Yu Yao nodded secretly, this is much more intuitive than a verbal introduction!

said that it was four utensils, but it was actually four brocade boxes, but Yu Yao knew in advance that they contained high-imitation heavy weapons.

These four brocade boxes, all square boxes, large and small, high and low, are obviously tailored according to the size of the utensils.

The tallest brocade box is more than half a meter high and more than a foot long.

The widest brocade box, although only about 10 centimeters high, has a side length of more than 40 centimeters.

The smallest brocade box is about the same size as an ordinary cigarette box.

There is also a brocade box, which is square and square, with a side length of more than ten centimeters.

"With the old man's methods, I'm almost the same as appreciating the real thing! I can feast my eyes today!" Yu Yao rubbed his hands, "Which one to see first?"

In particular, I am the best at bronze, but there is a piece of copper in this that is very special, it is difficult to define, and I don't have a secret recipe, I feel that the appearance is okay, but the copper and weight are definitely wrong!"

Teng Kunwu rarely spoke like this before, but in this gesture, everyone's style was revealed.

"Copper is special?" Yu Yao said, "This bronze is nothing more than bronze, brass, white copper, and copper, is it possible that these are not these?"

Nowadays, the copper we usually see, mostly brass, is actually a copper-zinc alloy.

Bronze, on the other hand, is the addition of tin or lead to copper.

Cupronickel is relatively rare, and the main additive is nickel.

As for copper, it is actually pure copper, which is called copper by the people, and red copper in the industry. Pure copper, a purplish red.

"It's okay to say copper, but it's added with gold and silver, and it's called wind-milled copper in history!" Teng Kunwu replied.

"Xuande Furnace?!"

When it comes to wind-grinding copper, you must think of Xuande furnace!

When Yu Yao heard this, he immediately picked up the square brocade box with a side length of more than ten centimeters, the size of this brocade box was suitable for a small incense burner.

Teng Kunwu bowed his head: "Exactly!"

Speaking of Xuande furnace, in fact, the first question that should be asked is: Is there a real Xuande furnace handed down at present?

At present, there are two in the Forbidden City and four in the Forbidden City on Taiwan Island. But even these six pieces are authoritative enough, but even these six pieces still have some experts who suspect that they may not be the authentic products of Xuande's three years.

In the third year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Zhanji, the emperor of Xuande, imported a batch of red copper from Siam (now Thailand), and let Wu Bangzuo, a waiter of the Ministry of Works, and Lu Zhen, a royal craftsman, further smelt it.

This batch of incense burners eventually made more than 3,000 pieces. Emperor Xuande personally participated in the supervision of the production.

Although the imported red copper was close to pure copper, Emperor Xuande still demanded further refining. After refining six times, Lu Zhen once played it once, saying that he had been refined six times, and only half of the raw materials were left!

Emperor Xuande didn't care, because what he pursued this time was high-quality products, and he didn't hesitate to do anything!

At the same time, it is not enough to remove the impurities, but also to refine!

So, Lu Zhen refined it six more times, so that a total of twelve times before and after, and at the same time added more than a dozen precious metals such as gold and silver.

In the three years of Xuande, more than 3,000 pieces of incense burners were finally cast.

The incense burners of Xuande for three years became a swan song, and they have not been cast since.

This refining is done twelve times, and copper of precious metals such as gold and silver is also added, which is called wind-ground copper.

Therefore, if the golden mouth of the Ghost Eye Gate got a genuine incense burner from Xuande for three years at that time, then it must be the texture of wind-ground copper.

No matter how high Teng Kunwu's level is, there is no secret recipe, just cast according to the map, and the texture must not be completely consistent, so there should be a difference in weight.

Yu Yao cautiously opened the brocade box.

Chicken ear furnace.

It is a kind of food vessel, generally with a round mouth and ears, with a classic shape, and it is a landmark bronze ware in China. The Gui type furnace is naturally an incense burner made with reference to the shape of the Gui.

This rooster ear furnace has a small furnace body, with a diameter of less than 10 centimeters, and the thickness of the tire wall is average, but the bottom of the furnace is very heavy.

The two furnace ears are the raised cock head ear buttons. At the same time, there is an auspicious cloud pattern below the mouth of the outer skimming furnace.

Half of the wall sees the sea and the sun, and the sky smells the chicken.

The heavenly chicken is a mythical bird in ancient legends, which can swallow fire, and the pictogram casting furnace is also suitable. At the same time, the heavenly chicken can also imply the phoenix, and the incense burner of the heavenly chicken ear appears in the palace of the queen and the concubines.

The copper color of this Tianji ear furnace is a black and yellow, and the outside of the furnace is one color, moist and heavy.

"This, is the color of the Tibetan scriptures?" Yu Yao stroked the incense burner, and the feel was delicate and solid.

"The atlas is outlined with an ink pen, without color, but there are annotations, and it is indeed marked with the color of the Tibetan scriptures. But there are also subtle variations in the color of the Tibetan scriptures, and this is just one of the things I have in mind. ”

In the historical records, there are more than 40 colors of Xuande furnace, such as the classic Tibetan scripture color, eggplant skin color, tang pear color, pig liver color, amber color, crab shell green and so on.

Yu Yao nodded, looking at the bottom of the furnace. Ming Xuande year, six-character regular script carving, is cast after the knife carved out. The font is timeless, and it has the charm of Wei monument.

"This Xuande furnace, even in the Forbidden City, has some people who suspect that it is not a genuine product of Xuande for three years. In the secret collection, there is a Xuande furnace!" Yu Yaoxin said, the three pieces of porcelain in the previous Huozikou were already priceless!

"I haven't seen the real thing, but judging from the shape map and annotations, I believe it's genuine!" Teng Kunwu was categorical, and then sighed, "It's a pity, there is no secret recipe for wind grinding copper!"

Yu Yao continued to admire and asked, "Old man, this wind grinds copper, and the world is so divine, how did this name come about?"

The origin of the name is still a mystery. However, there should be two meanings in this. ”

Teng Kunwu explained, "First, in terms of copper smelting, a large bellows is used, and the wind is strong and the firepower is sufficient. Second, it reflects the skin color of this copper after 'seeing the wind', that is, the skin color after oxidation and use. ”

"Oh, no wonder the Xuande furnace is the most wonderful. In other words, this special copper will have different colors and luster in different environments, different contacts, and different lengths of time?"

"It's understandable. However, it's not just external factors. It is said that at that time, more than a dozen precious metals such as gold and silver were added to the refining of wind-ground copper, such a large number of copper materials, so many added metals, when smelting, it was impossible to be completely uniform, and combined with different environmental and time changes, it would inevitably form different color embodiments. ”

Teng Kunwu stretched out his hand and pointed to the incense burner, "For example, this one, I add the largest proportion of gold, about five percent, which is more than the sum of the total amount of other metals." After the engraving is completed, the old leather shell has to be made, and the color change produced by this process is mainly caused by gold. ”

"Old man, if you get the secret recipe of wind grinding copper, you will definitely be able to make it the same as the real thing!"