Starting My Treasure Hunting In England

Finding the box full of carved gem models was just the beginning. After putting the box away, Liang En began to rummage through other boxes and found many valuable things.

As he and Joan rummaged, precious metal tableware and tea sets inlaid with jewelry, various statues and jewelry from ancient Rome, ancient Greece, and ancient Egypt gradually appeared in front of them.

There is no doubt that these items which are very valuable today were also very valuable in Queen Mary's time, so these items are packed in exquisite wood, silver-plated bronze and even chests made of silver.

Obviously, these things have been classified relatively accurately in the Palace of Versailles before, allowing people to distinguish the value of the things contained in these large and small boxes through the production process and materials.

For example, a silver box inlaid with various colored crystals contains two palm-sized statues. But very exquisite bronze statues, they are the ancient Roman goddess of luck Fortuna and the goddess of misfortune Nemosis.

This kind of statue was very popular in ancient Rome. For example, the gladiators at that time often worshiped these two gods in order to come back alive from the arena.

But just like most objects, there may be many things of the same type, but there are few exquisite ones, and the pair of statues collected by Mary are the top ones.

"Have you noticed that except for a few gold or silver coins from the Middle East, ancient Rome or ancient Greece that were found in a box before, we didn't find any currency. This is somewhat different from the imaginary treasure."

After cleaning up another box, Joan of Arc said to Liang En, because in her eyes, an important treasure must be accompanied by a large amount of currency made of precious metals.

"Of course there is a difference. This is the transfer of a limited number of treasures in an emergency. Compared with precious metal currencies, this batch of things is obviously more valuable at the same volume and weight." Liang En said, spreading his hands. .

"Okay, what you said makes sense - hey, what is this?" After listening to what Liang En said, Joan opened the heaviest and largest box she had just found, but this time it appeared in front of her. The things in the box are a little different from those in the previous boxes.

The box was divided into many small compartments by some thin wooden boards covered with metal, and each compartment contained a glass bottle containing powders of various colors.

"Isn't there a label here?" Liang En took out a glass tube and looked at the French label on it. "The label says ultramarine blue. I think it might be some dye."

Sure enough, with their further inspection, Liang and En discovered that the dozens of bottles in the box were all filled with dye.

Judging from Liang En's artistic level, which has been enhanced by various cards, these dyes are absolutely exquisite in the past and present, and there are even some varieties that are completely lost today.

"What is this Scherer green?" Just as Liang En was looking at these bottles and thinking, Joan picked up a bottle filled with green dye and asked. "Is it named after a person?"

"Yes, this was 1775. Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele invented a deadly bright green color made from the toxic chemical arsenite, which was very popular in Mary's time" Liang En nodded. .

"This dye, known as Scheele's Green, was so popular that it replaced earlier mineral and vegetable dyes within a decade of its invention. The only problem was that it was toxic."

"Some 19th-century magazines reported children falling ill in bright green rooms, and women wearing green clothes becoming ill from inhaling toxic vapors. Even Napoleon's death may have been related to wallpaper stained with this dye."

"Uh, okay." Joan of Arc quickly put the bottle in her hand back into place, and then took out a bottle containing yellow powder, "This thing is not that dangerous."

"This is Indian yellow, which is very suitable for painting the magnificent hazy, sunlit sea level. Turner, the master of landscape painting at the end of the 17th century, loved to use this Indian yellow. However, this pigment has also been lost."

"Why is this, like the Scheler Green just now, discarded because it is poisonous?" Joan of Arc put the glass bottle close to her eyes, then looked at the yellow lumps inside and said.

"No, that's not the case." Liang En showed a narrow smile, "This dye produced in India is produced from the urine of cows fed with mango tree leaves, but it will seriously harm the cows."

"You know Indians have a great religious reverence for cows, so in their protest, in 1908 India declared that the product was banned for humanitarian reasons."

"This is simply -" Joan of Arc suddenly felt that she didn't know what to say. She really didn't expect that there was such a big contrast between those noble works of art and dyes.

"This is also the only way for human development." Liang En said, taking out a small bottle containing brown pieces, "For example, the same is true for this mummy brown."

"This kind of brown combines the slightly green brown of raw amber and the ruddy color of deep amber, and is very easy to stir. It was recognized as the best paint for depicting skin at the time, such as the oil painting "Liberty Leading the People" That’s what I used.”

"Its name explains its origin: it was ground up from Egyptian mummies. Although it was considered disgusting by most people even at the time, it was continued to be produced and used until the 1960s when production was discontinued due to a shortage of mummies."

"Aren't there any dyes that sound better?" After hearing these disgusting dyes, Joan of Arc asked, "Are the origins of all dyes that bad?"

"That's not the case." Liang En pointed to some bottles in the box, "For example, this one contains Tyrion Purple, which is a pigment made from shiny purple mucus secreted by the glands of sea snails. At that time Considered a symbol of dignity.”

"It is said that 12,000 snails can be used to make 2 ounces of pigment, and the production process is extremely fishy, ​​making it one of the most expensive pigments in ancient society. Even the word Phoenicia comes from this dye."

"Another example is this ultramarine, which is made from lapis lazuli from Afghanistan. Today it costs US$30,000 per kilogram. In ancient times, the price would have been multiplied by at least five."

“This bright and striking blue was so prized during the Renaissance that it was used only to paint the robes of the Virgin, and even top artists like Michelangelo made special notes of acquiring ultramarine and thanked their employers for their generosity. "

"Of course, with the passage of time, ultramarine, which could only be transported westward to Europe through the Silk Road, has now been transported southward to the Indian Ocean, and then shipped to Europe by sea. The cost has naturally been reduced a lot."

“But even so, this dye is very expensive, and generally only those with money can afford it. For example, the blue color on the famous girl with pearl earrings is made of this dye, so it can cost hundreds of dollars. It never fades over the years.”

Liang En introduced the dyes in front of him one by one. It was obvious that although these things looked inconspicuous, they were of great value both in terms of research and economy.