Antique Dealer

Chapter 239 Calligraphy Problem

Tang Nanzhong listened to the mistakes Fang Hao pointed out, and took the ink bed in his hand to observe carefully. After a moment of silence, he asked Fang Hao: "I am not very good at porcelain. If you use the eyes of an expert, what did you mention? How difficult is it to identify these problematic places?"

Fang Hao thought about it: "If you are a beginner, or some enthusiasts with insufficient knowledge, these places are indeed easy to overlook, but if you are a professional, these problems should not trouble him."

Tang Nanzhong nodded silently, with a little sadness in his eyes.

Fang Hao was somewhat curious, but Tang Nanzhong didn't mention it himself, so he couldn't open his mouth to ask about Tang Nanzhong's sad things.

Tang Nanzhong came back to his senses, and smiled apologetically: "I wasted your time. The rest of these cultural objects are pen holders, inkstones, seals and other stationery items. Although I have seen them all, I cannot guarantee that each one is genuine. Otherwise, how about you read it first, if you think there is no problem, then ask others to help you look at it?"

When Tang Nanzhong said this, he also considered that Fang Hao was young, and it was impossible for him to understand everything. These things were used for exhibition and sale by Fang Hao. If something went wrong, even if Fang Hao didn't blame him, he would have trouble sleeping and eating.

Fang Hao appreciated Tang Nanzhong's prudence, and expressed his gratitude. He couldn't say enough, and he didn't say that he was sure of authenticity.

Next, the boxes were opened one by one, including the Xuande blue and white cursive brushes of the Ming Dynasty, the "Nine Five-Year Zun" pen sea carved with huanghuali carvings in the late Ming Dynasty, the imperial ink made by the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty imitating Han tiles, the jade paperweights of the Yuan Dynasty to ward off evil spirits, and the Qing Dynasty. The three-piece cloisonné enamel set (Shuicheng, Bishan, and inkstone bed) in the study room of the Kangxi court, the blue and white jade inkstone screen of the Qing Emperor Qianlong celebrating the birthday of the Immortal, etc., and more than a dozen high-quality literary toys, came into Fang Hao’s eyes.

Each of these high-quality cultural toys is unique, and it is the object of competition among many collectors of cultural toys in the market. It can be said that most collectors may not collect one piece in their entire lives.

In the final analysis, investment in antique collection is also a business that dislikes the poor and loves the rich. Although this is not pleasant to say, it is the truth. Just like Jiang Mingrui said in the previous article, the appreciation of jade is a truth. Now it is not the 90s, but thousands of dollars. , don't think about how to appreciate it.

Generally speaking, participating in playing collection investment should be done after the basic living needs have been solved and there is surplus funds. Otherwise, it is meaningless to spend less money, and the risk is greater if you spend more money.

Closer to home, Fang Hao carefully appraised them one by one, and he can be sure that there is nothing wrong with these literary games: "Old Tang, these things should be your collection for many years, right?"

Tang Nanzhong said with a smile: "Only part of it is, and the rest is exchanged by old friends. If you want to achieve your wish in the collection business, you must pay something. You can't expect the sky to fall."

Fang Hao smiled: "Then let's check the price."

Tang Nanzhong originally wanted to say that it is enough to pack the package together and say the total price, but after thinking about it, it would be good to check them one by one, so that he can know what he knows.

Fang Hao took out a pen and paper, turned on the calculator in his phone, and began to check with Tang Nanzhong one by one. After a while, he pointed to the last Dahongpao bloodstone seal and said, "This Fang Dahongpao is 320 million yuan. Do you have any objection?"

"Very reasonable."

"Okay, let's do the math. The total is 2185 million. You should check it again." Fang Hao handed Tang Nanzhong the paper with the name and price on it.

Tang Nanzhong also read it carefully: "Yes, there is nothing wrong with it. Xiao Zhang, please make two copies."

"Okay." The nanny took the paper and copied it.

Tang Nanzhong said to Fang Hao: "These are less than [-]%, I will give you another Tian Huangshi seal."

If the ink bed is genuine, it will add up to more than 2400 million, which has reached the amount he promised, and now he can only bear the pain to get another one of his treasured seals out.

Fang Hao admired Tang Nanzhong's character very much, and these more than a dozen pieces of Wenwan were rare and exquisite, and it was not easy to collect them, so he said, "It doesn't matter, I think these are fine."

"No, no!" Tang Nanzhong waved his hands again and again: "Since I promised you, I must do what I say, otherwise I won't be able to sleep at night. I have already prepared things in advance."

With that said, Tang Nanzhong got up, walked to a side cabinet, took out a box from it, walked back, and put it on the table.

Opening the box, Fang Hao saw that there was a Tianhuangsu Fangzhang inside. This Fangtian Huangsu Fangzhang, after the most luxurious six-sided flat cutting, drastically removed the excess stone, but still retained the weight of 69 grams that Tang Nanzhong introduced. According to the attrition rate of at least two-thirds of Tianhuang's cutting seal, the weight of the original stone and the precious material are self-evident.

What's even more rare is that there are no red ribs on the six sides of the seal, which not only gives the viewer the highest aesthetic enjoyment, but also shows that the original material is superior in texture, and there are no obvious cracks, or the previous owner cut the stone more boldly. All red tendons are removed.No matter what the answer is, it also demonstrates its extraordinary value. No wonder Tang Nanzhong seemed distressed just now.

Fang Hao estimates that the value of Fangtian Huang Fangzhang should be around 520 million now.So he told Tang Nanzhong about his estimate,

Tang Nanzhong waved his hand: "No, I bought this seal three years ago, and the price is still cheap, even if the price is 415 million, I took advantage of Yuxi, so I can't let you suffer."

Fang Hao saw that Tang Nanzhong was very sincere, so he didn't refuse, and said politely: "Then I will be disrespectful."

"Not so polite."

At this time, the nanny copied the list, Tang Nanzhong looked at it first, then handed it to Fang Hao, and then said: "I heard that you are a master of calligraphy and painting, so I asked my friend to help me get a copy of Master Hongyi's four pieces of regular script Screen, first check to see if there is any problem, and if there is no problem, we will discuss it in detail."

The poems on the four screens have been hung on the wall in advance. Fang Hao has noticed it just now, and he feels very good. It’s just that the business is not done well, so he didn’t pay attention. I didn’t expect that these four screens were actually Hong Yi’s work, and it was Tang Nanzhong. He was somewhat surprised by the calligraphy works that were going to be exchanged for jade seals.

As one of the four eminent monks of the Republic of China, Hongyi has a lot of controversy on the Internet about his becoming a monk. This matter has its own public opinion, so let’s not talk about it, but in terms of art, especially calligraphy, he has indeed achieved quite a lot. Hongyi".

His calligraphy works often appear in the auction market, and he has repeatedly sold high-priced regular scripts. Fang Hao remembers that at an auction in 15 years, Hongyi's regular script "Yuan Jue Ben Qi Zhang" sold for more than 3000 million yuan The high price is equivalent to the jade seal he exchanged with Tang Nanzhong.

Of course, there have always been voices of criticism in the society, who think that "Hongyi" is too lacking in law, with distorted structure, single ink color, missing brushwork, and no rules.

This is the benevolent see benevolence.

The four screens hanging on the wall were given by Hongyi to a friend. The four capitals are warning poems, and the creation date is the autumn of 1936.

As many people have criticized, Hongyi's calligraphy works do not have neat and dignified elements from the perspective of strokes and characters, but in terms of temperament, they are indeed unique and can make people feel dignified, tranquil, and peaceful. This is exactly what Fang Hao appreciates.

However, after a while, Fang Hao suddenly felt that there was something wrong with the word, and always felt so slightly awkward, so he moved closer to observe carefully, and frowned unconsciously.

Tang Nanzhong was drinking tea, seeing that Fang Hao's expression suddenly turned a little off, he was slightly taken aback, with this appearance, could it be that there is a problem with calligraphy?

This should be impossible!

His old friend has been collecting calligraphy for 30 to [-] years. Not to mention his own good eyesight, he will definitely invite relevant appraisal certificates to check the purchase of this kind of fine calligraphy. Can mistakes be made with double insurance?
As for saying that his old friend lied to him, the possibility of this is extremely low. He and his old friend have been friends for decades. Even if it is because of profit, it is impossible to cheat him for millions. But he is still working under his son-in-law, and the consequences of cheating him are quite serious.

After thinking wildly for a moment, Tang Nanzhong suppressed the distracting thoughts in his heart, let's see what Fang Hao said first, maybe it's not what he thought?
After a while, Fang Hao put down the magnifying glass in his heart and let out a long sigh of relief. When he turned around, Tang Nanzhong couldn't wait to ask for the result.

"Before I talk about the results, let me talk about the characteristics of Master Hongyi's calligraphy."

Fang Hao began to talk eloquently: "We know that the movement and stillness of the brush strokes are consistent with the effects presented, such as the rapid strokes of the strokes and the sharp ups and downs of lifting and pressing, and the displayed form is naturally dynamic and unrestrained.

Master Hongyi's calligraphy gives people a light and ethereal feeling, which mainly depends on his composition method.

Master Hongyi’s late calligraphy, when concluding characters, on the one hand, the strokes are disconnected a lot. Except for the interspersed strokes that cannot be disconnected, the rest of the strokes are either disconnected or falsely connected. The connected strokes are rarely connected in real ways. .On the other hand, the length of the strokes is significantly shortened.

It's the disconnection and shortening of the strokes that give it that unique feel.In other words, emptiness is inseparable from shortness, smallness, inseparability, inseparability, and thick and continuous things will not have the feeling of emptiness. "

Speaking of this, Fang Hao paused, seeing Tang Nanzhong nodded in agreement, he continued: "It is precisely because of his unique method of concluding characters and the temperament displayed by the font that it is difficult to imitate his works. So far, I have not seen Which imitation can be so lifelike."

Hearing this, Tang Nanzhong asked: "So, these four screens should be authentic?"

Fang Hao didn't answer directly: "Old Tang, I don't know if you have heard of a technique called exposing the second layer?"

"What! It's the second floor?!"

Tang Nanzhong's heart skipped a beat. Of course, he had heard of the idea of ​​exposing the second floor, but he had never seen calligraphy and painting works that were forged in this way, and he did not expect to encounter them today.

Fang Hao nodded solemnly: "Why do I judge that it is the second layer of exposing? This starts with the process of exposing the second layer. Among them, 'exposing' is only the first step, but it is also a crucial step. After the uncovering is over, the counterfeiter will compare the artistic conception of the previous layer of calligraphy and painting, make some supplementary pens, refill ink, polish, mount, and seal on the lower layer of paper, and then use old paper and old satin to mount it. .

I just analyzed Master Hongyi's calligraphy characteristics. His brushwork and temperament are so vivid that no one can imitate them so far. Although the counterfeiters of these four screens are very capable, most of them do have their artistic conception, but they are always There are always several oversights, which also lead to a sudden interruption of the artistic conception.

For example, it's as if I was tasting a plate of delicious food, and suddenly someone took the food away. Although he immediately returned it, it didn't feel right. "

While explaining to Tang Nanzhong, Fang Hao pointed out several obvious problems in the work.

Tang Nanzhong listened to Fang Hao's explanation, savored it carefully, and was convinced: "Hey, there is indeed a problem, and I want to apologize to you."

Fang Hao quickly supported Tang Nanzhong: "Mr. Tang, don't be like this. You can't be blamed for this. Works like this are half-true and half-fake. The forgers are so skilled that many people will miss it."

Fang Hao didn't see that Tang Nanzhong would deceive him. Moreover, this "Exposing the Second Layer" is really powerful. It is difficult to make a judgment just by looking at the font structure. He was able to make a judgment because of the all-round He can say without humility that no one can reach this level in painting and calligraphy.

Of course, he didn't see that Tang Nanzhong was lying to him, but whether Tang Nanzhong's friends knew that the four screens were the second floor was unknown.

Tang Nanzhong also had to figure this out, so he called his old friend right away.

"He said to come right away, let's go outside and wait for a while."

"Row."

The two returned to the living room, and continued drinking tea and chatting, but Tang Nanzhong seemed a little anxious due to the authenticity of the four screens, so Fang Hao tried to choose some light-hearted topics.

Under Fang Hao's guidance, Tang Nanzhong told about his past. His family was considered a scholarly family, but after graduation, everyone became a supply and salesman in a state-owned enterprise, traveled all over the world, opened up markets, and became the backbone of the enterprise.

During this process, he came into contact with antique collection, coupled with his family background, he soon became addicted to it.He asked his teacher for advice, and learned that this line of work should focus on one item, so he chose to collect Tianhuang.

Therefore, he took advantage of his work to travel widely, collecting high-quality Tianhuang, and sold some of them when he really had no money. Thanks to the gradual development of the antique market, he was often able to buy low and sell high, and gradually left his family without food and clothing. You, after retiring, devoted himself to the research and collection of Tian Huang, and published a book on Tian Huang collection at his own expense.

Speaking of which, Tang Nanzhong asked the nanny to bring the book he wrote and gave it to Fang Hao. Fang Hao flipped through a few pages. Not to mention, the quality of this book is quite high, especially about the identification of Tian Huang. Even he felt that he had gained something.

"Mr. Tang, I think your book is of high quality. You shouldn't need to publish it at your own expense, right?"

Tang Nanzhong was very happy when he heard Fang Hao's praise, he smiled and said, "You are too much, in fact, the reason why I write a book is to leave some traces in the world, and to entertain myself Well. So I don’t want my book to be released by a publisher, and I only printed 200 copies, some of which were given to relatives and friends, and I still have dozens of copies in my hand.”

Some friends may wonder, self-published, can 200 copies be printed?
In the past, the general book requirements of publishing houses were at least 500-1000 volumes, and some publishing houses required 3000 volumes to be printed.This is considered from a cost point of view.Because once the printing factory starts the machine, if the number of copies is less than 500, the cost of a single book will be very high, so generally publishing houses use 500 copies as the minimum printing quantity.But with the development of printing technology, this situation is gradually changing now.

The reason why Tang Nanzhong was able to print two hundred copies was because of his relationship, and because he was not stingy with money, the publishing house was naturally willing to print.

In view of the surprisingly good quality of the books, Fang Hao also asked Tang Nanzhong to give him a few more books. He planned to give them to read when Hu Jue and the others arrived, so that they could learn more about Tian Huang's various aspects of knowledge.

Tang Nanzhong readily agreed, and directly gave Fang Hao five more copies, and said that if Fang Hao still needs it, he can come to him.

Afterwards, Fang Hao also told Tang Nanzhong about his situation. As for his knowledge of antiques, he still said the same thing.

Time passed quickly, and the doorbell rang again, and it was Tang Nanzhong's friend who had arrived.

The nanny brought the people in. There were two people who came. The one who walked in front was an old man who was about the same age as Tang Nanzhong.The old man is Tang Nanzhong's old friend Zhu Zhiqing.

And the person who followed Zhu Zhiqing was still acquainted. He met once before and has been in the antique industry for more than 20 years, Ji Wenxue, the antique boss.

Ji Wenxue was also a little surprised to see Fang Hao. He didn't expect that Zhu Zhiqing told him that it was Fang Hao who found the calligraphy problem. Originally, he still had some confidence in that calligraphy, but now he only felt hopeless.

Tang Nanzhong got up to introduce to everyone, because Tang Nanzhong didn't talk to Zhu Zhiqing in detail because he didn't speak clearly on the phone before, and now that Zhu Zhiqing saw his old friend's solemnity, it was such a young man, and he was somewhat dissatisfied, but because of the occasion, he didn't attack come out.

When it was his turn to introduce Ji Wenxue, Ji Wenxue took the initiative to extend his hand to Fang Hao: "Teacher Fang, we meet again."

When Ji Wenxue met Fang Hao, he just felt that Fang Hao was really good at such a young age. Later, as Fang Hao emerged in the salon held by Xingshu, and later heard that Kong Yi personally invited Fang Hao to be a consultant for Jiayi Auction, he knew that This child cannot be underestimated because of his youth.Therefore, when we met again, we changed our address.

Seeing Ji Wenxue calling Fang Hao "teacher", Zhu Zhiqing's surprise was beyond words. Based on his understanding of Ji Wenxue, those who can be called "teacher" by Ji Wenxue must have real talents. It seems that he really underestimated Fang Hao, you really can't judge people by their appearances!Fortunately, he didn't show dissatisfaction, otherwise he would be ridiculous.

After a few polite words, everyone got to the point.

Ji Wenwen said: "Teacher Fang, to tell you the truth, I appraised Master Hongyi's four screens of calligraphy, and I need your guidance."

Fang Hao said: "Let's talk about the real thing."

Everyone agreed, and then the group walked into the study.

Next, Fang Hao recounted what he said to Tang Nanzhong before.

(End of this chapter)