Gold and Silver Mistakes: The Most Beautiful Mistakes Across Thousands of Years

Gold and silver inlay, also known as inlay of gold and silver, is one of the ancient Chinese metalwork decoration techniques. The gold and silver inlay technique was first seen in bronze ware during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and was mainly used as decorative patterns on bronze vessels, chariots, and weapons, and other practical objects. The different lusters of gold, silver, and bronze on the surface of objects decorated with the gold and silver inlay technique complement each other, and the patterns and inscriptions appear particularly gorgeous and elegant, fully reflecting the perfect combination of the ancients' exquisite skills and aesthetic taste.

In 2014, gold and silver inlay was included in the traditional art category of the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

Inlaid gold and jade: bringing carved objects to life

As early as the Neolithic Age, our ancestors were able to use inlay technology to beautify objects. In 1983, a goddess head was unearthed from the Neolithic temple site of Niuliang River in Lingyuan, western Liaoning. The two eyeballs of the goddess head were made of jasper, which made the goddess quite charming. Probably to prevent the jade eyes from falling off, a long handle was left behind the jade eyes, and the handle was deeply embedded in the head. Judging from the current unearthed cultural relics, this may be the earliest evidence of inlay technology in China.

After the Xia Dynasty, the inlaid gold and jade inlaid gold crafts gradually developed. Archaeologists unearthed a 3,700-year-old copper plaque with tiger patterns and inlaid turquoise in an ancient tomb in Erlitou, Yanshi, Henan. When the plaque was unearthed, it was on the chest of the tomb owner and was a talisman tied to the chest. The plaque is supported by a bronze plate in the shape of a shoe sole, on which more than 300 pieces of turquoise are inlaid to form a crawling tiger. The tiger's back is inlaid with a straight spine from top to bottom, adding a masculine aura to the soft pattern, and the pair of tiger eyes made of beautiful jade further highlight the tiger's divine power.

Judging from the sacrificial vessels such as "zun" and "ding" unearthed from the Shang Dynasty, most of them are decorated with taotie (animal face), dragon, phoenix, cloud, thunder, nipple and other patterns inlaid with gold inlay technique, with vivid shapes and exquisite craftsmanship. For example, the tiger-shaped ornament inlaid with turquoise unearthed from Fu Hao's tomb in Yinxu has a piercing tiger eye made of inlaid gold foil.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, people created techniques such as gilding and engraving on the surface of bronze objects by applying gold mud and engraving patterns. In 1951, a gilt silver belt hook inlaid with jade and glazed glass from the Warring States Period was unearthed in Tomb No. 1 in Guwei Village, Huixian County, Henan Province. It is 18.4 cm long and 4.9 cm wide. It is made of silver and gilded all over. The hook body is cast with relief animal heads and long-tailed birds. The animal heads are arranged at the front and back ends of the hook, and the long-tailed bird houses are on the left and right sides of the hook, winding and winding, rich and elegant. The front of the hook body is decorated with three pieces of white jade, and each jade center is inlaid with a hemispherical dragonfly eye-shaped glazed colored bead, with extremely exquisite craftsmanship. Since then, the inlay technology has been perfected through generations.

The gold and silver inlaid Yuefu bell unearthed from the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum. (Photo provided by the author)

Gold and silver inlay: reflecting the craftsmanship of the ancients

The Han Dynasty was the most popular era for the gold and silver inlay craft in China. Xu Shen, a great scholar in the Han Dynasty, explained the word "cuo" in "Shuowen Jiezi": "cuo means gold coating, from jin, sound". It means to paint gold and silver on bronze ware. Duan Yucai, a Qing Dynasty philologist, commented: "cuo, commonly written as tu, also written as cuo, means to put gold on it". Therefore, any object with gold and silver patterns can be called gold and silver inlay.

Danglu unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Haihun of the Han Dynasty. (Photo provided by the author)

In addition to sacrificial vessels, the scope of inlay has also developed to furniture, utensils, screens, wall hangings, etc., and the inlay copper method of embedding red copper in brass and the inlay stone method of embedding turquoise in the chisel groove of copper vessels with lacquer liquid are also used. For example, the "Jingchu Sui Shi Ji" of the Southern Dynasty said: "Some gold foil is carved into people to paste on screens." The mother-of-pearl bronze mirror found in a Tang Dynasty tomb in Luoyang has a picture inlaid with mother-of-pearl on the back of the mirror. In the picture, there are two people sitting under a tree playing chess (an ancient game) and drinking, and a crane dances in front, reflecting the leisurely and enjoyable life of the upper class in the Tang Dynasty. This kind of inlay technology of utensils has played a high decorative function, making daily crafts have a vivid effect.

There are also some typical examples of mosaic crafts combined with architecture. For example, in the tomb wall of Liu Dan, the King of Yan in the Han Dynasty, which was excavated in Dabaotai, Beijing in recent years, it was found that there was a square wooden wall called "Huangchangtichou" outside the large wooden coffin. This is a decorative pattern wall representing the level of power and nobility in the decorated mausoleum and tomb chamber, and it is also the earliest giant mosaic craftsmanship among the unearthed cultural relics in China. "Huangchang" refers to the use of cypress yellow heart square wood to stack the outside of the coffin, and "tichou" refers to the square wood with one end facing inward. The mosaic technology in the Song Dynasty was more extensive and was used on carved lacquerware. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the mosaic craft was highly valued and permeated in all aspects. For example, the "Nine Dragon Wall" of the newly built Xuandu Temple in Datong, Shanxi in the Ming Dynasty and the "Nine Dragon Wall" of the Forbidden City and Beihai in the Qing Dynasty are both indispensable relief mosaic "screen walls" in the layout of ancient architectural complexes. It uses glazed materials, exquisite craftsmanship, and magnificent spirit, and is famous both at home and abroad.

Among the ancient inlay crafts, gold and silver inlay was not only produced early, but also had strict craftsmanship requirements. The ancients first had to carve the required patterns or words on the object, which was called "carving". Xunzi said: "Perseverance can carve gold and stone". The carving is very delicate, and then gold, silver, jade, beads, glass and other objects are embedded, and then the grinding stone is used to flatten and polish it to make it a whole with rich patterns, colorful and never fade. Due to the complexity of the inlay process, the embedded gold, jade and gems are priceless, so the inlaid objects are invaluable and become collections or burial objects of royal nobles.

Modern gold and silver inlay crafts. (Photo provided by the author)

Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty once wrote in a poem: "Gold and silver inlays originated from the Shang Dynasty Ding, and together they created the Three Friends Picture on the folding screen." Today, the technical content of inlay craftsmanship is not necessarily very high, but it requires beautiful shapes and delicate craftsmanship to achieve a gorgeous and exquisite effect. More than 2,000 years ago, skilled craftsmen were able to seamlessly inlay the fine gold and silver threads into various utensils, which fully reflects the wisdom and diligent craftsmanship of the ancient Chinese people. As my country's intangible cultural heritage, the gold and silver inlay craftsmanship has been continuously carried forward in the process of inheritance and has radiated new splendor in modern times.