A marchand-mercier is a French term for a type of entrepreneur working outside the guild system of craftsmen but carefully constrained by the regulations of a corporation under rules codified in 1613.[2] The reduplicative term literally means a merchant of merchandise, but in the 18th century took the connotation of a merchant of objets d’art.…
DetailsThe Golden Age of Chinese History The Tang Era of Chinese history is heralded as a golden age. It witnessed the prosperity of culture, economy, diplomacy and politics under a unified government. Stability within China led to an expansion of foreigners entering and living within the country, bringing with them their own cultural and social…
DetailsA marchand-mercier is a French term for a type of entrepreneur working outside the guild system of craftsmen but carefully constrained by the regulations of acorporation under rules codified in 1613.[2] The reduplicative term literally means a merchant of merchandise, but in the 18th century took the connotation of a merchant ofobjets d’art. Earliest references…
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INLAID BRONZE BIANHU, LATE EASTERN ZHOU DYNASTY When this piece first came to us it was impossible to tell that it had such elaborate, decorative inlays and was so fine-looking example of its ilk. It was composed of a copper alloy, and had filthy deposits of chlorides all over it. The inlaid designs that we suspected…
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Glass is usually the most stable of archaeological materials, but glass artifacts, and 17th-century glass in particular, can undergo complex disintegration. Ideally, glass should consist of 70-74 percent silica, 16-22 percent alkali or soda ash (sodium carbonate) or potash (potassium carbonate, usually derived from wood ash), and 5-10 percent flux (lime [calcium oxide]). Soda-lime glass…
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