Page 145 - China's Renaissance in Bronze, The Robert H.CIague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes 1100-1900

Of raised copper, this small box was entirely cold worked, from its
construction to its embellishment. Used for centering, the pinprick-like
depression in the center of the floor and its mate in the center of the base
indicate that the box was shaped by turning on a lathe. A similar pinprick
depression in the center of its interior reveals that the cover was lathe
turned also, the matching depression on the cover's top having disap-
peared in the creation of the decorative cartouche. A narrow strip cut
from a sheet of copper, the footring was soldered into place; a vertical line
marks the join of its ends to create a circle. Chatter marks in the vertical
walls indicate that the cartouche was carved into the cover. Perhaps
struck with a die, the decorative elements were soldered into place within
the cartouche, after which the ground was ring punched. Gilding in the
cartouche and on the interiors of box and cover was doubtless achieved
through the application of an amalgam of powdered gold and mercury; as
the box was gently heated, the mercury evaporated, bonding a thin but
evenly distributed layer of gold to the copper. The reddish tone of the cop-
per is visible in those areas where the gilding has worn thin, indicating
that the surface under the gilding was not darkened. It is possible that the
gunmetal gray color was induced on the exteriors of both box and cover
after the pieces were shaped but before they were decorated; as the
cartouche was excavated into the cover, reddish-orange copper was newly
exposed, ready to receive applique decorative elements, ring-punch tex-
turing, and mercury gilding.

T I I E R O B E R T II. C L A G U E C O L L E C T I O N 1 4 1