What kind?

1978, a set of bronze plates was unearthed from the tomb of Zeng Hou at Leigudun 1 in Sui County, Hubei Province. The plates are grouped into one plate and placed in the plate when unearthed. Moreover, when the plates are matched, the sizes of the two objects just match, and those complex decorative patterns also echo each other. These appearances indicate that the He Zun plate should be a complete upper and lower set.

Above is a bronze statue, a container for wine, and below is a container for vegetables, a container for water. Height is 30. 1 cm. Caliber 25 cm. Base diameter 14.2 cm, weight 9 kg. The bronze plate is 23.5cm high, 58cm in diameter and weighs 19.2kg. Because of its complexity, exquisiteness, richness and ingenuity, it is considered to represent the peak of ancient bronze casting technology.

Who is the owner of Panzun?

Ceng Houyi, once the country name at that time, was called the country name. B is his name. There are different opinions about which generation of monarch this Zeng Hou was and what kind of vassal state Zeng Guo was. One thinks that this is the surname of Zeng Guo, which was first sealed in Xia Dynasty. Another view is that this is Ji's surname Zeng Guo, which was sealed in the Western Zhou Dynasty. There is also a view that Zeng Guo and Ji surname follow the country.

Let's talk about its form in detail.

This bronze ware is too delicate and complicated. First of all, it is open, trumpet-shaped, with a generous outer edge folded and drooping, carved with exquisite flat patterns, just like colorful clouds overlapping up and down.

There are flat lines of banana leaves on the neck, and the banana leaves extend upward to match the slightly trumpet-shaped arc of the neck. Between the neck and abdomen, there are four leopard-shaped crouching beasts carved. The body has a flat texture. The beast got up, turned around and stuck out his tongue, and his long tongue hung like a hook. In addition, the abdomen and high feet are decorated with fine flat patterns, and there are four high-relief dragons outside.

In addition, the dish mouth has a straight wall and a flat bottom, and four square ears are attached to the mouth edge of the four dragons' hoofs, all of which are flat and the same as the mouth style. There are two flat hollowed-out dragons under each ear, and the faucet hangs down. Among the four dragons, there is a carved dragon, and the first one is located at the edge of the mouth to respond to the coiled dragon.

The decoration of this statue plate is too gorgeous and the structure is too complicated. There are 34 parts on the bronze statue, and 56 parts are cast and welded together. There are 28 dragons and 32 dragons on the statue, and 56 dragons and 48 dragons on the copper plate. When unearthed, the two objects were integrated. There are inscriptions on the statue and the disc. Because Hou Yi used it before his death, it was named Zunpan.

A notable feature of this statue plate is its transparent decoration, which consists of an inner layer and an outer layer. The outer layers are independent of each other, the inner layer is supported by copper stalks, and then the copper stalks are connected layer by layer, uneven. A complex structure like this is difficult to manufacture. Coupled with the flowing shape, it is exquisite enough to be amazing.

How is this done? It was identified by experts as lost wax casting. What method is that? That is, the wax is made into a mold, and then it is poured repeatedly with fine mud. After the clay covers the wax mold, it is coated with refractory and baked with fire to make the mold. The wax melts and flows out to form a cavity, and then it is poured with copper juice. This technology has reached a high level as early as the early Warring States period.

Why is it difficult to copy? First, it is too beautiful, too complicated and too expensive to make. Second, it is difficult to achieve charm. It took Hubei craftsmen 20 years to make a replica of 1: 1 with the help of an electric soldering iron during the Golden Week, but people in the industry think that its exquisite charm is still far from perfect.

So until today, the official has not copied Ceng Houyi's Zunpan. It seems that some things have never been seen before. This is really a masterpiece.