The years when I was reborn as a giant in the antique world

Seeing this, the vendor immediately introduced it: "Little brother, have you taken a fancy to this snuff bottle? Hehe, you have a good eye. This is a serious Qianlong Imperial Craft, a high-quality official kiln. I received it from a descendant of a Eight Banners disciple.

Look at the enamel color on it, how bright it is, it will not fade for many years.Look at the inscription on the bottom foot, it says 'Qianlong Annual System', this is the inscription only available in Qianlong official kilns..."

What he said made Yunzhou want to laugh a little.

Nine out of ten vendors who sell snuff bottles generally say they got them from the descendants of the declining Eight Banners. Of course, this saying also has a certain origin.

According to legend, snuff was first brought into China by the Italian Matteo Ricci during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and snuff bottles really became popular in the Qing Dynasty.

The three emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong all loved snuff bottles very much. The snuff bottles they made included materials (glass), porcelain, jade, metals, jade and other precious stones, etc., while porcelain There are countless kinds of quality such as bucket color, enamel color, pastel color, sky blue glaze, plain white glaze, blue and white glaze, and underglaze red.

What is good at the top will be worse at the bottom.Especially in the Qianlong period, the Chinese government and the public were addicted to snuff, and snuff bottles became a thing to show their status.Even if some people do not like or collect antiques, they must force themselves to like snuff and collect snuff bottles in order to conform to the social trend. ①

At that time, there was no snuff bottle in hand, just like modern people do not have smart phones, which shows its popularity.It is said that when the corrupt official He Shen was ransacked, he confiscated more than 3000 snuff bottles, all of which were high-quality goods.

As for the Eight Banners children who are known as "representatives of the culture of pleasure", the first thing they do when they meet is to take out snuff bottles to compare and show off with each other.

There are two sentences that can clearly reflect the daily life of the Eight Banners in the Qing Dynasty:

In the first sentence, Lord Baylor has three treasures: walnuts, fingers, and birds in cages; in the second sentence, Lord Baylor does three things in the morning: listening to opera, tasting tea, and sniffing snuff.

The snuff bottle used for smelling snuff is one of the exquisite objects for appreciation by the Baqi disciples.

Some Eight Banners even change the snuff pots of one material every day, agate today, emerald tomorrow, and Hetian jade the day after tomorrow; . ②

Because of this, these vendors selling snuff bottles have to mention the Eight Banners to prove that this thing is genuine and high-quality.

Could it be that what the nobles of the Qing Dynasty were playing with was something worthless?

Well, it's all a trick.

There are various types and materials of snuff bottles, and it is not easy to identify them, requiring knowledge of various aspects.In addition, some modern imitations are so exquisite in craftsmanship that they are almost like real ones, and countless people have been deceived in this regard.

Yun Zhou didn't know much about snuff bottles, but he had seen the real ones in Father Yun's collection, so he could easily tell that the snuff bottle in his hand was fake.No matter in terms of porcelain quality, color, painting technique or style, they are far from the real ones and cannot be compared with them at all.

Let's just talk about the top pot lid. The imperial court is generally made of gold-plated material, which is extremely luxurious and modern craftsmanship is reluctant to use.

He put down the snuff bottle in his hand, picked up another snuff bottle with inside painting, and observed it carefully.

Inner-painted snuff bottles appeared in the late Jiaqing and early Daoguang periods of the Qing Dynasty. During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the craft of inner-painted snuff bottles reached its peak.

It is made by dipping a special hook-shaped brush or a hook-shaped bamboo brush into traditional Chinese painting pigments, and painting it with the backhand on the inner wall of a square-inch pot with a mouth as small as a bean, which is a test of craftsmanship. ③

When an artist paints, he is required to be calm, to concentrate his strength on his wrist, and most importantly, to write without regret.Because the inner wall cannot be modified, it is required to be completed at one time. Sometimes a small flaw may cause the entire work to start from scratch.

At present, the inside-painted snuff bottle has entered the national intangible cultural heritage list.

Speaking of interior painting snuff bottles, it is inevitable to mention the three great masters of interior painting in the late Qing Dynasty: Ma Shaoxuan, who entered the hall, Ye Zhongsan, who enjoyed both refined and popular tastes, and Zhou Leyuan, Yangchun Baixue.

Another snuff bottle collected by Father Yun before is the "Poetry Snuff Bottle with Colorful Butterfly Painting Inside Glass" by Ma Shaoxuan, the head of the "Three Great Masters". above.

The snuff bottle in Yun Zhou's hand is an interior painting of a lady, about seven centimeters high, and the material should be natural crystal.

The lady in the painting is combing her hair in a bun and wearing pearl hairpins. She is standing still, as if waiting for someone.The figures are vivid, the clothes are bright, and the expression is extremely expressive, which shows that the painter has a certain level of skill.

The inscription on the top reads "made by Ye Zhongsan in XX", and there is a red seal below.

Judging from the artistry and inscription, it looks like it was made by Ye Zhongsan, one of the three masters of interior painting in the late Qing Dynasty, but it is not ruled out that the imitation is more ingenious. After all, the snuff bottles made by famous masters are the main imitation objects in the market.

Yun Zhou hesitated for a while, but after thinking about it, he decided to let it go.

But the little jade dragon on the wrist reappeared again, inhaled all the spiritual energy on the snuff bottle into its mouth, and three dragon scales the size of rice grains on the dragon's body lit up one after another, and then slowly turned silver.

Yun Zhou was thoughtful: Could it be... is this snuff bottle real?

The vendor saw that there was something interesting, and started to brag again: "Little brother, this snuff bottle was made by Ye Zhongsan, a famous master of the Qing Dynasty, you can tell it by looking at the signature.

Ye Zhongsan, do you know?One of the three great masters in the Qing Dynasty, Lord Qianlong called him to the palace to make snuff bottles, and any one of them could fetch a high price of hundreds of thousands.This is collected from his descendants, and I want you to get it cheaper. "

Yun Zhou shook his head in his heart, Master Ye Zhongsan hadn't been born in the Qianlong period, and this bullshit was too outrageous.

But he still asked the price: "How much is this snuff bottle?"

The street vendor was shocked immediately, and asking the price usually means that the business is coming: "Little brother, it's your first time here, and I won't talk about those fakes, just give you the lowest price, 2000 yuan! How about it, is it interesting enough?" ?”

"Forget it then." Yun Zhou put the snuff bottle back to its original place.

He would definitely not buy it for two thousand. The risk is too great. If it is a few hundred yuan, he can verify whether Yulong has the ability to distinguish the authenticity of Wenwan.

"Hey, little brother, don't leave. The price is negotiable. You say a price, and I'll see if it suits you. If it suits you, I'll sell it to you."

The vendor suddenly became anxious, why didn't this person follow the routine, he was indeed a novice.

"Two hundred." Yun Zhou stopped and said back.

"Hiss, how much did you say, two hundred?" The vendor was startled, this novice must be too ruthless, two thousand counter-offer two hundred, even more ruthless than a TM veteran.

"Two hundred is not enough." The vendor's bitter expression was not fake at all, "The minimum is one thousand."

Yun Zhou: "Three hundred."

Vendor: "Eight hundred."

Yunzhou: "Four hundred"

Vendor: "Six hundred."

Yun Zhou turned to leave: "Forget it."

The vendor immediately stopped him, gritted his teeth and said, "Four hundred is four hundred, alas, it's a big loss."

Although it is said that the loss is huge, but after thinking about it, I know that no one will lose money and make money.For a snuff bottle like this, he can earn 400 yuan for [-] yuan.

When I received the goods, there were also those five- and ten-yuan things, but as far as the craftsmanship is concerned, the fake ones can no longer be faked. If you know a little bit of knowledge, you can tell that it is fake at a glance. It is far inferior to this exquisitely crafted modern handicraft. .

Many of them were bought by him in the second-hand market. Although the price is a bit expensive, they are very bluffing, and they look like old goods that have been played with for a while.

He sold four or five snuff bottles today, and one of them, hehe, bought it at the original price of 5000 yuan.

Shabi, I really thought it was enamel color, and one of the enamel colors is worth millions, and 5000 yuan is not enough to buy a pot lid!

Generally, snuff bottles made by imperial kilns have coral or jade lids, and a small lid is worth tens of thousands of yuan.

**

Yun Zhou held this small snuff bottle in his hand, and couldn't wait to walk towards the 'Treasure Pavilion'.

He has already made mental preparations, even if the snuff bottle is fake, he can bear the loss of 400 yuan, and he will just spend money to buy it as a lesson.

But what Yunzhou wants to know most now is whether the spiritual energy absorbed by Yulong has anything to do with the authenticity of the item.

If there is a relationship, he will benefit endlessly; if there is no relationship, he will stop thinking about it as soon as possible and find other ways to pay off the debt.

Shopkeeper Wu obviously remembered this outstanding young man, and greeted him with a smile as soon as he entered the door: "Little brother is here again today, is there any good family heirloom? Let me have a look."

Yun Zhou put the snuff bottle in his hand on the table, "It's not a family heirloom, it's just bought outside."

"Oh." Shopkeeper Wu was a little disappointed. There were a lot of good and bad people in the stalls outside, and less than [-]% of the genuine goods.

In the antique market, even experts sometimes drill holes, let alone this fledgling young man.

Well, nine out of ten people are being deceived.

Seeing that it was a snuff bottle, shopkeeper Wu didn't hold much hope.

In the morning, a young man in his 20s took a snuff bottle for identification, saying it was agate from the Qing Dynasty, but it turned out to be a fake, a modern imitation made of glass, worthless.

The walls of the agate snuff bottles in the Qing Dynasty can be made very thin. The walls are as thin as paper and light as nothing, while the mouth is relatively heavy.

If you throw it into the water casually, its mouth must face down first, so that the snuff bottle can float up, which is also called "floating on water".

However, modern craftsmanship can rarely reach this level. The evisceration is so thin, it must be at the level of a master, at least you can't see such things in small stalls.

Poor guy, he lost 1000 yuan in vain.

Shopkeeper Wu shook his head in his heart, and began to observe the snuff bottle in front of him.

"Huh, it's an inner-painted snuff bottle? Natural crystal material... Signed by Ye Zhongsan, dated in Gengzi year, which is the Guangxu period of the late Qing Dynasty, the font is elegant and natural—"

As soon as he got started, he felt that there was something interesting, so he immediately brought a magnifying glass over, maybe this snuff bottle is really the real product of Master Ye Zhongsan.

First of all, the material is natural white crystal, which is transparent in color, which is much better than glass; secondly, there are slight abrasions on the outside, showing a matte color, which is enough to prove that it is an old object; and the composition, painting and artistic conception are perfect, and the characters are vivid Also very expressive.

The lid of the pot is made of agate with engraved patterns, and the material is more expensive.

Shopkeeper Wu opened the lid of the pot and used the smallest flashlight to see the evisceration inside.The evisceration is very thin, the workmanship is fine, and there are certain traces of use.

There are slight rust traces at the connection between the copper spoon for snuffing and the lid of the pot, which is natural, and it can be judged that the lid and body of the pot are original.

After watching for nearly 10 minutes, shopkeeper Wu raised his head with a smile in his eyes: "Young man has good eyesight. According to my observation, this snuff bottle is indeed the authentic product of Master Ye Zhongsan, and it is a figure painting from the late Qing Dynasty. , the collection value is very high.”

Master Ye Zhongsan was born in the first year of Guangxu, and his works range from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China.

However, in the later period of the Republic of China, the master seldom made it himself, and most of them were assisted by his apprentices, so the quality declined and was not as good as the previous works.

Master Ye Zhongsan's interior paintings have a wide range of subjects, but figure paintings are the most outstanding.

The materials mainly come from "Liao Zhai", "Dream of Red Mansions", "Three Kingdoms" and other works. Its image creation is flexible and vivid, and the layout of the picture is reasonable and fresh. A high price of more than 50 was paid. ④

This painting of a lady is a figure painting, which is more valuable for collection than other works of the master in terms of material and subject matter.

Hearing this result, Yun Zhou's eyes lit up immediately, and two shallow dimples appeared on his cheeks.

Not only because he picked up a big leak, but also proved Yulong's perception ability.

All the current signs show that as long as the antique contains the aura needed by Yulong, it must be genuine!

Yunzhou thanked politely: "Thank you, shopkeeper Wu, thank you so much."

Shopkeeper Wu waved his hand: "You're welcome, it's because you have good eyesight and picked up a big leak.

Master Ye Zhongsan's interior-painted snuff bottles have a few auction prices of more than 30 yuan, not many.Most of the auction prices are between 5 and 15. If you want to sell, I can give you 8. "

A snuff bottle that cost 400 yuan can be sold for [-] yuan, a double-hundred-fold increase. I'm afraid everyone will be envious of it.

Although the antique shops talk about picking up leaks all day long, in fact, most of them pay tuition by eyeballs, and there are very few people who can really pick up leaks, let alone pick up such big leaks.

Yun Zhou had no objection to the price, and was about to agree to it, when the old men drinking tea upstairs heard the movement and went downstairs one after another.

"Xiao Wu, what good things have you received again? Let me see."

"Yeah, we old guys are idle and bored all day, let us have a look."

"Hey, Ye Zhongsan's inside-painted snuff bottle is a good thing. Xiao Wu, why didn't you call me?"

Several old men chatted in a hurry, and sat on the round stools one by one and started to watch.

Shopkeeper Wu stood aside with a wry smile. These old men and children are not around, so they have to fart every day.

When I have nothing to do, I come here to drink tea and listen to the music. I occasionally go to the chess and card room next door to play cards. When I come across interesting objects, I come down to have a look. How many good things have been snatched by them.

He originally planned to keep this snuff bottle by himself, but now that it's doing well, it's probably useless.

Forget it, for the sake of ordering the most expensive 880 pot of tea every time they come, I will let them.

Hey, who made these old men rich?Being rich is self-willed.

The author has something to say:

Rolling around and begging for free liquid irrigation (*^▽^*)

Regarding the difference between various nouns with enamel (dog head, stupidly confused):

Enamel: a paint from the West

Enamel color: painted on the porcelain body with enamel, also known as porcelain body enamel

Painting enamel (enamel painting): painting on the surface of metal objects with enamel glaze

Cloisonné enamel: pinch out patterns with gold or copper wires on gold and copper tires, and then fill them with enamel

Cloisonne: that is, copper tire filigree enamel.

[Note ①②③④: Extracted from Baidu Encyclopedia, Personal Library and Sohu.com]