This dodecahedral, from about a golf ball to a little larger than a baseball.

Each has 12 faces of the same size, and each face has a hole of different diameters.

Moreover, the objects themselves are hollow.

By the mid-19th century, with more discoveries, these objects were called dodecahedron by archaeologists.

Today, they are on display in dozens of museums and archaeological collections throughout Europe.

Although little is known about them, their interpretive labels are often brief.

More importantly, they have no written records.

Historians have found no written records of dodecahedron in any historical data.

This gap encourages dozens of competing, sometimes colorful theories about their purpose.

From military flag decorations to candlesticks, to props used in magic.

In an era when metal objects were expensive and difficult to manufacture, their obvious craftsmanship prompted many researchers to consider them valuable.

This view is supported by the fact that several were found to be hidden with Roman coins, but this still does not explain why they were made.

In the 19th century, some antiquarians supported the theory that dodecahedron was a weapon.

They think it might be the head of a mace (a heavy stick), or a metal bullet used to hold a sling.

But as other scholars later pointed out, even the largest dodecahedron is too light to cause too much damage.

Furthermore, Roman soldiers usually fired solid shot put with their trolls—not like intricate hollow dodecahedrons.

However, weapons are not the only useful items in war.

Physicists at the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy believe that the dodecahedron was used as a rangefinder by the Roman army.

No matter which kind of guess it is, no one can confirm it until now, and these guesses are correct.

The Roman dodecahedron is still being discovered today, and more may be discovered in the future.

But unless someone also finds a manual, all kinds of speculations will not be confirmed.

In fact, these foreign things are at most considered as curiosity, just take a look at them.

The most attractive thing to Chen Wenzhe is the bronze ware in China.

For example, the ten most expensive bronze ware he saw in China later, of course, these are all transaction records.

What does a hero do? Simple silk is sad about bronze.

Since ancient times, bronze ware has been regarded as "the important ware of the country".

Since the Song Dynasty, there has been a collection of bronze ware.

From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, due to social turmoil, many bronzes that have passed down from generation to generation were scattered overseas.

Therefore, most of the high-end bronze utensils in the world are concentrated in some countries such as Europe and the United States.

In the "Chinese Art Treasures" special session of Sotheby's New York on September 23, 2020, the highly anticipated Warring States bronze inlaid gold and silver glass nipple nail pattern square pot led the audience.

After several rounds of bidding, the lot soared to $7 million and finally sold for $8.307 million, successfully advancing to the top six global bronze auctions.

This is the chance of the last auction. So what are the ten most expensive bronze heavy objects in the world?

This time Chen Wenzhe saw it, and it can be said that every piece is not simple.

Among the 10 most expensive bronze ware in the world, the 10th is a bronze square Yi.

This is a bronze square Yi from the late Shang Dynasty, with a height of 28.5cm and a transaction price of 3.33 million US dollars.

The ninth is the bronze Tianma Mafu Geng Fang Ding, which is from the late Shang Dynasty/early Western Zhou Dynasty, with a transaction price of 2.39 million pounds.

This one was auctioned in 2015, and the pound was even better than the US dollar at that time, so it ranked ninth.

If it were put now, the price would be hard to say.

The eighth piece is bronze Xiwu, something from the late Shang Dynasty, and it was sold for RMB 25.3 million.

The seventh is the bronze beast face pattern "ear dice", which was sold for 37.95 million Hong Kong dollars in the late Shang Dynasty.

The sixth is a square pot with gold and silver inlaid glass nut nail pattern, which is the one I mentioned before.

The fifth is the bronze sheep gown, something from the late Shang Dynasty, with a transaction price of US$27.12 million.

The fourth and fifth prices are the same as those of the fifth, both of which are $27.12 million.

It was a bronze Taotie pattern cube, something from the late Shang Dynasty.

The third is the bronze Xijia Pan. I have mentioned this thing before. It is a bronze ware from the 5th year of King Xuan of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

The transaction price of this is very high, and the final transaction price is RMB 212.75 million.

The second place is the bronze Taotie pattern square zun unearthed from Anyang in the late Shang Dynasty. The transaction price is 372 million US dollars, which is 257,438,693 yuan for RMB.

The second is the bronze Taotie pattern square thorn, which is the first in the late Shang Dynasty, and is now the world's number one. Of course, due to the change in exchange rate, it is a bit inaccurate.

Anyway, the top three can be said to be the world's number one, and that's basically it.

And this time, Chen Wenzhe saw such expensive bronze ware all at once.

Although I know that these are all high-quality imitations, they are really good to imitate, especially the old-fashioned craftsmanship, and they can't tell at all.

Even Chen Wenzhe looked at him and couldn't see any obvious flaws, which was amazing.

Of course, these are really nothing, because they are all so famous.

Next, Chen Wenzhe saw many funny bronze ware.

Among them are steering wheels and lunch boxes. He has not only seen these before, but also bought one.

Bronze ware was called "jin" or "jijin" in ancient times, among which the bronze ware from the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties were the most outstanding.

However, there were relatively few bronzes in the Xia Dynasty, and bronzes were widely used during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

There are many bronze ware that we are familiar with, such as the Houmu Wu Ding, the Siyang Fangzun, the He Zun, the Mao Gong Ding, etc., which are all important weapons in the country.

The so-called "hiding rituals in utensils", bronze utensils are ritual systems and also symbols of hierarchy.

Therefore, bronzes have always given us the feeling of solemnity and dignity. In fact, many bronzes take another route.

For example, the "Dahe Ren's Face-patterned Square Cauldron" was from the late Shang Dynasty. It was 38.5 cm high and weighed 12.85 kg.

In ancient times, there were square and round tripods, and square tripods were also rare.

There is a face around the abdomen of this tripod. The face is wide and thick, and the cheekbones are high. It looks like a woman's image, solemn and a bit funny.

This tripod was unearthed in 1959 at Zhaizi Mountain, Huangcun, Ningxiang County, Nanhu Province and was accidentally dug out by local farmers.

It was smashed into several pieces and sold to the scrap station, but was later retrieved and repaired by old experts in the museum.

There is the inscription "Dahe" on the inner wall of the tripod, hence the name.

This tripod is the only tripod in the world to cast a human face, and it can be called the most "faced" bronze square tripod.

In order to ensure the safety of cultural relics, it is prohibited to go abroad for exhibitions.

Then there is the human-faced dragon-patterned flannel, which was hidden in the late Shang Dynasty and is now in the collection of the Frier Art Museum in the Ugly Kingdom.

This bronze ware is 18.5 cm high and 20.8 cm wide.
Chapter completed!