Through the ages, Buddhist statues, as the carrier of promoting Buddhist culture and art, have been endowed with unique cultural and artistic connotations by various countries and nations, and are the substantial expression of the essence of national culture, for Buddhist art lovers and historians to study the development of ancient civilization and the level of manufacturing technology to provide a reliable material basis. Buddha statue of the production of materials from its production has a variety of options: stone, wood, clay materials, gold and copper materials... ... especially the metal ones. Most of the metal material for copper, but also a small amount of silver, gold and iron, tin statues. Historically, these metals were also the material of money, so statues of Buddha made of gold and copper are particularly valuable.

Today we come to the bronze statue of the material for a detailed study of induction. With a view to enabling Buddhist art lovers to have a comprehensive understanding of the areas and backgrounds in which Buddhist statues of different metallic materials were made throughout history, thereby enriching and improving their appreciation knowledge, the statues of different historical periods to make a more scientific basis for the dating.

The word "gold bronze" in "gold bronze statue" is a general term for all metals in ancient times, and here "gold" does not refer specifically to gold. In "on the passing of Qin" , Jia Yi wrote, "Qin... " ... is the most powerful weapon in the world... . The "Gold Man" here refers to the figure cast in "copper" , not a statue made of gold. Traditionally, copper is divided into "red copper" , "brass" , "bronze" , in addition to "white copper" , "spot copper" said. In Tibet, the bronze statue is traditionally called "Li Ma" , and we will discuss the differences between the different "Li Ma" . Let's start with a detailed discussion of the definitions and characteristics of these different materials:

1.Red Copper

The chemical symbol for copper in periodic table is copper. Humans have been mining for copper since prehistoric times. Pure copper is a soft metal, copper has no oxidation surface is red orange with metallic luster, simple substance is purple red, so also known as "red copper" . The Red Copper we see in the statues is the closest to pure copper, and Nepal is particularly rich in natural red copper, some of which can be more than 98% pure. Red Copper color bright red moist, good ductility. Because of its relatively high melting point (1083 ° c) and short cooling time, the casting of red copper utensils is limited, and because of the poor fluidity, bubbles are easily produced in the casting process, which restrict the use of pure copper in Buddha statue sculpture.

2.Bronze

Bronze is an alloy made by adding tin or lead to pure copper (red copper) . It is the earliest alloy in the history of human metal casting. The unoxidized bronze has a yellow metallic luster on its surface and turns dark green after oxidation. That's why it's called "bronze. ". Compared with pure copper (red copper) , bronze has high strength and low melting point. The melting point of bronze containing 25% tin will be reduced to about 800 °C, which increases the castability of bronze, and the fluidity of alloy copper can be improved by adding lead, and the bronze has a strong wear resistance. Since natural copper deposits are associated with other metal deposits, it can be inferred that the earliest bronze was obtained accidentally from the smelting of natural copper associated tin deposits, then, after a lot of trial and error, he invented a way to synthesize the metal.

Since natural copper deposits are associated with other metal deposits, it can be inferred that the earliest bronze was obtained accidentally from the smelting of natural copper associated tin deposits, then, after a lot of trial and error, he invented a way to synthesize the metal.

3.Brass

Brass is an alloy of pure copper (red copper) smelted with zinc. Brass is less oxidized and has a glossy yellow surface than bronze and pure red copper. After high temperature oxidation or long-term moisture, the surface will become dark brown. Various Primary chalcopyrite exist in nature, and their copper-zinc ratios and other mineral components vary widely. It's one of them. The Natural Luster of Kaolinite is as bright as gold. It is one of many natural chalcopyrite, which has unique physical properties due to its unique ratio of copper to zinc and its rich content of other metals and nonmetal. China does not produce Kaolinite, a mineral found mostly in western Asia and Afghanistan. In the Tang Dynasty, in her book the Yiqiejing Yinyi, Li Shizhen wrote that the stone was like gold, but not like gold, and that the stone was born in Persia, such as gold, burned red but not black, as the Silk Road was introduced into China, it gradually became a sought after precious metal material. Before the Tang Dynasty, it was used as a raw material for making high-grade craftwork. Even the official special order for eight, nine official can use the standard accessories materials, which in the Tang "Tong Dian" has a detailed record. At the same time, because of its natural golden color, it was also used by the Tang and song dynasties as the decoration of carriage to show the dignity of status. There is no doubt that such valuable material will be used to make Buddhist statues. Monk you of the Liang Dynasty, in his book Chu San Zang Ji Ji Ji Ji Ji, listed as "the stone statue of Champa offering a boundless life" , "the ancient name of Champa" , which is today's Zhancheng, Vietnam. There are also three accounts in the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions of Buddha made of stone. The spread of Buddhism in the Indian Peninsula and Southeast Asia has also spread to the Central Plain region of China. "Youyang Zaizhiji Sequel" , "the Guanyin Hall of Datong Square in Chang 'an city" , "The statue of Yu Qilu" , "The statue of Zhao Jinggong temple in Chang 'an city" , "The statue of Zhao Jinggong temple in Chang 'an city" , "six feet high, exquisite ancient"

Because of the precious and rare stone can live, folk alchemists have been trying to copy. After entering the five dynasties, the input of the stone was cut off by the Tangut, and the indigenous brass smelting technology was rapidly spread to the people through the alchemists. According to reliable records, in the southern Song Dynasty, the technology of making brass by smelting pure copper with calamine mixture has reached maturity. After several hundred years of practice, the smelting technology of brass was greatly innovated in the Ming Dynasty, which greatly reduced the production cost. The world-famous Tuyen ?uc furnace uses synthetic brass. The bronze which has been used for more than 2000 years is gradually fading out of the stage of history, and the artificially smelted brass is used in every aspect of production and life, becoming one of the indispensable metal materials for social stability. Except for copper, which is nearly pure, bronze and brass are made of a mixture of two or more metals. These three kinds of bronze are the most common metal materials for Buddhist statues. More than 90% of the surviving metal buddhas are made of these three kinds of bronze. Some less common alloys, such as cupronickel's, have arsenic added to their brass. Arsenic is not a metal. It occurs as an oxide in nature and is a major component of pigments such as cinnabar. In addition to increasing the fluidity of the molten copper, the addition of arsenic to the alloy copper results in a bright, lubricated metallic luster on the surface of the metal, which has a silver-like visual effect. Knowing the basic knowledge of various kinds of copper, we will carefully analyze the bronze features of various regional statues. The author spent ten years, selected more than 300 pieces of various styles of various regions of metal sculpture with elemental x-ray fluorescence spectrometry data comparison analysis. The statistical data are summarized as follows:

1.Early statues of GāNDHāRA and Swart

Gāndhāra lies in northwest Pakistan; Swat lies due north of the country and was covered in Sphere of influence when Greco-Buddhist art were strong. Since ancient times, this area has relatively little copper ore. The only primary copper ore is rich in tin, zinc, lead, iron and other metal elements. Therefore, the bronze statues in these two areas are both bronze and brass, high-purity bronze statues are rare.

2.Kashmiri statues

Kashmir is located in the northwest of what is now India and northeast of Pakistan, bordering Guge and Ladakh in western Tibet. In the Tang Dynasty, the name of this place was big and small Bolu. After defeating the invasion of Tibet, general Gao Xianzhi, Anxi's imperial envoy, placed the area under the jurisdiction of the Tang Dynasty and named it Guiren. (see "deciphering the art of the Bartola bronze statue" for details.) Historically, this place was rich in natural resources, especially in the production of Bartola stone. The Buddha statues made of Bartola stone were so magnificent that they were loved by the royal family and the upper class. Especially Little Barry's Bartola. The gold and Bronze Buddha statues made in the Kingdom of Shahi are considered to be of the highest quality and have been collected by famous museums all over the world. The bronze statues of the Kashmir are mainly made of alloy brass (Lapis Lazuli) . There are also some bronze statues with high tin content, but pure bronze statues are rare.

3. North East India

North East India includes much of what is now Bangladesh, historically represented by the Pará Dynasty, as well as the western part of the ancient Pagan Kingdom and the northern part of Orissa. The area is rich in copper, which provides the material basis for the casting of Buddhist statues. Northeast India statues also to alloy brass-based, the copper is also rich in zinc, tin, lead and other metal elements.

4. Nepal

Nepal is rich in copper, from the Kathmandu Valley of the Newark craftsmen known for good copper. Nepal's statues with high copper purity of copper-based, especially after the 13th Century Gilt bronze statues are almost all more than 98% of red copper content. Only in the early period of Licchavi and the transitional period are some alloy bronze statues. This may have been the result of copying the styles of north-west and north-east India.

5. Western Tibet

What we customarily define as western Tibet is the territory of the Guge Dynasty established in the West by the descendants of the Zampu people of Tibet, covering a large area of Guge, Plaine and Ladakh. Because of its border with Kashmir, there have been numerous cultural and commercial exchanges since ancient times, especially during the period of Islamic expansion, when large numbers of Kashmiri Buddhists and craftsmen fled to western Tibet carrying scriptures and Buddhist images, this has greatly promoted the local Buddha statue technical level improvement. Similar to Kashmiri bronze, western Tibet is dominated by alloy brass, as well as bronze. Apart from artistic differences with Kashmir, most of the statues here are not very heavy casting, which in fact reflects the improvement of the casting process, because the local artisans mastered the proportion of lead added to the copper, this allows the melt to flow easily without creating bubbles, but the cast image after years of natural oxidation, the surface will have a light dark brown layer of adhesion.

6.Central Tibet

The central part of Tibet covers Lhasa and the Shigatse, the historical regions of Wei and Tibet, which lie in the central stronghold of Tibet and have historically been part of the government and other base and superstructure. For nearly 100 years after the assassination of the last Zapplandama in 842, Buddhism in central Tibet languished until the late Hongzhi period. We can accurately define the 11th-12th century belongs to the central region of the statue is very rare, domestic and foreign scholars for this time the Tibetan statue artistic style of understanding is also different, it is worth more in-depth discussion and research. After the 13th century, however, the line of the sculpture art is clear, whether it is Sajiamusitang copper alloy style or Dansati Gilt Red Copper style is very characteristic. After the 14th century, the statues in Tibet were gradually replaced by the Gilt style of Red Copper, and the alloy bronze statues gradually disappeared from the stage of history. The alloy copper in this period is mainly zinc-bearing brass, and the gilt copper is not high purity Nepali copper either, containing a small amount of zinc, lead, iron and other elements. Until the 17th century or so, when the Gelug sect took over the Tibetan region as a theocracy, the lhasa-centered snow-white sculpture became mainstream in Tibet. The style of Snow White Sculpture is based on the image art of early Indian PARá, at the same time, the technique of making Snow White sculpture has been improved and innovated, and the "burning ancient craft" has been developed, according to historical records, this material is made of various alloys and added with various kinds of precious stones. It is the most precious material for all kinds of statues of Tibet. In addition to the copper, the white snow also produced a lot of gilt statues, copper is basically red copper-based. Samzhubzê District's Tashilhunpo Monastery are known as the Gilt bronze of Jashly MA, which is similar to Nepali copper and may have been acquired by trade.

7. Eastern Tibet

Eastern Tibet is the historic Tibetan region of Kangba, which includes eastern Tibet and western Sichuan Province, as well as the North-Western Territory, a region with its own style of Bronze Gilding

8. The Beijing court

Tibetan Buddhism has been regarded as the state religion by the court since the Yuan Dynasty. As a political and cultural center, Beijing has gradually become the hub of Tibetan Buddhism culture in Central Plain. The court and the government set up special institutions to produce statues according to unified standards. The yuan, ming and Qing dynasties produced numerous exquisite Buddhist art statues for the use of the court and imperial temples, some of which were given to Tibetan monks. Among them, the palace statues of the yuan and Ming dynasties have the obvious inheritance relation in the technique of making and the artistic style. The copper used is gilt alloy brass. The difference is that a large part of the brass used in Yuan Dynasty is the original brass-something stone, and since the late Yuan Dynasty, with the improvement of the production level, man-made brass gradually replaced natural something stone and became the material of the royal bronze statue. Qing Dynasty Palace statues continued the Ming Dynasty statues of Alloy Copper Technology, due to increase the proportion of zinc, the Qing dynasty alloy copper more dense thick, color is also slightly lighter than the Ming Dynasty.

9. Statue of Central Plain

Buddhism was introduced into China's hinterland around BC, after which the Golden Bronze Buddha statue came into being. The material of the Buddhas of the Han Dynasty originally followed the alloy tin bronze of the Chinese ritual bronze. Later, with the appearance of the artificial alloy brass, zinc began to be systematically added to the material of the statues. It is difficult to tell bronze from brass in this mixture, where the ratio of zinc to tin is sometimes roughly the same. This alloy has higher corrosion resistance than bronze, also has greater toughness than bronze and is not easy to break, the disadvantage is easier than brass oxidation, oxidation surface color black.

An enlarged view of the alloy bronze statue shows a special copper texture

In addition to the above several styles of sculpture in several areas, the author also found some very special copper, this copper seems to contain a dense crystal and make the surface show regular texture, some of this texture like cloth, some are like snowflakes, others are like ripples in the water that appear on the Damascus steel. This type of copper is either the result of the crystalline appearance of the original deposit or the process of casting and grinding, which is worthy of further scientific analysis. 

Source: Shangcheng Collection

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