Appreciation and maintenance of seal stones

2019-12-16? Yikeju 367? Reprinted from Longguan Tianxia 786

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Seal Stone The "six virtues", "three bases" and "three nobles"

The "six virtues" in seal stone are "fine, knotty, warm, moist, condensed and greasy", which is the material of seal stone. standards.

"Fine" refers to the fine particles of the seal stone, the internal structure is single, and there are no or few impurities.

"Knot" means that the solid pressure crystallization of the stone is good, the specific gravity is relatively large, it feels heavy when you hold it, and it is not easy to break.

"Warm" refers to the hand temperature of fingerprint stone, which is cooler than ordinary stone.

"Moist" refers to the wetness of fingerprint stone. It feels smooth and has a watery feel. The surface reflects the luster without floating and converges inward.

"Condensation", fingerprint stone has high transparency and good freezing degree, just like liquid condensation.

"Greasy" means that the surface of the seal stone has an oily texture, and it comes out of the stone.

The "Three Means" in seal stones are "thick, loose, and brittle", which are the standards for inferior materials of seal stones.

"Coarse": The particles composed of fingerprint stones are rough and foreign matter is mixed in the texture. The seal stone is matte and looks like an earth-like aggregate. It feels astringent and not greasy at all.

"Pine": The structure of fingerprint stone is loose and not dense. It hurts at the slightest touch, is as soft as dry hard soil, always looks like it is short of oil, and is difficult to carve, which is a reflection of the poor degree of alteration and pressure consolidation.

"Brittle": it peels off or collapses when carved, or is soft or hard, cannot be penetrated by a knife during seal carving, or the stone is hard and slippery, making it difficult to express the effect of knife marks.

The "three noble qualities" of a seal stone are "square, tall and large", which are the standards for a good shape of a seal stone. Cheap seal stones can be cut manually, but high-end stones are priceless. Cutting will cause huge economic losses, and its shape is very important.

"Square", rectangular or cube is the most suitable printing material, followed by flat material, strip material next, and conforming shape last.

"High" means the seal must be held by hand, and high-end stones generally have seal buttons. If it is too low, there will be limitations.

"Big", the ratio between the price of high-end stone and its volume and weight is a geometric progression. The larger the printing material, the rarer it is and the higher the price.

Identification of Shoushan Stone

"Stone Emperor" Tianhuang has always been counterfeited in an endless stream, which can be mainly classified into the following three categories: First, using other stones from puddles and pits in Shoushan Stone to impersonate Dozens of stones, such as Kengtou Stone, Limulus Jitian, Lumuge, Qixia Huangshi, Huangducheng, etc., are all used to impersonate Tianhuang. The second is to soak the white Shoushan frozen stone in Garcinia water for more than ten days and dye it yellow. The color is dark and has no greasy texture. The third is to use yellow stone powder and resin as raw materials for chemical synthesis. If you observe it with a magnifying glass, you can see that it has a sticky resin feel, and it is dull, opaque, and has no carrot lines.

White hibiscus is one of the "Three Treasures of Seal Stones". Counterfeiters usually use white mountain stone and white Balin stone to pass it off, and some use old pink stone seals as the former. The former can be seen from the fineness and density of the stone. To judge the degree, the latter only needs to scrape the edges of the stone with your fingernails. If the stone powder falls off, it is a fake.

Forgery of mugwort green is usually counterfeited by Bahrain green stone, Liaodong green stone, Yueyi green, Guangdong green, and Andylenes. As long as you are familiar with the characteristics of these counterfeit stones, it is not difficult to identify.

Identification of chicken blood stone

Among the chicken blood stones, bright red is the top grade, bright red is the second best, and dark red is the worst. Those with more than 30% blood volume are considered high-end products, those with more than 50% blood volume are considered treasures, and those with more than 70% blood volume are considered top-quality products. However, if the blood color is not beautiful or the quality is poor, the quality will still drop significantly. Seal stones are divided into six types according to the blood-containing surface, from six-faced blood to one-faced blood. Those with six-faced blood are considered top grade, those with four or five faces covered with blood are considered genuine, those with three-faced or two-faced blood are considered middle-grade, and those with one-faced blood are considered to be medium-grade. For the last time. Thick blood is more valuable, while loose blood is like chicken blood diluted with water, which affects the grade.

The quality of the stone is fine, pure, transparent, shiny, relatively hard, and has few impurities and cracks.

The method of counterfeiting chicken bloodstone is to fry it in hot oil containing pigment to make the blood color penetrate or reveal. In modern times, there are five methods: one is the painting method, which uses mercury sulfide or real chicken blood powder. The polished stone is then covered with resin and polished with wax. During identification, you can test its temperature with your face or hands. Real stone will feel cold while fake stone will feel warm. The second is the splicing method, where the real bloodstone is cut into thin slices and attached to the bloodless stone. The third is the synthesis method, which uses stone powder and blood powder to compress and synthesize. The fourth is the inlay method, in which the six-sided soapstone slices are inlaid in an ordinary core, or the undesirable parts of the soapstone are partially dug and inlaid. The fifth is laser fraud, because the laser blood pattern is too ideal, and its material has a significant temperature difference with natural stone, so it is easier to identify.

Fake chicken blood usually has no silver spots, uneven color, different thickness of lines, unnatural patterns, and the arrangement does not conform to the rules of chicken blood. It is not difficult to distinguish it with the naked eye.

The weight of real bloodstone is more stable, while the weight of fake bloodstone is lighter. Use emery cloth to grind the stone carefully, and the real chicken blood stone will be in the form of stone powder with cinnabar red, but the fossil stone will not; carve it with a knife, and the fake chicken blood stone will turn into plastic curled stone chips after being cut with a knife, and you can feel it; burn it with fire, and the fake chicken blood stone will appear. The chicken bloodstone will have the smell of burnt glue, but the real chicken blood stone will not; it is heavy when measured by hand, and the fake chicken blood stone will feel lighter due to its different texture; and the fake chicken blood stone will not have the cold feeling of stone when you stick it to the flesh to test the feeling of the stone.

Maintenance of Shoushan Seal

Shoushan Seal is most avoidable in dry and high temperatures. It should avoid sunlight exposure and high temperature environment. It is suitable to be stored in a cool, dry and ventilated environment. For temporarily collected works, it is best to place them in a brocade box and apply a thin layer of white tea oil on the stone surface to absorb the oil and prevent it from drying to nourish its nature. If you do this repeatedly, the stone will become warmer and clearer. It is best to rub and look at Shoushan seals (except hibiscus seals) that are not left aside for collection. The oil stains will adhere to and penetrate into the stone under the action of human body temperature. Over time, the stone will become more spiritual and full of ancient charm.

Generally speaking, except for hibiscus stone, Shoushan seals should be maintained with oil, but there are differences. Tiankeng stones are stable, warm and lovely, and do not require excessive oiling, as long as they are rubbed and played with from time to time. The ice core of puddle stone is pure and fine. After being finely polished, it will be crystal clear and clear in the hand, and it does not need to be oiled. The alpine stone in the pit stone is fine and clear in quality, rich in color, and bright and colorful. However, the texture is loose, the surface can easily become dull, or even cracked, and the color can become dark and dull. If it is often used on it, If you maintain it with oil, you will be radiant and radiant. Before performing oil curing, you should first use a soft flannel cloth or soft brush to gently remove the dust on the surface of the stone print. Do not use hard objects to scrape it off, otherwise it will easily damage the stone surface. Then use a clean brush or absorbent cotton dipped in white tea oil. Apply evenly to all parts of the stone seal to make the carving more smooth. It is ideal to use white tea oil when raising oil. Peanut oil, salad oil, and sesame oil will all make the stone yellow and should not be used. Animal oils and chemically synthesized oils are also not suitable. Not only will they not have the effect of nourishing stones, long-term use may seriously damage the stone, so be careful.

Maintenance of chicken blood prints

Chicken blood prints should be avoided under sunlight or lamps for long periods of time to prevent the chicken blood from oxidizing and darkening the red part, thereby reducing its value. Normally, it is advisable to rub or soak in a good moisturizing oil, such as beautiful jade, to isolate the stone from the air, reduce the possibility of cracks in the stone due to temperature changes, and increase the moistness of the stone. In addition, just avoid collisions and falls.

The chicken blood seal should be played and rubbed appropriately to make it appear "old light", also known as "baoguang", and become "old stone" quality which is more pleasant. However, seal stones or carvings that are engraved with thin meaning should be avoided, so as not to damage the carving and make it beyond recognition.

Maintenance of Qingtian Seal

Qingtian stone is brittle, and the skin will naturally crack if the temperature difference changes slightly. It needs to be equipped with a brocade box and brocade set, and a layer of Sichuan wax should be applied to its surface. Before applying, soak the seal stone in hot water of 70 to 80 degrees. After 3 to 5 minutes, take it out and wipe it dry. Apply Sichuan wax on it. The Sichuan wax melts on the surface of the seal stone when heated, and then rub it gently with a dry towel. , the more you polish it, the brighter it becomes.

Do not apply oil like you do to maintain Shoushan stone. The properties of the stone are different and the maintenance methods are also different.

Maintenance of Bahrain Seal

Bahrain Stone has a short mining history, but many Bahrain Stones in collections and inventories have become dry and cracked due to poor maintenance, and the Bahrain Bloodstone has "bleeded". The degree is more serious than that of Changhua Bloodstone. Comprehensive maintenance is required for Balin stone. Oil maintenance of Shoushan stone and wax maintenance of Qingtian stone can be used. For the maintenance of Bahrain chicken blood stone, refer to Changhua chicken blood stone. If it has faded, you can apply wax or scrape off the surface layer.

Some personal experiences on the maintenance of seal stones

Generally speaking, except for a few special stone types, such as Shoushan stone, old yellow and white hibiscus, Shoushan stone porcelain white, and Bahrain stone porcelain white Etc. General seal stones require proper maintenance. In short, maintenance is better than no maintenance. No matter how much you collect, you have to spend some energy on maintenance. The kind of thing you buy and just throw away without caring about it. It is a wasteful act. There are quite a lot of instructions on the maintenance of seal stones on the Internet, and some are even contradictory, making people confused. Here are some of my own personal experiences over the years:

1. Why do seal stones crack? Because ⑴, stones, like cultural relics unearthed underground, have been isolated from the outside environment deep in the ground for a long time. After the mine is mined, the environment changes and the water inside the stone is lost, causing cracks. ⑵. Seal stones are generally composed of kaolinite, pyrophyllite, and other types of stones. They have low hardness, with Mohs hardness around 2.5. They may also crack during mining, transportation, and collection.

2. The so-called southern orange and northern orange, some stones are stable in humid weather in the south, but crack in dry places in the north. I had this experience with an old hibiscus stone: It was kept on my bookshelf for several years without any maintenance. It was sold to a friend in the north two years ago. It had a few cracks as soon as it passed. I sent it back immediately and I used it a little. I applied a thin layer of oil on it and put it on the bookshelf. It is still as shiny and shiny as ever without any problems.

3. Regarding the issue of oil for seal stone maintenance, it is more suitable to use good oil for high-grade stones. For good materials, you can generally use baby oil, olive oil, and white tea oil (white tea oil is not ordinary) Camellia oil needs to be exposed to the sun for several months before it turns yellow and turns white before use) maintenance. But for ordinary stones, it is not cost-effective to use expensive oil. You can buy liquid paraffin (available in chemical supply stores, and the purer ones in medical supply stores), or Shanghai pure white oil (hair oil used by the elderly in the past, usually in cosmetics) You can buy it at wholesale stores), and the cost is low. Of course, high-quality stones do not require oiling and maintenance. Just apply a thin layer of oil occasionally and wipe them with a soft cloth. As the saying goes, "maintenance is better than no maintenance at all." In addition, the natural oils on the body of people who often play with stones are also the best substances for maintaining stones. Frequent playing with stones can also easily cause the stones to become patinated, which is full of ancient charm.

4. What should I do if there are too many stones and it is troublesome to maintain them one by one? I usually put the stones in a sealed plastic box, pour a layer of oil at the bottom of the box, and then use a watering can to spray the oil evenly on the stone surface, seal it and put it in a cool place indoors. This way it is clean and tidy and easy to maintain, and it lasts for half a year. It is enough to re-spray some oil once a year for inspection. There is no need to soak all the stones in oil. You can also put high-quality, individually boxed stones in a sealed bag, pour some oil into them, and everything will be fine. The stones on the display shelf can only be placed with a small cup of oil or water on the side to keep them moist through natural evaporation, but it is still necessary to be diligent and inspect and maintain them every once in a while.

5. Friends who like to polish stones by themselves should pay special attention. After polishing the stone with water sand, it is best to dry the water and apply oil immediately for maintenance. Even if it is too late to apply oil, you must temporarily soak it in water. Never If you leave it to dry naturally in the air, the result will be almost as many cracks as a stone.

6. For those who are new to seal stones, they must be mentally prepared to maintain the stones. Stones bought online need to be packaged and mailed. Due to the poor logistics environment, some stone types are very durable. It eats oil, so when I open it when it arrives, I often think it is too different from the picture. In fact, as long as I put some oil on it and maintain it, it will return to its original state immediately.