Eastern Roman Gilded Silver Plate

The ancient Roman gilded silver plate was discovered on July 19,1988 in Beitan Township, Jingyuan County, Baiyin City, Gansu Province. The discoverer was the local farmer Xu Lihui. After the silver plate was unearthed, it attracted widespread attention in the literary and cultural circles, and many scholars at home and abroad conducted research on it. Judging from the craftsmanship and appearance, the silver plate was made by casting, hammering, and other techniques. It was silver and gilded, with a maximum diameter of 31 cm, a height of 4.9 cm, and a weight of 3190 grams. The plate was round, with curled lips, thick walls, and circular feet. It was originally gilded but most of it had fallen off. The plate was decorated with embossed patterns, which were divided into three circles: the outer circle was 16 groups of grape rolls and grass patterns that were connected to each other and evenly arranged, with birds and other animals living in them. The middle circle was ring-shaped and small, with 12 human heads inside, decorated with birds and other animals. The center part was a slightly raised circular area with a diameter of about 9.5 centimeters. It was molded into a high embossed with a silver sheet and then inlaid in the center of the plate. The pattern was of a young man sitting on the back of a lion-leopard beast. He had curly hair and no beard. His body was fit and healthy, and his upper part was bare. His abdomen was wrapped in a towel. The corners of the towel were wrapped around his elbows and hung by his side. His right hand held a pair of sticks on his shoulder. The ends of the sticks were decorated with pine cones. His posture was elegant and his expression was relaxed. The beast he was sitting on raised its head and opened its mouth. It looked fierce and ferocious. The mane under its neck was thick like a lion. Its body was covered in round spots and looked like a leopard. There were inscriptions of western system characters on the bottom of its feet. Chinese and foreign scholars mostly determined that the young man with the heart holding the staff and leaning on the beast was Dionysus in Greek mythology. Some people thought that the 12 heads in the middle circle were the 12 gods of Mount Olympus in Greek mythology, including the sun god and the moon god. Others thought that they were the descendants of Dionysus. Although there were differences in the age, origin, and interpretation of the inscriptions, scholars unanimously agreed that this silver plate was a physical witness to the ancient cultural exchange between China and the West. It was likely to have been cast in the area under the jurisdiction of ancient Rome from the 2nd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D., and was introduced along the Silk Road in the 4th and 5th centuries and "wandered" in Gansu, China. The site where it was unearthed was Jingyuan County, an important node of the Silk Road. It was an ancient ferry crossing of the Yellow River connecting Hexi and Hedong regions. In this area, there were frequent exchanges between Chinese and foreign businessmen and active cultural exchanges. The discovery of the silver plate was of great significance to the study of the history of the Silk Road in China. It was an important witness to the spread of the culture of the Eastern Roman period in East Asia. As a typical artifact reflecting the prosperity of the Silk Road, it had been exhibited in Europe, America, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan many times. It was loved and highly praised by visitors from all over the world. The novel "Gilded Palm" is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!

The Eastern Roman gilded silver plate was unearthed in Beitan, Jingyuan County, Gansu Province. It is now stored in the Gansu Provincial Museum. It is a cultural relic that witnesses the exchange and integration of the East and the West. It was made with a unique craftsmanship. It was made of pure gold and was repeatedly tempered and welding. The surface was covered with thin gold foil. One side of the plate was engraved with exquisite patterns, symbolizing power, wealth, and mysterious power. This silver plate might have been a gift from the Byzantine Emperor to the imperial family of the Tang Dynasty in China around the sixth century. It was an important record of the large-scale cultural exchange between the East and the West. The silver plate was 31 centimeters in diameter, 4.9 centimeters in height, and weighed 3190 grams. Although most of the gold on the surface had fallen off due to the erosion of time and sand, one could still imagine the exquisiteness of the embossed patterns. The silver plate was decorated with embossed patterns and arranged in three circles. The outer circle was a grape scroll pattern with small animals such as lizards, bees, insects, etc. The middle circle was the head of the twelve gods of Olympus in ancient Greece, and there was an animal on the left side of each head. The high embossed in the center of the plate was a young male Dionysus leaning on a leopard and holding a scepter. He symbolized harvest and plants in ancient Greek mythology, especially known as the God of Wine. In the summer of 1988, a farmer in Beitan Township of Jingyuan County found this silver plate when he was digging the foundation of a house. There was a dot inscription at the bottom of the circle. Scholars had different opinions on the interpretation of the inscription, but they all believed that the silver plate was dated to the Eastern Roman period (4th-5th century AD, about the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties in China). At that time, the Eastern Roman Empire had sent envoys to visit Northern Wei three times, and the two countries had maintained friendly relations in the early stages. This silver plate not only had extremely high artistic value and historical significance, but it was also an important witness to the cultural exchange between Chinese civilization and the world. By studying the patterns on the silver plate, one could understand the living customs and social style of ancient Rome. The novel "Gilded Palm" is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!

Jingyuan was located at an important node of the Silk Road. It was the ancient ferry of the Yellow River that connected the Hexi and Hedong regions. There were frequent exchanges between Chinese and foreign businessmen in this area, and cultural exchanges were active. The Eastern Roman Empire had maintained friendly relations with China in the early days. According to the Book of Wei, it had sent envoys to visit the Northern Wei three times. Under such a historical background, the Eastern Roman Gilded Silver Plate appeared in China. The silver plate was an important witness to the spread of the Eastern Roman culture in East Asia and was of great significance to the study of the history of the Silk Road in China. The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!

From the information available, some of the gilded silver plates unearthed in China might be mainly used as ritual vessels in ceremonial or sacrificial activities. In ancient times, such ritual vessels were a symbol of social status and identity. Only certain people, usually royal nobles or upper-class people, were qualified to use them. There was no information about the special effects of the Gilded Silver Plate. The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!

The Pinyin of the gilded silver plate was: The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!

According to the information provided, no special pictures of the gilded silver plate unearthed in China could be found. As for the price of the Gilded Silver Plate, the price of different Gilded Silver Plates varied greatly. For example, in the 2002 British Spring Art Auction, a gilded silver plate with the pattern of an Eastern Roman god was sold for 990,000 pounds, and a silver plate with the pattern of flowers and birds was sold for 4,500 yuan. However, this was only the price of antiques and could not represent the price of all gilded silver plates. The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!

Gold gilding was a process of combining gold and mercury into gold amalgam, coating it on the surface of a bronze ware, and then heating it to evaporate the mercury, so that the gold would adhere to the surface of the ware without falling off. There were bronze ornaments with animal patterns unearthed from tombs. These bronze ornaments were mostly placed on both sides of the tomb owner's chest and abdomen as a kind of accessory. The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!

The gold-plated silver plate with a three-legged lion pattern was a cultural relic of the Tang Dynasty. It was 6.7 centimeters high and 40 centimeters in diameter. It was unearthed in Bafuzhuang, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province in 1956 and is now stored in the National Museum of China. The silver plate was shaped like a sunflower petal, with three casted curly leaves on the bottom. The plate was decorated with the pattern of a lion roaring back. The image of a lion was realistic, full of muscles, powerful and powerful, and its posture was mighty and majestic, which perfectly displayed the insufferably arrogant style of the king of beasts. The plate had a wide edge, and there were no auxiliary patterns around it. The plate was decorated with peony patterns. These were the characteristics of the golden flower silver plate in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty literature, the golden flower silver plate referred to a silver plate decorated with gilded patterns. The golden hammer with a very high quality was hammered into thin slices, cut into fine threads, and placed into a clean pot to heat up until it was red. Mercury, which was seven times the weight of the gold wire, was poured into the pot and stirred into mud. After cooling down, he added sulfuric acid into the gold mud, cut out the gold mud, and repeatedly applied it on the carved patterns. After applying it evenly, he washed off the sulfuric acid with warm water and baked it. He used crystal or agate to constantly grind the gilded parts to evaporate the mercury. Finally, he polished the surface of the silver plate. There were no lions in China. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Silk Road was peaceful, and merchants from the Western Regions came and went. The Western Regions countries paid more lions to the royal family of the Tang Dynasty. The craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty integrated the foreign patterns (such as lion patterns) with the traditional patterns (such as peony patterns) to create artifacts with their own national characteristics. This was reflected on the gold-plated silver plate with the three-legged lion pattern in Kuikou. The novel "Gilded Palm" is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!

Pure silver gilding was a process of gilding the surface of silver products. Gilding was an ancient metal processing technique. It was to combine gold and mercury into gold amalgam, apply it on the surface of an object (silver in this case), and then heat it to evaporate the mercury. The gold would adhere to the surface of the object and not fall off. This kind of craft had a long history in China, and there were many exquisite works preserved in the world. For example, the Ashoka Pagoda, which was unearthed in the underground palace of Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou, was made of pure silver hammer-shaped and sewn together. It was an antique from the Wuyue period of the Five Dynasties (907-978). In modern times, there were many jewelry made with pure silver gilding, such as natural freshwater pearl bracelets with pure silver gilding ancient accessories. The production of silver and bronze wares and gilding techniques in Huangzhong County, Qinghai Province, were listed as the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage. Among them was the silver-gilding technique, which was hand-made with fine craftsmanship and rich patterns. The novel "Gilded Palm" is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!

The reference mentioned a variety of silver-gilded products, including silver-gilded vases. For example, the silver gilded silk baked blue vase decoration, 28cm high, 12cm wide and 504g heavy; there was also the Tang Dynasty pure silver gilded chisel beautiful woman flower vase, the specifications were 17cm high, 15cm wide and 184.9 g heavy. It was cast in fine copper, the shape was classic and simple, and the gilded chisel carved the beautiful woman flower vase. The pattern was exquisite, the technique was exquisite, and the skin was old and spicy. These silver-gilded vases were different in terms of craftsmanship, size, weight, and decorative patterns, reflecting the craftsmanship of different periods and regions. The novel " Gilded Palm " is equally exciting. Everyone is welcome to click and read it!