汉代平板陶范竖式浇铸法铸钱工艺的研究

The clay-mold bunch-casting technique for casting of Han Dynasty coins

平板范竖式浇铸工艺是我国早期铸钱的基本形式,根据材质的不同,可将平板范分为石范、陶范和金属范。由于与平板陶范竖式浇铸法铸钱相关遗物出土数量少,该方法不是汉代铸钱工艺中的主要方法,故目前还未对其开展系统的研究。本工作对平板陶范竖式浇铸法铸钱相关遗物进行了归类分析,表明该工艺不仅在西汉早期一直在使用着,到东汉时期,仍然被用于铸钱。通过模拟实验对汉代的平板陶范竖式浇铸法铸钱工艺进行了研究,其工艺过程为:铸造金属制范模,在模上翻制陶范,陶范经阴干焙烧后铸造钱币。金属制范模的制作,提高了陶范制作的效率,同时也保证了钱币在型腔尺寸和文字上的一致性。

The bunch- casting technique,which utilized two molds and the cavities laid out symmetrically side by side on both sides of the sprue, was the first one to be used for casting bronze coins in China. The molding material could be stone, clay or metal. But most molds were metal or stone. Because only a few clay - molds for casting coins have been found in China,it has not been a locus of research until now. The surviving Han Dynasty relics related to clay mold bunch - casting are classified and analyzed in this paper. This technique was used not only in the early Han Dynasty,but also to cast bronze coins up to the time of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Base on experimental castings made in laboratory, the Han Dynasty clay -mold bunch -casting process can be described as follows. First, a model was made. This could be a metal model cast in a two - part clay mold. Second, clay molds were made from the model. Third, after baking the molds, the molten bronze was poured into the mold＇s cavity to form bronze coins. Clay molds could be made with great efficiency by using a metal model. A metal model also could guarantee metal coins with consistent size and characters.