Antiques with golden eyes

"Xiao Shen's 'resemblance' is very appropriate! This jade medal is indeed very similar to a Zigang jade, but it is actually an antique jade from the Ming Dynasty." Mr. Qian first praised Shen Yu, Then he immediately expressed his opinion.

Lin Xifeng didn't think so. He scratched his bald head and said in a naive voice: "Mr. Qian, your eyesight for appraising porcelain is at the master level, but when it comes to appraising jade, it still lacks a little bit...

"Let me tell you, this, this, this is definitely a Zigang medal made by Qianlong."

Qian Lao glared at Lin Xifeng and said mockingly: "You Xifeng, you drank too much? You just talk when you talk, why do you stutter?"

Lin Xifeng smiled indifferently, "Aren't I convincing people with reason? Mr. Qian, you don't know that Emperor Qianlong is a famous jade fanatic. His jade collection is measured in units of tens of thousands. There are nearly a thousand poems related to jade.

"Let me tell you something you definitely don't know. The names of Emperor Qianlong's seventeen sons are all related to jade. For example, Emperor Jiaqing Yongyan, the word "Yan" means beautiful jade.

"In addition, the jade artifacts of the Ming Dynasty are indeed very good in carving, but the jade materials are generally not very good. This can be known from many old jade collectors.

"And there are several pieces of jade that are said to have been made by Lu Zigang himself. The materials are just so-so. They are ordinary white jade and sapphire, and there is no mutton-fat white jade at all.

"And the rumor that Lu Zigang is not carved from top-grade jade is not entirely reliable.

"I once checked the information. In the Ming Dynasty, the price of a hosta carved by Lu Zigang was fifty to sixty taels of silver. Assuming that it is made with materials, it cannot be made of top-grade mutton-fat white jade."

"In fact, the special emphasis on jade materials started from the 'Qianlong Gong'. The materials used in the jade articles of the Qianlong Dynasty were obviously much better than those of the Ming Dynasty, so this must be a Qianlong Gongzigang brand."

Fatty Li and Zheng Congyuan firmly believed that this was a Zigang card and did not bother to argue at all.

Li Hanlin stood up and slapped his back while smiling: "Shen Yu, you kid, don't just pick some nice things to say just because the jade token is mine. Old man, I don't want to hear any boastful words. I want to hear them." You tell the truth."

"Ah?"

Shen Yu smiled bitterly in his heart when he heard this: "Uncle Li, my dear uncle, I am telling the truth. I know you want me to make a name for myself at this treasure appraisal meeting, but I really can't see the jade plaque. That’s the problem!

"Appraisal of ancient jades is not my specialty. With so many big antique dealers like you here, I don't even dare to lie even if I want to!

But what needs to be said has to be said. Shen Yu scratched his head and smiled awkwardly: "It stands to reason that the process of appraising jade is the same as appraising calligraphy and painting.

"To identify calligraphy and painting, we first see whether the brushwork characteristics of the painting are the same as those of the author.

"To identify jade, you must first start with the knife skills of the jade. To be honest, I really don't know if the carving technique of this jade plaque is Kunwu's knife technique!

"To put it bluntly, Lu Zigang's unique skill Kunwu Sword Technique has been lost. My seniors may be the same as me. It is difficult to tell whether this jade medal is the real Zigang brand from the sword skill."

After listening to Shen Yu's words, Li Hanlin's eyes flashed with admiration. He stroked his short beard under his chin and said with a smile: "That's right. Whether it's the so-called Kunwu Sword or the Kunwu Sword Technique, Lu Zigang's unique carving Whether it is the secret of jade, everyone has imagined it from a few words in various ancient books.

"There is a legend that the fat of a certain animal was first applied to the jade and then carved with a Kunwu knife. No one knows whether it is correct or not. After all, no one has ever seen Lu Zigang making jade. I admit this, please continue! ”

Shen Yu continued to speak bravely: "It is said that the characters engraved on the Zigang tablet are all in Yang script!

"As you all know, ancient jade craftsmen always used more Yin characters and less Yang characters when carving on jade, because it is difficult to carve Yang characters. So from this point of view, there is a high chance that this jade tablet is the Zigang tablet. ”

Li Hanlin disagreed this time. He shook his head and said: "Is it difficult to carve jade in the dark or in the sun? There has always been an endless debate.

"The Yin-engraved characters are concave and it is difficult to repair the characters on the jade plaque. The Yang-engraved characters are protruding and the characters are easy to repair, but the flatness is difficult to fix. The authenticity of the Zigang jade cannot be proven solely from the Yin and Yang characters. ”

"This???" Shen Yu swallowed and said to himself: "Mr. Li, Mr. Li, what are you doing today? Why do you have to ask me to tell you the reason?

"Forget it, I'll just give it a characterization. As for whether you agree or not, that's not my business!"

Thinking of this, Shen Yu suddenly said: "Seniors, because I don't have the Zigang standard instrument, I don't have the confidence to speak.

"Lu Zigang's carving is good, and there are legends that he has three flaws, but to be honest, he is just a jade worker after all, and you may not come across such good mutton-fat white jade material.

"Don't mention him, even the burial objects of Emperor Wanli don't seem to be mutton-fat white jade-level jades. The best is white jade.

"As Brother Lin said, the Ming Dynasty did not pay as much attention to the quality of jade as they do today. Instead, they paid more attention to the craftsmanship of the knife. The fundamental reason is that there is nowhere to buy good jade.

"The real conditions for excellence and the pursuit of the quality of jade materials emerged from the middle and late Qianlong Dynasty."

"I personally feel that this jade plaque is from the Qing Dynasty."

Lin Xifeng couldn't close her mouth when she heard Shen Yu praise her, and even gave Shen Yu a thumbs up.

Shen Yu took a sip of tea and returned a polite smile, "Then is this jade medal made by Qianlong? I don't think so!

"Flawless mutton-fat white jade, this kind of material was often only available in the imperial palace even in the Qing Dynasty.

"Although this jade plaque can also be regarded as poetry, calligraphy, and painting embedded in jade, it is impossible for the palace craftsmen to carve a jade plaque for a scholar to take an exam for the emperor to see.

"So I speculate that this is jade material that was leaked out of the imperial palace in the late Qing Dynasty, and the jade craftsman who carved this jade plaque has a jade-making skill comparable to that of Lu Zigang.

"The Xuande stove, which is similar to the Zigang brand, currently has no standard instrument. Everyone has different opinions and says that the one they have at home is the real Xuande stove. But there is an advantage, that is, many beautifully cast copper stoves have been preserved.

"Of course when appraising antiques, you have to keep the fake to preserve the real, but you also need to have a certain degree of tolerance. Since none of us can find fault with this jade plaque, then it is a good jade plaque.

"Since it's a good jade plaque, it's just a treasure. You don't have to find evidence that it was carved by Lu Zigang.

"As long as the carving skills of Zigang and Li Zigang reach the level of Lu Zigang, and even the masters are better than the masters, then this jade plaque will be a Zigang plaque, a real Zigang plaque!"

After Shen Yu finished speaking, the hall was silent for a while, and then suddenly burst into warm applause. Except for Shen Yu, all the five people present applauded sincerely.

Li Hanlin said with some excitement: "What Shen Yu said is actually what I want to say. Antiques are the inheritance of culture and art. It is wrong to arrange them according to material and reputation.

"For example, does my jade plaque have to belong to Lu Zigang before I can collect it?

"No, even if it is made by an unknown person, it is still a top-level Zigang brand, because he has achieved the same carving skills as Lu Zigang."

"The ancients obviously did not paint for fame and wealth, and did not leave any money or credit. However, later generations knew that famous calligraphy and painting were highly profitable, so they added inscriptions and postscripts to unknown paintings.

"Some even cut off a few calligraphy and paintings with many inscriptions and added them to unknown paintings without identification, which greatly destroys the original artistic conception of the ancient paintings.

"It's obviously a real painting, but it has to be fake.

"It's obviously a fake painting but I have to add the real thing.

“It’s really heartbreaking to change ancient paintings beyond recognition just because of the word “profit”!

"Ancient jade is like ancient paintings. Many jade brand jade pendants that are obviously very well-carved have to be bluntly added with the inscription 'Zigang' or 'Zigang', which greatly reduces the original beauty of the jade. It is really a pity. .

"Mr. Zheng, do you think what I said is right?"

Zheng Congyuan stood up very excitedly: "Mr. Li, listening to you is better than ten years of reading. Your kindness can only be understood from a long time ago.

"I pay too much attention to the material of jade. If it is not a good jade material, I will not buy it or study it. And where can ancient jade craftsmen find so many good jade materials? Most of them are just ordinary jade materials!

"From now on, when I study ancient jade, I will focus on the carving work and not on the quality of the jade. I will no longer put the quality of the jade material first."

Shen Yu breathed a sigh of relief, finally getting away...

However, Shen Yu doesn't fully agree with Zheng Congyuan's words. If you study ancient jade, you don't have to look at the quality of the jade, but I don't dare to do this completely if I open a shop, otherwise I will lose my pants!

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