Antiques with golden eyes

"Boss Wang, to be honest, I am very interested in this painting of yours. I wonder how much you want to sell this "Portrait of King Pagoda" for?"

Seeing that Wang Yuqian was deep in thought, Shen Yu went straight to the point and asked about the price.

"Oh!"

Wang Yuqian came back to his senses. He picked up the cup and took a sip. Then he said to Shen Yu with a smile: "Expert Shen, don't be in a hurry when negotiating the price. I also said that this painting will sell 100% of the time." Here, now I have a heartfelt request..."

Shen Yu: "What's the matter?"

Wang Yuqian: "I have two things here that I want you to take a look at. Don't worry, I won't let you see them in vain. You can reduce the price later."

Shen Yu muttered "Old Fox" in his heart.

Sell ​​it to me. What can I buy for 100 million?

Besides, the price of the painting has not been negotiated, and there is not even a shadow. What kind of discount can you give me?

However, the big leak was right in front of him, and Shen Yu knew that he had to hold his breath.

As long as you can get the big leak, it doesn't matter if you let the other party take advantage.

It is your duty to appraise treasures.

After taking a sip of tea, Shen Yu smiled warmly and said, "No problem, Boss Wang, if you want me to see any object, just bring it out. As long as it is within the scope of my appraisal ability, I can tell you everything."

Wang Yuqian's goal was achieved, and he was very happy.

Identifying antiques may seem simple, but the water is deep.

Although he is not a top appraiser, Wang Yuqian really can’t trust him.

Wang Yuqian naturally trusts Shen Yu.

Whether it’s the treasure appraisal program, the reputation of “Lanting House” or the prestige of Zhongzhonglou, it’s all impeccable.

Otherwise, he would not have invited Shen Yu here.

First, he pulled an ordinary dining table next to the red rosewood round table, and then Wang Yuqian took out a round copper vessel that was both shiny and simple and heavy from the wooden box.

"Expert Shen, would you please give me a look at this object?"

After speaking, Wang Yuqian solemnly placed the copperware in front of Shen Yu.

"What is this, a copper plate?" Li Tietou asked very strangely.

Yu Maolin took one look and then waved his hand and said: "It's not a copper plate, but a bronze mirror."

Wang Yuqian then laughed and said: "Yes, it is a bronze mirror. Bronze mirrors are mirrors used by the ancients. Mirrors made of glass only began to appear in the Qing Dynasty. Before that, mirrors were all made of copper."

Yu Maolin shook his head, "You can't say that. The name of the mirror before the Qin Dynasty was Jian, which means big basin. "Shuowen" said: "Jian can take water from the bright moon, because it can be seen that it can be reflected, so it is used Think of it as a mirror.

"But the water mirror can only look down at the image, but not up, so in the Bronze Age, because the copper surface can reflect light, people directly used the copper surface to reflect themselves, thus producing the bronze mirror.

"There is such a scene in the "Picture of Women's History" handed down by the master of painting Gu Kaizhi. A man is sitting on the left, facing a mirror, and a woman behind him is combing his hair with a comb. This is the earliest bronze mirror painting."<

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Wang Yuqian looked like he suddenly realized, "It turns out that in ancient times, the earliest people used basins of water to shine on themselves. I really didn't know about this. Oh, I can't see Mount Tai. It turns out that you, Boss Yu, are also an expert in bronze appraisal."

”

Yu Maolin's face remained unchanged and he looked like an expert, "Bronze mirrors are very exquisite works of art, so I have done some research on them.

Everyone says that a piece of colored porcelain with exquisite shape, bright colors and smooth glaze or an ancient jade with mellow patina can give people a sense of art and history.

But a good bronze mirror can work just as well, and is by no means inferior to porcelain and jade.

Porcelain has overglaze color and underglaze color, and is further subdivided into blue and white, five-color, doucai, pastel, etc., while bronze mirrors include sun and moon mirrors, twelve birthday mirrors, Shangfang imperial mirrors, mythical beast mirrors, and evil spirits mirrors.

, Immortal Mirror, Divine Mirror, Yiguan Mirror, Panlong Mirror, Double Dragon Mirror, Double Phoenix Mirror, Dragon Pattern Mirror, Bagua Mirror, etc.

The variety of shapes and patterns is simply endless.

The craftsmanship of ancient mirror makers was even more amazing. The size of small bronze mirrors can even be the size of spectacle lenses. They can be tied around the waist with a rope, or carried and hidden in the arms. They are extremely delicate.

Among the many bronze mirrors, there is one of the most peculiar mirrors, which is the translucent mirror.

There is a saying in "Mengxi Bi Tan": There is a translucent mirror in the world, and there are inscriptions on the back of the mirror. The two crosses are extremely ancient and cannot be read. The sunlight on the mirror shines through the wall of the house.

Translucent mirrors appeared in the Han Dynasty. The front is slightly convex and shines brightly. When the light shines on the mirror, the image of the patterns and inscriptions on the back of the mirror will be reflected on the wall opposite the mirror, so the ancients called it a "phantom mirror."

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Wang Yuqian listened with rapt attention, but Li Tietou burst into laughter.

"I said, Lao Yu, just tell me, where can you find such a mirror? It's great if a bronze mirror can identify a person's silhouette. It also transmits light and is like a mirror? I don't believe it."

Facing Li Tietou's sarcasm, Yu Maolin was not angry at all, "Brother Tietou, I will tell you a legendary story from "The Ancient Mirror" and you will believe it.

According to legend, there was a scholar named Wang Du in the Sui Dynasty. He got an ancient mirror from his teacher Fenyin Housheng, who was also one of the great men in the world.

This mirror is about eight inches across and represents a crouching Kirin.

There are also turtles, dragons, phoenixes and tigers, arranged according to directions.

Set up the Eight Diagrams, set the twelve chen positions, and add twenty-four characters, surrounded by outlines, the style is like official script, and the stipples are perfect.

If the sun shines on it, the ink will penetrate into the shadow without any damage.

Lift it and buckle it, and the clear sound will slowly be introduced, and the Japanese will be extinguished.

Use this mirror to illuminate a room late at night, and it will look like daylight.

This mirror is a light-transmitting mirror.

It is also a spiritual treasure mirror that can ward off evil spirits and suppress demons.

With this mirror, Wang Du first took a picture of a thousand-year-old fox at the home of his friend Cheng Xiong.

Then he got rid of a demon snake with purple scales and a red tail, a green head and white horns, and the word "王" on its forehead.

Later, his younger brother Wang Ji went out to travel around the mountains and rivers, and borrowed the ancient mirror to carry it with him, allowing the ancient mirror to regain its power.

As soon as I went out, I got rid of a shark monster that was more than ten feet long, thicker than an arm, with a red head and white forehead, no scales but saliva, snake-shaped dragon horns, and a pointed mouth, shaped like a sturgeon, moving and shining.

Later, Wang Ji had a friend whose family members were sick.

Every night late at night, I would shout loudly.

Wang Ji took out his precious mirror and looked at it. It turned out that there was a dead big rooster under the patient's bed.

Along the way, Wang Ji was simply killing everyone.

In the wilderness, there are giant birds and giant bears blocking the road. If you wave it with a mirror, the bears, birds, and mice will turn around and run away.

When he went out to sea during the tide, he encountered a strange turtle spirit making trouble. Wang Ji took out an ancient mirror and looked at it. The rivers all around him were full of water. The turtles were so frightened that they quickly dispersed.

While traveling in the south of the Yangtze River, when I arrived at the Yangtze River in Guangling, suddenly dark clouds covered the water, and black wind and waves surged. The boat was likely to capsize at any time. Wang Ji took out the ancient mirror and took a look, and the storm immediately subsided and the waves subsided.

I went to a friend's house again, and strange things happened in this house. A female family member would put out the candles every night and make her sleep stupidly without responding.

And I can’t eat and I’m getting thinner day by day.

If you become crazy, you will hang yourself in a well.

Wang Ji pulled out the window and looked in the mirror, and saw the body of a monster with hairless teeth and scaly armor causing mischief. The female family member recovered from the illness.

After that, Wang Ji traveled around the mountains and rivers, or lived in long forests, or slept in the open grass. Even if there were tigers, leopards, and jackals in the mountains, as long as he looked at them with a mirror, these beasts would immediately turn around and run away.

The journey was safe, and finally Wang Ji returned to Chang'an and returned the ancient mirror to his brother Wang Du.

Wang Du locked the ancient mirror in a wooden box.

In the thirteenth year of Daye's reign, the ancient mirror made a sound like a dragon roaring and a tiger roaring in the box. Wang Du opened the wooden box again and found that the ancient mirror had disappeared.

Ancient books such as "Yun Yan Guo Yan Lu" by Zhou Mi in the Song Dynasty, "Fu Boyu's Translucent Mirror" by Ma Jiuchou in the Jin Dynasty, "Seven Revised Drafts" by Lang Ying in the Ming Dynasty, and "Jing Jing Ling Chi" by Zheng Fuguang in the Qing Dynasty all have references to translucent mirrors.

Record.

Li Tietou opened his mouth in surprise: "So magical?"

Yu Maolin said proudly, "Of course, you, Brother Yu, and I have read a lot of books since childhood and have a photographic memory. How can we still deceive you?"

Over there in Yu Maolin the cowhide was blowing loudly.

Shen Yu said nothing and concentrated on appraising Wang Yuqian's bronze mirror.

This mirror is round and about the size of a nine-inch porcelain plate.

The copper is extremely delicate, the casting is fine, the composition is perfect, and the decoration is clear.

The whole body exudes a simple atmosphere.

There is not much patina, so it can be said to be extremely well preserved.

Shen Yu only glanced at it for the first time and nodded. It was basically certain that this was an old object with a wide door.