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

As the name suggests, book lamps are lamps used for reading in the study.

In ancient times, there were no electric lamps, and only oil lamps and candles were used for lighting. As a result, utensils for lighting objects were produced, with various materials and styles.

From the bronze lamps of the Warring States period to the most glorious period of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, candlesticks made of gold, silver, copper, iron, ceramics, jade, glass, enamel and other materials, as well as fine wood as the skeleton, inlaid with silk and glass There are many kinds of palace lanterns and so on.

In the Qing Dynasty, the emperors personally reviewed the memorials and often worked late into the night, so they needed candlesticks to illuminate the books.This kind of candlestick is called a book lamp, which belongs to the stationery utensils.

Compared with the offerings enshrined in front of the Buddha, the book lamp is smaller in size. It is composed of a support plate, a lamp post and a lamp holder. It is specially used for lighting the study of the Qing palace. ①

The pair of blue and white book lamps with lotus patterns and twining branches in front of them are only 15cm in size, a small pair but extremely delicate.

Yun Zhou and shopkeeper Wu picked up one of them and examined them carefully.

The book lamp in his hand is divided into upper, middle and lower layers as a whole. The tray on the lower layer is a base placed on the table top. The surface is painted with twining lotus patterns and curly grass patterns, and a raised column is connected in the middle.

The middle layer is a wax tray, which is used to catch the wax dripping from the candles. The inner and outer edges are decorated with flowers and sea water patterns, and the composition is full; the upper layer connected by cylinders is a lamp tray, with a circle of wishful cloud patterns drawn on the edge of the mouth, and fixed candles on the top. metal wax wick.

The whole piece of porcelain is well preserved without any bumps.

The painted patterns are complicated, with more than ten layers, and the blue and white hair color is rich and colorful, deliberately imitating the effect of "rust spots" on Yongxuan porcelain, and has an antique artistic conception.

Yun Zhou disassembled the three layers one by one, and checked the traces of the joints and the decorations under the tray.

Then dragged the last tray to look at the bottom of the lamp holder. The inscription is a rare four-character seal script of "Qianlong year system". Lamp favorite.

After looking at it, he put it back on the table and glanced sideways at shopkeeper Wu next to him.

The other party is still carefully observing the blue and white book lamp with lotus patterns, and it must be a while before they can be exchanged.

Blue and white book lamps are rare and well preserved.

First of all, such exquisite blue and white book lamps were only popular in the Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties, and there were not many of them.Ordinary people use oil lamps, and there are no folk kilns to imitate them.

Secondly, porcelain is fragile, and blue-and-white book lamps are mostly spliced ​​in three sections. If you break a part of it casually, it will be a residual vessel. There is a thick needle-shaped metal wax core on the top, which is not easy to store.

Furthermore, the blue and white book lamp has a certain probability of cracking under the long-term high-temperature baking of the candle.

It's like keeping the porcelain bowl at home next to the gas stove to bake. In winter, the cold and heat alternate, and it may burst.

Therefore, there are not many blue and white book lamps that can be preserved, and the rarest thing is that a pair is complete, which is rare.

Shopkeeper Wu observed carefully inside and out for a long time, and even used a magnifying glass.

It was also the first time he saw the blue and white book lamps in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.It is said that a pair was auctioned at the auction house two years ago, and the transaction price reached more than 300 million.

As a small study utensil, it can be called a full-fledged official kiln boutique.

If this pair of porcelain is genuine, it will add a lot of color to it in Zhenbao Pavilion. Such an exquisite and well-preserved book lamp will definitely not worry about selling it in the store.

"Why haven't you finished watching yet?"

The middle-aged man named Liu Zhi was a little impatient, especially after shopkeeper Wu took apart the book lamp in his hand, his brows and eyes were even more impatient, he stood up and said in a rough voice: "What else do you want to see? time, rush to spend money!

I can assure you that it is true, a treasure passed down from generation to generation—"

"Don't worry, sit down and have a cup of tea."

Shopkeeper Wu comforted, "You say it's a treasure, you have to check carefully before you can sell it for a good price, right?"

The one in his hand was almost read, so he exchanged the book lamp with Yun Zhou.

Shopkeeper Wu doesn't think the young man can see anything, and he must be more careful about the millions of things.

Yun Zhou got up with a wink, and didn't use the purple sand pot to make tea. The other party didn't look like a tea taster, and he probably thought it took a long time to make tea, so he directly brought the cup over.

The middle-aged man was not too polite, took it and drank half of the glass, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and sat back in his seat, looking less irritable now.

Looking at the changed book lamp, Yun Zhou always felt that it was different from the one in his hand just now, but he couldn't tell exactly what was different, it was just a feeling.

He knew that even though they were a pair of porcelains, they couldn't be exactly the same due to various restrictions such as firing techniques. Maybe it was an illusion?

The young man disassembled the three sections of book lamps and checked them section by section.

He glanced at the middle-aged man, and found that the other's gaze had been focused on shopkeeper Wu, dragging the teacup with a calm expression on his face, completely unable to see that he was still so anxious just now.

Shopkeeper Wu looked at it equally carefully, checking the deposit with a magnifying glass from time to time, and at the same time asked about the origin of this book lamp, "You just said that it was handed down by your ancestors, can you explain in detail?"

Liu Zhi raised his hands and rubbed his face, his skin turned redder: "Actually, it's nothing. My great-grandfather bought it from a down-and-out family for ten yuan, and it's been kept at home since then, never letting it be touched. bump.

No, the old man is sick in bed, and the eldest son is about to get married, so he can only sell it. "

Shopkeeper Wu raised his head and asked, "How much do you want to sell?"

Liu Zhi: "The old man said more than ten years ago that this is a very good baby, but unfortunately he is confused now.

Later, I looked at it with a friend, and he said, it can be worth at least 200 million! "

I don't know if it's excitement or something, the middle-aged man's voice is much louder: "I don't understand this, but you can't be too far away—"

Shopkeeper Wu evaluated it in his heart. Although the purchase price in the market is not as good as that of auction houses, it is extremely rare to find such a delicate book lamp that can be made into a pair. The price of 50 million should be able to sell.

The other party wants 200 million, and it is estimated that 160-180 million can be settled, which is equivalent to a [-]% discount on the purchase price, which is the normal purchase price.

You can make a net profit of 70 million in one change of hands, which is a very good deal.

However, he still didn't dare to take it lightly. When he saw the bottom of the book lamp, he frowned slightly, as if he had found a clue.

"Xiao Zhou, bring the other base."

Yun Zhou handed it over at the right time, and shopkeeper Wu took a magnifying glass to compare back and forth, sighed for a long time, and shook his head in his heart.

"Let's finish reading, the old man is waiting for the hospital money!" Liu Zhi blushed and said harshly, "I don't want more, just take 160 million and leave."

Shopkeeper Wu had already made a judgment. He and the young man looked at each other, and were surprised to find that the other party had also found the problem, so he couldn't help being slightly taken aback.

It took him a long time to come to a conclusion. After all, blue and white book lamps are not common. How did Yun Zhou find out?The speed is actually faster than him!

"160 million is not enough." Shopkeeper Wu took the base just now and said in a deep voice: "This base is a later one."

"What are you talking about?" Liu Zhi's dark face was full of anger, "This has been passed down from the family, why is it a later match? It's just nonsense!"

Yun Zhou said: "This blue and white book lamp is undoubtedly genuine, but this one—"

He stroked the dismantled part, "Not only the base at the bottom, but also the tray at the middle level, including the lower column, are all made later, probably more than ten years ago, and only the upper level is original.

Am I right? "

Liu Zhi's eyes widened in shock, his hands on the corners of his clothes trembled, and he looked at Yun Zhou as if he had seen a ghost.

Just by his expression, he could tell that the young man's score was right.

He had never paid attention to this good-looking young man. He looked so young, and he looked like an apprentice in the shop.

Appreciation of antiques is based on eyesight, and eyesight is cultivated, and it can't be regarded as having eyesight in the antique world after ten or eight years.

So his eyes were all on shopkeeper Wu, every move of the other party made him extremely nervous, and he almost lost his composure in the middle, unexpectedly, it was this young man who completely saw through his disguise in the end.

Could it be that this person started appreciating antiques from the womb?amazing!

Shopkeeper Wu also looked at Yun Zhou with disbelief.

Maybe others don't know, but he does. Yunzhou has only been in contact with antiques for three years, and he has grown to this point.

His eyesight over the years is actually not as good as that of a young man in his early twenties, alas, there is an indescribable complexity in his heart.

Now that the lie has been exposed, Liu Zhi simply told the truth, "About 14 years ago, my youngest son was just born, and the eldest son just started school. The family was already poor, and having an extra mouth made it hard to get rid of it.

I went to other provinces to work, and my wife stayed at home to farm and look after the children. When it rained, I hurried to collect grain and fell seriously ill.

The boss pays the salary at the end of the year, and if you don't work for a year, you won't get a penny.The child was screaming from hunger, and the wife was weak, so I wanted to sell the family treasures that the old man treasured for money. "

Liu Zhi took out a cigarette from his torn pocket and lit it, his eyes slightly wet: "In the end, the old man refused, and our father and I argued several times, and almost moved hands.

In the end I decided to steal the pair of china from his room.

It was dark that night, I sneaked into the house, and finally found this pair of treasures.

Just as he was about to leave, the old man found out, and naturally there was another dispute.One of them was not held firmly, and the lower two layers were all smashed, only the metal wax core on the top was blocked by the table, and it was not broken. "

Yun Zhou felt a little uncomfortable when he heard that, "Then what happened after that?"

Liu Zhi said in a deep voice: "Later, the old man became ill with anger, and his mind was not normal. He clamored for a baby every day, and couldn't even eat.

The old lady had no choice but to give me all the money from her private house and find the best craftsman to match it.The old man played with it all day long, and he was very good at it. "

No wonder it imitates so well.

Yunzhou thought, there is a genuine product for comparison, it is still the craftsmanship of a master; after more than ten years of wind and sun, the old part is already old.

Coupled with the fact that the top is original and the rarity of the blue and white book lamp, it is really hard to see, the similarity is as high as 90%.

The reason why many counterfeit products are fake at first sight is because they are produced in batches and the workmanship is not fine enough; secondly, because the counterfeiters have never been in contact with real objects that cost millions, and only have pictures for reference, they cannot imitate the feeling of genuine products.

Antiques need to be practiced, how can you know whether the tire is fine or not, the glaze color is not moist, whether the tire is repaired well, and whether the workmanship is fine if you don’t get started?

If you imitate the real thing without seeing it, you will naturally not be able to imitate the artistic conception.

However, this one is different and meets all the conditions, so it can be called a very delicate high imitation.

It's a pity that no matter how good the imitation is, it is still a modern handicraft, which does not belong to Wenwan and has no value.

Shopkeeper Wu mused: "We can't make a pair, so we can only accept one by one. The highest price is 50."

For pairs of porcelain, the relationship between a single and a pair is not simply a relationship of one plus one equals two, but also involves the issue of probability.

If the probability of a single piece of porcelain being well preserved is less than one tenth, the probability of a pair of porcelain being well preserved is less than one percent!

A pair is obviously much more precious than a single one, and the value gap between the two is huge.

Shopkeeper Wu's price is due to the fact that the blue and white book lamps in the Qianlong official kiln are relatively rare, otherwise it is even lower.

Liu Zhi was silent for a while, then extinguished the cigarette: "Okay, just 50."

The old man is going to have a major operation soon and needs money urgently, and the eldest son is getting married too, so there will be plenty of places to spend money in the future.

Shopkeeper Wu took out the contract, and the two quickly signed the agreement and made the payment.

Yun Zhou thought of something, and stopped the other party in time, "By the way, are those broken tiles still there?"

"...should still be there." Liu Zhi recalled, "At first I wanted to glue it on, but it couldn't be glued well, so I put it away."

Yun Zhou: "If I can find it, I'll pay 2000 yuan."

Although Liu Zhi was surprised, but whoever has money doesn't make money, he immediately said, "Then I'll go back and look for it, and if I find it, I'll send it over right away."

After the middle-aged man left, shopkeeper Wu looked at the pair of Qing Qianlong blue and white book lamps with lotus patterns.

The fetus is white and dense, and the blue and white hair color is gorgeous and calm. It is a fine work of Qianlong official kiln, but it is a pity that one was broken.

Yun Zhou also felt it was a pity, so he hoped that the other party would find the original broken porcelain pieces as soon as possible and try to restore them to their original appearance.

The two returned to the tea room on the second floor.

Shopkeeper Wu couldn't hold back and asked, "Xiao Zhou, how did you find out just now?"

Even he used a magnifying glass to find the problem after looking at it for a while, but the other party seemed to see it quickly without using any tools.

"The blue and white hair color and decoration are wrong." Yun Zhou thought for a while, "Qianlong imitated Yongxuan's porcelain, the blue and white hair color is more gorgeous, and has a smudge effect, and we can see some differences from here.

In addition, uh, the leaves of the banana leaf pattern are a bit thicker, the lines are not so clear, the sea water pattern is unnatural, and the rust spots are too deliberate, basically that's it. "

It is precisely because he has personally repaired, copied and painted various patterns and colors that he can feel the difference in the subtleties.

"what??"

Shopkeeper Wu was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth. This answer was something he had never thought of.

It is said that looking at the body, the glaze, the shape of the vessel, the decoration, the workmanship, and the base style, most people will look at it from the big picture.Young people are the first ones who can see all the subtleties so carefully.

However, for high imitation porcelain, it really needs to be distinguished from the subtleties. He also saw the difference when he looked at the base with a magnifying glass.

This time I am really completely convinced.

After hearing this, Mr. Du also laughed. This closed disciple is really good and he is making rapid progress.

It's only been a few years, and his eyesight is so poisonous, he will become a great weapon in the future.

"Xiao Wu, I think you can take a break recently and take a vacation for yourself." Mr. Du suggested, "Let Xiaozhou help you look after the store, if it's not possible, I'll be there."

Shopkeeper Wu's heart moved slightly, but he was still worried. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the young man's voice with a slight smile: "Grandpa Du is too flattering on me. I'm still far behind. Let's accumulate experience with Uncle Wu first."

Shopkeeper Wu was heartbroken, and patted Yun Zhou on the shoulder, "Take a two-month study with me first, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Wu." The young man's brows and eyes were curved into beautiful arcs, and he looked very well-behaved.

Who doesn't like such a sensible young man?

The next day, Liu Zhi came to the store with a plastic box and handed it to Yun Zhou: "I found the pieces, they are all here."

Yun Zhou wiped the dusty box with a damp cloth and opened it.

I saw 16 pieces of broken porcelain inside, each of which was not big in size, the largest one was only the size of a coin, and the small one was as small as a fingernail, extremely pocket-sized.There is a layer of dust on it, I don't know where it came from.

He simply put it together with his hands, but luckily the tiles are complete and there is nothing missing.

So Yunzhou paid the money readily, and planned to clean and glue it this weekend, and try to repair it within a month.

It is more troublesome to repair such small fragments, and the decoration is complicated, so the difficulty of repair is not low.

But for today's young people, it is completely possible. After all, he repairs the most blue and white porcelain, and his skills are already very proficient.

The weather was cold, and no one came to patronize for two consecutive days.

Yun Zhou had a very leisurely life, playing chess with Mr. Du in the morning, and at the same time listening to the other party teach him some skills of antique appreciation.

In the afternoon, I took out the previous professional books to read, supplementing the knowledge of calligraphy, painting and miscellaneous, which is his relatively weak part.

Another customer came this week, bringing a Qing Qianlong cloisonné enamel lion.

The old man in Tang suit sat down, drank tea and said: "I saw this at a friend's house eight years ago, and it cost 5 at that time.

After so many years, I think the price has to be tripled or quadrupled at least. If it is less than 15, I am not going to sell it. "

He glanced at the two of them, and then turned his attention to shopkeeper Wu: "You can take a look at this, this is an aromatherapy, an old object from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty."

Then turned the back of the lion, revealing the empty inside, with obvious traces of use, and a faint fragrance, which looks very delicate.

"Look at this shape, it's so lifelike, only the Palace Building Office can make such a beautiful auspicious beast.

Moreover, this kind of aromatherapy with round carved auspicious beasts as cloisonné enamel was only willing to be willing when the national power was strong during the Qianlong period. Look at the color, the materials used are too luxurious, and the whole body enamel..."

The old man talked on and on, speaking clearly and logically, and it really looked like that.

However, Yun Zhou knew it was a fake when he got started.

Cloisonne has always been a product of the imperial manufacturing office, so it will not be so careless.

Shopkeeper Wu naturally noticed it too, but thinking of giving the young people some opportunities to grow up, he signaled for him to speak.

Yun Zhou cleared his throat: "Grandpa, this is indeed a very old item, but at a price of 15, I'm afraid I can't sell it."

The old man frowned, and paused for a moment at the other party's youthful appearance, with a bit of displeasure on his face, "What do you mean?"

Yun Zhou didn't care about his scrutiny, and continued: "This cloisonné enamel lion is not from the Qianlong period, but from the late Republic of China.

First, its filigree is relatively thick. If it was the court workmanship in the Qianlong period, it would be very meticulous, and it could pinch hair-like filaments, which is obviously not up to the craft.

Second, the lion's ears, including the bell on the neck, etc., exposed copper without gilt, just polished copper, which is completely different from the value of gilt.

Third, the enamel material on it is too uniform and there are no blisters.The enamel in the Qianlong period has not been completely purified, and there are trachoma. "

Of course, there are other things, such as the shape, such as the lion's teeth are not detailed enough, etc. In short, except for the better color, everything is wrong.

The old man blushed immediately, blowing out his beard and staring at his eyes in anger, "You are full of nonsense! How old are you, how can a brat tell the truth?"

He turned to Shopkeeper Wu, "Tell me. Whether this treasure of mine is real or not, you have to take a closer look—"

Shopkeeper Wu said helplessly: "Don't be angry, old man, this... well, if you don't believe me, why don't you go to other stores later to have a look?"

This is the tacit consent of Yunzhou's statement.

The old man took the bronze lion on the table and left angrily. It seemed that he was going to another store for appraisal.

Looking at the back of the other party leaving, the young man was not angry, but there was some doubt in his eyes, "Uncle Wu, I think I made it very clear, why doesn't this old man believe it at all?"

Shopkeeper Wu smiled: "How can you not believe it? At least half of it is believed.

It's just that people always want to hear good things, and they only want to believe what is good for them.Just watch. "

"Yeah." Yun Zhou looked at the little silver dragon who was flicking its tail in anger and its horns were sticking out. He gently touched its smooth scales with his fingertips, and kissed it with his eyes bent.

Not long after, the old man came back with a gray face, like a rooster that has lost a fight.

He put the lion on the table with a bang, picked up the tea and took a few sips, finally managed to calm down, and said with a wry smile: "Young man, you are right, it's my eyesight."

He went to another store just now, and still said it was an item from the Qianlong Manufacturing Office.

The bosses of some small shops didn't have such a good temper, and they sneered and sneered, which made the old man very angry.

Sure enough, if you want to sell antiques, you still have to come to the big stores with the best reputation.

"Just looking at this thing makes me angry. I'm going to sell it today. You can give me a real price." He looked at Yunzhou, "I believe you young man won't cheat me."

"Actually, the craftsmanship of this piece of cloisonné enamel is not too bad. The copper is excellent, and the enamel is full of materials. 8000 yuan can be given."

Yun Zhou glanced at shopkeeper Wu, who nodded slightly, indicating that the price was acceptable.

"Okay, 8000 is 8000." The old man was really not interested, so he sold it on the spot.

In the next month, shopkeeper Wu followed Mr. Du's wishes to give the young people room to play.

Unexpectedly, the other party's appraisal results did not have a single error or omission, and he also had a certain degree of control over the price, neither overestimating nor underestimating, keeping it within a reasonable range, which made him feel a lot easier invisibly.

Although Yun Zhou has only been in contact with the antique industry for three years, the number of contacts with antiques far exceeds that of others.

First, I saw thousands of lots in the auction house, went to the countryside to collect antiques, and visited Mr. Du's house full of collections.

He has handled tens of thousands of pieces of broken porcelain, plus the professional knowledge learned in the junior class of the university, such rich professional knowledge and experience are enough to make him an excellent appraiser.

In March, Yun Zhou took the lower half of the repaired blue and white book lamp to the store.

Shopkeeper Wu looked at the undamaged tray and said in astonishment, "Don't tell me, it was repaired by you?"

Yun Zhou nodded, "It's me."

Shopkeeper Wu hurriedly took another genuine product for comparison, and after looking at it with a magnifying glass for a long time, he couldn't find any flaws, so he was completely convinced.

Within a few days, the pair of blue and white book lamps were bought by a big collector at a high price of 240 million.

He emphasized in advance that this is a restoration. Unexpectedly, the old customer laughed directly, "I have collected it for so long, and I still can't tell the difference between the restorations? Even if it is restored, the degree of restoration is no different from the real one.

All right, let me know sooner next time there is such a good product. "

Finally, he added, "If it's convenient, that master will also introduce me to you."

Shopkeeper Wu: "..."

The author has something to say: Shopkeeper Wu: I'm numb.cigarette.jpg

[Note ① Excerpted from the History Museum]