摘要
Three copper wares of Han Dynasty, decorated with golden and silvery pattems in Chongqing Municipal, Three Gorges Region, were analyzed by SEM （scanning electron microscope） and EDAX （energy dispersive X-ray analysis）. The results reveal that mercury was used to melt gold or silver to form amalgam as late as Chinese Han Dynasty. Ancient craftsmen sheared gold foils to attain tiny gold trips that make them easy to melt into liquid mercury. After gilded, artefacts were well polished to show the brilliance of gold. As an important discovery, the silver amalgam was also detected on one copper ware. It is worth noting that silver was mixed with gold in liquid mercury to form silver amalgam which is apt to form amalgam and make silver amalgam layer stick to bronze surface tightly. This successful technology is derived from a prolonged accumulation of Chinese craftsmen on mining and metallurgical handicraft,
