sicheng didn't say anything, just smiled at him. Just then, the greeter led the manager over, opened the cabinet door, and took out the gold crown.
Lin Sicheng casually took the money, handed it back to his supervisor, and went to settle the bill.
Wang Qizhi held the gold-threaded crown and examined it carefully. At first glance, he noticed the glue behind the silver and jade ornaments.
It's so obvious, isn't this blatantly telling the customer that it's fake?
Suspicious, Wang Qizhi took out his magnifying glass again. Noticing that the color was a bit off, he reached out and gently pressed his finger on the mesh.
With a "whoosh," it was as if a magic spell had been activated, and the eyes shone brightly.
This thing is actually made of red gold thread?
But that's not the point; it's the condition: it looks like it's been naturally aged.
Roughly speaking, around four hundred years, isn't that exactly the Ming Dynasty?
Shining a flashlight on it again, and sure enough, it's a Ming Dynasty warm water blasting bead and a Ming Dynasty water-welding bead.
However, there was absolutely no "imitation" in the beginning...
His heart skipped a beat, and he looked up, staring intently at Ye Anning.
Despite their long-standing camaraderie and witty rivalry, Ye Anning suddenly understood with just a glance from Wang Qizhi.
His lips moved slightly, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly: Lin Sicheng... got another bargain?
Wang Qizhi puffed out his cheeks, pursed his lips into slits, and slowly exhaled: It's more than just finding a bargain.
According to Ming dynasty regulations: Dukes and marquises wore hats with eight beams, and added a sable and cicada-patterned headscarf... Imperial sons-in-law wore hats with five beams, with a pheasant tail inserted on the left, and no headscarf.
Whether they were dukes, marquises, earls, or barons, the material of their crowns was at most silver gauze.
Only by imperial decree, and only by the imperial consort who was a member of the royal family, could one dare to use gold beams and gold gauze.
Wang Qizhi's eyes widened: So, the imperial bestowal of the Five-Beam Gold-Threaded Crown for the Imperial Son-in-Law?
Don't be fooled by the fact that this thing is mostly missing its exterior decorations. If it were given to a city-level museum, such as the Xijing City Museum, it would definitely be a prized possession.
But I looked around the whole time and didn't find it.
Found nothing.
The shop, spanning over a hundred square meters, was filled with hundreds of gold items. The lights were so bright that it was almost blinding.
Moreover, with the room full of replicas, who would have thought that there was actually a real one hidden among them?
The key issue lies in the glue behind the silver and jade ornament; it's so obvious, you can see it at a glance. Afterwards, anyone would mutter: "Not only is it a fake, but it's so poorly made?"
Take another look at the price, 350,000... Who the hell isn't brain-dead? Why would someone spend over 300,000 on something like this?
And then, what's next?
Even Wang Qizhi, who knew perfectly well that Lin Sicheng wouldn't spend hundreds of thousands on a counterfeit, and who knew this thing wasn't quite right, only discovered something after poking it.
Therefore, Lin Sicheng's ability to see this thing had little to do with luck; it was purely due to his keen eyesight.
You have to admire that.
With a sigh, Wang Qizhi put away the magnifying glass and turned off the flashlight.
But as the lights were about to dim, he suddenly paused, startled: Why does this silver bead flower look a little reddish?
He hesitated for a moment, then turned on his flashlight, glanced at it twice, and then turned it off again.
Open, close... Open, close...
Wang Qizhi, like a spoiled brat, kept pressing on it. The beaded flower would suddenly turn yellow, then suddenly red…
He looked back three times, then suddenly straightened up: "Early Song Dynasty silver-ground gold-painted five-beam Jinxian crown, the crown of a prince, prime minister, and three teachers with pearl flowers."
Lin Sicheng, your teacher is impressed: the value of this flower is no less than that of the hat underneath.
But why would such a thing be placed among a pile of counterfeits, and even two of them?
Glancing at the glue stick under the beaded flowers, a thought flashed through Wang Qizhi's mind: the bronze incense burner at the Municipal Bureau's Forensic Center.
Washing goods?
I'll make you wash my ass...
In the blink of an eye, Lin Sicheng had finished paying the bill.
A shop assistant followed behind, carrying an aluminum alloy case. After walking over, they put the gold crown inside.
The supervisor stood aside and handed over the invoice.
Lin Sicheng took it, thought for a moment, and pointed to the bronze pagoda: "Manager, could you please tell me which craftsman cast this bronze hall? Could you perhaps identify him?"
Suddenly, the supervisor's expression turned strange, and a hint of wariness appeared in his eyes as he looked Lin Sicheng up and down.
The teacher and student immediately understood: Lin Sicheng was definitely not the first person to ask such a question.
The reason is simple: just find any outhouse in the countryside, throw that bronze pagoda in, and let it ferment for a year if you want one from the Han Dynasty, two years if you want one from the pre-Qin period, and a little longer for the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, three years at most.
Therefore, the supervisor treated them as people who specialized in dumping counterfeit goods.
After looking at it several times, including Wang Qizhi and Ye Anning, the supervisor gave a forced smile: "Sorry, sir, this is a product that the boss imported from out of town. As for where it came from or who copied it, I have no idea."
"Really?" Lin Sicheng smiled. "And this one, and this one too, are those also from our inventory?"
Following Lin Sicheng's finger, the supervisor looked at the Tang Dynasty gold and silver inlaid bronze mirror, and then at the imitation Tang Dynasty female official's crown.
His pupils contracted slightly, and his face stiffened for a moment: He had encountered a master!
The supervisor forced a smile: "Yes, it was also ordered by the boss!"
"All right!"
Lin Sicheng nodded. "Okay, I'll leave you my phone number!"
Wang Qizhi immediately knew what Lin Sicheng was planning to do, and reached out to stop him: "Keep mine!"
The supervisor sneered inwardly: It doesn't matter who we keep or who we keep.
He'd seen far too many idiots like that; at least two or three batches every month...
After packing the boxes and delivering them to the door, the supervisor glanced at them and then waved his hand.
The note with the phone number on it drifted far away on the wind.
Three clubs!
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