Collection and appreciation of ancient jewelry beads

Chinese culture has been a heritage of jade culture since ancient times. The Chinese people's enthusiasm for jade is beyond the understanding of foreigners. In ancient times, "the beautiful stone is jade", and the beautiful stones belong to the jade. In the jade, the beads present a variety of different forms and meanings as another category. In ancient China, the value of Zhuyu was higher than that of gold and bronze.

Beads, in a nutshell, are similar to round, perforated, small ornaments made of various materials. Their main function is to beautify human life. The civilization of the beads exists all over the world. We found the earliest beads of mankind in a cave in France, which was made by humans 40,000 years ago. The earliest human beings wearing beads may be to beautify themselves and show their status.

The beads are made of a wide range of materials, including: agate, crystal, coral, alfalfa, lapis lazuli, turquoise, coal, various local jade, jade, pearl, amber, beeswax, ivory, wood, various fruits, alfalfa, Shells, bones, tourmaline, Tianhe stone, etc.; artificial materials are: glass, ceramics, alloys, gold, silver, copper and so on.

The types of beads that can be collected now are roughly divided into: Central Plains Culture Beads, Tibetan Culture Beads, and Foreign Culture Beads.

Central Plains Culture Beads

The beads of the Central Plains culture are divided into several periods: Gaogu, Middle Ages, and Ming and Qing Dynasties. Among them, the Western Zhou Agate is one of the most popular types.

Now in the collection circle, people always hear the word "Xima". Some people say that it refers to the agate in West Asia, and some people say that it is agate in Tibet. What is it? In fact, this is when I registered the forum of Yachang Art Network [microblogging] in 2004, and the netizens discussed the ancient beads in the above. In order to facilitate typing, the words "Western Zhou Agate" were simply abbreviated as "Xima", and later because of the Internet. There are more and more Tibetan friends, so this abbreviation is universal in the country, and the network is very powerful.

In fact, the beads that we now call "Sima" are already a relatively large scope. All these flat, two-headed red agates are called "Xima", and their years are up to the Neolithic In the late period of the times, down to the Warring States, it has been worn.

In the archaeological excavation of the lower culture of Xiajiadian, many such agate beads were found. At the same time, there were some amazon stones, turquoise and various local jade beads. It was thought that people were wearing colorful beads together. of.

During the Western Zhou Dynasty, due to the rise of the ritual and music system, the combination of wearing jade and jade became a fashion, and also a sign that the identity is noble and noble. Zhou people use their imagination to make the combination of Zhuyu reach the peak of the peak. The various groups seem to be so noble and elegant, extremely luxurious, ever-changing, without certain form constraints, colorful and harmonious. West Zhou Agate plays an extremely important role in such a group.

“When you get on the bus, why are you going to get off the car?” is “the sound of the ring”, “the sound of the ring” is to satisfy the visual aesthetics while satisfying the auditory enjoyment. The Western Zhou aristocrats must be wearing the jade group. The elegant pace is calm.

Due to its practicability and aesthetics, Xizhou Agate is very popular among players. No matter what kind of beads or jade you put it together, it is harmonious. Due to the large demand, its price has also soared.

I remember that when I first started playing beads in 2000, I could buy a Western Zhou agate in the market for 50 yuan, and I can still pick it up. Later I went up to 80 yuan, 100 yuan, and then 150 yuan, 200 yuan, at 200 yuan. One time, everyone felt too expensive to accept, did not expect to soon rise to 300 yuan a, 500 yuan a, the current market price is 800-1500 yuan, the scarcity of goods will make the price of the West Zhou agate All the way up.

Something will be imitation when something is expensive, and there are countless sima replicas in the market. The surface of the authentic Sima has a warm luster, Baoguang is restrained, the color is bright and steady, unlike the imitation beads are full of thieves. The surface of the agate beads of Xiajiadian is generally smooth and the holes are relatively straight. The surface of the agate beads in the southwestern region has many weathered lines. The holes are the horn holes, which are big and small, which may be related to the local drilling tools. All the holes in the old beads of China must be bright. When you look at the light, you will feel like there is a clear water. Some of the inner walls of the tunnel can see the spiral marks, which are traces of the slow drilling tools. The traces left by the new beads due to the modern tool fast bit are obviously completely different from the traces left by the ancient craft. Please carefully distinguish the authenticity of the beads before collecting.

Tibetan culture beads

Tibetan culture beads generally began in the Tang Dynasty and continued into the Qing Dynasty. The material is roughly composed of bone beads, dZi beads, agate, turquoise, enamel, coral, beeswax, and the like. Most of their beads are related to religion, self-contained, and have the role of amulets. And because of the mobility of the nomads, the wealth of Tibetans has mostly become worn by these jewels.

Red corals represent the sun, light, and flame; green turquoise represents the sky, water, and grassland; yellow beeswax represents the land; white enamel represents the white clouds, pure and noble, and justice.

Inside the Tibetan beads, we mainly talk about the collection and identification of Dzi Beads.

Dzi Beads are the most valuable species in the beads. They are considered to have powerful energy in people's minds. They are the treasures of the gods, and they have lofty religious significance and can be used for disaster relief. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "one bead is easy to be a good horse", which means that you can now use a celestial pearl to change a BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

One of the more scientific terms is that the material of the Dzi Bead is a mineral formed by the change of the crustal movement caused by the impact of an alien meteorite on the earth. This mineral contains a variety of Martian elements, making it a cosmic Magnetic field energy, and later some people made various patterns on this ore, representing different religious significance.

The earliest founding of the Dzi Beads was unearthed in the Tombs of the Warring States. There is a clear written record of the Marriage of the Princess of Wencheng when he was married to Songtsen Gambo in the fifteenth year of the Tang Dynasty. The statue of Shakyamuni, which is now enshrined in the Jokhang Temple in Tibet, was brought to Tibet by Princess Wencheng. It was inlaid with three nine-eyed dZi beads and other various decorative beads.

Judging by the scarcity and unique cultural connotation of Dzi Beads, it is a treasure worth collecting. It rises rapidly at different prices every month. The higher the price, the more people will be faked. The dZi that can be seen on the market today is basically a replica. People think that people who have a big blessing can only get a pure old Dzi bead.

To identify the old Dzi Beads, we must first look at its craftsmanship. The production process of the old Dzi Beads has now been lost, and it is very different from the current imitations. The old Dzi Bead is opaque or semi-transparent with strong light. The middle hole is white, and the line texture is deep into the body of the bead. Unlike the imitation of the dZi, the line floats on the surface. The surface of the old Dzi Beads generally has traces left by the use of bumps. It is often called "weathered grain". It looks like many irregular pits, such as a half moon shape. The hand touch is smooth, and the imitation is touched by oysters. of. Some of the beads on the sky have some small red dots like needles. We call them cinnabar points. People think that the celestial beads have more pearls.

It is better to choose Laotianzhu. The traces left by the medicine are less, the lines are black and white, the surface is smooth and smooth, and the cinnabar point is of course more beautiful.

Foreign culture beads

Foreign culture beads are also a hot spot for collecting beads. In the team that collects beads, there are many people who play foreign ancient beads. The collection of West Asian beads is the most, because the beads are unearthed and the price is relatively cheap. The civilizations of the two rivers have made semi-precious stones such as red chalcedony, lapis lazuli and crystal, and also the common varieties of colored glaze. There are many similarities between the beads of West Asia and the beads of China, but they are earlier than the production of beads in China. One of the most important characteristics of distinguishing West Asia beads is to look at its pores. Their pores are relatively small. This is probably because the craftsmen of West Asia have mastered the superb skills in the early days, making drilling easier, which can reduce the loss of materials. .

Others who collect glass beads mostly collect Willis glass beads. From the 16th to the 18th century, Europeans used colorful glass beads to go to Africa for ivory, gold, diamonds, etc. These beads are called "African Trade Beads". . When the beads appeared in the Chinese market ten years ago, the price was quite high. A large-sized and good-quality "thousand flowers" glass beads would be sold for 2,000 yuan. Since foreign beads have flowed into China in recent years, now The beads are now up to one or two hundred yuan.

There is a big mystery in the little beads. As long as you learn to identify the beads of various materials, it will be easier to identify any other kind of antiques. The biggest fun of playing beads is that they can be paired together to make a very fashionable antique jewellery that can be worn and value-added.

It is necessary to collect the authentic beads. First, you must look at the specimens of the real bead. The standard must be correct. You have the identification standard. In addition to looking at the museum, it is also a good way to communicate with experts and players. There are antique markets all over the place. Inquire about which antique shop owner has good eyesight, good character and communicate with the boss. Now that the network is developed, you can also learn and communicate online. You can go and see, and learn more and communicate more. Learn more in the process of playing and make life more fun.