Reborn Treasure Appraiser: I Really Didn’t Want to Be an Expert

Chapter 101 Who can I sell it to? (Additional update: Thanks to the monthly ticket support from the book friends!)
Shang Yan took out a magnifying glass and a flashlight, and Lin Sicheng also took out a magnifying glass and a flashlight.

But the boss didn't care: with his years of eyesight, he knew at a glance that this was a student.

Including the so-called Professor Shang, he was not very worried: because there were very few people who could see the true details of this Buddha statue.

On the contrary, Fang Jingyuan and Fang Jingshu were very curious and stared at Lin Sicheng for several times.

But after Fang Jingxian gave them a subtle glare, the two of them looked away and turned to look at the Buddha statue.

The two were new to the business, so their vision was limited, so they just watched for fun. Besides, they had been there four or five times already, so they were already tired of it.

After a few casual glances, the two instinctively looked at Lin Sicheng.

Hey, why do I feel the same as them?
Although I had a flashlight and a magnifying glass, I kept shaking them left and right, and it was rare for me to stare at one place for more than ten seconds.

In contrast, Shang Yan remained motionless, her eyes fixed on the Buddha's head for three minutes.

Comparing the two, if we put aside the identity of "a very young appraisal expert" mentioned by the eldest sister, it feels like this guy has no patience at all, is perfunctory and careless.

The brother and sister looked at each other, then at their eldest sister.

Fang Jingxian had a blank expression on his face, still looking cold yet a little melancholy. In fact, he was a little bit wondering in his heart: This kid is too casual?

It's no wonder she was suspicious. This transaction really concerns the survival of the company, so she had to take it seriously.

Just like that, no one spoke. Shang Yan and Lin Sicheng watched quietly, and the others waited quietly.

After a long moment, Shang Yan straightened up, her tone uncertain. "The technique is centered around 'intaglio' and 'relief', supplemented by round modeling and flat carving. It's a bit like the Southern School knife techniques of the Ming and Qing dynasties?"

Lin Sicheng didn't say anything, just nodded.

"She has a well-proportioned figure, well-proportioned eyebrows, long eyes, a high nose, thin lips, and a dignified yet gentle expression. Her clothing is light and fitted, with simple yet flowing folds, somewhat reminiscent of early Ming Dynasty court portraits. Perhaps this is a legacy of the Ming court inherited during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties?"

After a slight pause, Lin Sicheng nodded again.

To be more precise: the figure is well-proportioned, but compared to domestic Buddha statues, it is too slender. This only highlights the statue's elegant beauty, which is almost bony, but ignores the fact that excessive thinness makes it appear frail and lacks solemnity.

What’s more, it is a statue of Sakyamuni?
Of course, this is based on domestic Buddhism, namely Han and Tibetan Buddhism. If it is foreign Buddhism, there are even thinner ones.

Shang Yan continued reading: "The wood is definitely mahogany. The color is very dark, the structure is fine, the texture is hard, and the pattern is natural and smooth. It looks a bit like ironwood!"

Lin Sicheng nodded again: This is chicken wing wood, which belongs to the same genus as ironwood. The wood types are very similar. It is normal that people who do not specialize in rosewood cannot tell the difference.

"The surface oxide layer is very gentle and lustrous, it must be a natural patina!"

After a brief pause, Shang Yan estimated: "Is it about three hundred years?"

Lin Sicheng's eyes lit up: "Yes!"

Shang Yan's estimate was a little shorter, adding another two hundred years: tomorrow morning.

But Lin Sicheng still wanted to give a thumbs up.

Unlike her grandfather, Shang Yan had such long-term goals and was driven to learn everything. She had dedicated half her life to one thing: studying porcelain. Any other cultural relics and antiques she'd dabbled in were simply incidental interests related to porcelain.

So, it is really amazing that she can identify it to this extent.

Shang Yan also felt that she was quite remarkable and nodded with satisfaction.

But having grown up with him, she understood Lin Sicheng better: If you dare to agree with what this guy says, he will flatter you and then sell you for a good price.

Shang Yan raised her eyelids and pursed her lips: "Don't just nod, just say it directly if there's something wrong!"

"it is good!"

Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "It is indeed an object from the Ming Dynasty, but a little earlier, roughly around the Yongle to Xuande period, that is, the early Ming period... This includes the carving style and the natural patina!"

"It is indeed redwood, and it is a genuine ironwood: white flowered tung wood!"

Shang Yan rolled her eyes and smiled: I knew you were a sweet talker.

There is a difference of two hundred years between tomorrow morning and "three hundred years ago"?

White flowered tung wood is indeed a rosewood, but it is essentially different from ironwood.

"White tung wood, also known as chicken wing wood, right?"

"Yes!" Lin Sicheng nodded. "It's the same wood mentioned in the literature, named after the texture of the wood that resembles a water bird!"

Shang Yan pointed at the scripture in the Buddha's hand. "Isn't this Sanskrit?" "Yes, Pali, created in the third century BC, is a branch of ancient Sanskrit. Initially, it was just a dialect in central India, but after the Christian era, it was revered by the Theravada (Hinayana) school of Buddhism in the south as the holy language, the language of the Buddha..."

"What about this sutra?"

"Palm leaf scriptures are Buddhist texts written on palm leaves, similar to the bamboo slips of the Jin Dynasty and earlier in China. However, in India, these leaves are extremely rare, so they are used exclusively for writing Buddhist scriptures... The content of the scripture is the Four Part Vinaya, which is part of the upper part of the Vinaya Pitaka."

Lin Sicheng talked freely, the boss and his wife looked delighted, and the three Fang siblings' eyes lit up.

Fang Jingshu, the youngest sister, couldn't help but ask: "The Bayeux Scriptures, are they also in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Yes!"

And there are quite a few.

Tang Sanzang obtained 657 Buddhist scriptures from India, 526 of which were palm leaf scriptures. Most of them are now treasured on the third floor of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

In addition, the fourth floor also houses 150 Buddhist grains from an Indian monk that Tripitaka brought back along with the scriptures, eight gold and silver Buddha statues, and the manuscript of "A Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty" written by Tripitaka himself.

And this is only the third and fourth floors, the other five floors and underground palaces contain even more treasures. So, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is really not bad...

The three siblings looked at Lin Sicheng, then looked at each other.

I have been here five or six times and have invited many experts, but this is the first time someone has given such a comprehensive account?
Sure enough, people cannot be judged by their appearance.

Shang Yan was also very happy and quite complacent: See, I was right: I said he can do it, so he definitely can do it.

Think again about Lin Sicheng’s conclusion: tomorrow morning, the palace carving style, chicken-wing wood, palm leaf scriptures… Of course, it is just a wood carving imitating the palm leaf scriptures, but what is engraved is ancient Sanskrit.

The most important thing is that the quality is so good, which means that the attributes of "valuable" and "very valuable" are all stacked up?
Fang Jingxian breathed a sigh of relief: She was not afraid of expensive things, but she was afraid of encountering fakes.

After exchanging glances with Shang Yan, she looked at the boss again and was about to ask the price when Lin Sicheng nodded at the Buddha statue: "Wait a minute, I haven't finished yet!"

After a moment of shock, Fang Jingxian and Shang Yan looked at each other.

Shang Yan gave Lin Sicheng a calming look and then looked at him: "No rush, take your time!"

Lin Sicheng was certainly not in a hurry. He spoke slowly, "There's nothing wrong with the item. It's a wenge wood Buddha statue, and it does have the style of Ming Dynasty court carving. The date is also correct: at least 500 years old. But the shape is wrong, and the location is wrong... Let's talk about the material first: wenge wood..."

The Ming Dynasty's "Ge Gu Yao Lun" states: "The wood of the 鸂鶒 tree originates from the Western Regions and has crab claw patterns on the inside... The Western Regions used it to make a noose for camel noses... The so-called Western Regions, in the Ming Dynasty, referred to the Tibetans and the neighboring Burmese nomads. At the time, this object was used as a bridle for livestock...

To put it bluntly, wenge was not valuable in the Ming Dynasty. When did it start to become valuable? The old Eight Banners in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China: sleeping red sandalwood, sitting rosewood, medicinal huanghuali, and wenge for utensils..."

Lin Sicheng turned the statue around. "Looking at the craftsmanship and style, it does have the style of early Ming Dynasty palace carvings, but only in part. The other part is a blend of the artistic styles of Southern Buddhism from the Xuanwei (Jiemi) period of the Ming Dynasty and the Wakhan Kingdom of Burma: thin and elegant..."

During that period, from the Hongwu to the Xuande reigns, a period spanning just over forty years, Myanmar paid tribute to the Ming dynasty over thirty times, averaging nearly once a year. Successive emperors were delighted and showered the Ming dynasty with gifts: silk, tea, porcelain, and various crafts and technologies.

This was also a period of rapid development in Myanmar's technology and craftsmanship. Therefore, not only wood carvings, but also architecture, painting, and music, all of which have been preserved, have a strong Ming Dynasty style...

Let's talk about this Buddha statue again: If I say too much, it might be hard to understand, so I'll just say this: Have you ever seen such a thin Sakyamuni statue in any temple in China?

Fang Jingxian was stunned: I have seen many wood carvings of similar style, such as ladies and scholars, all of which are of the same style.

But Buddha statues? It seems like I've never seen one this thin before.

As for Buddhist sculptures in different dynasties: the Han Dynasty is good at fullness, the Tang Dynasty is good at fatness, the Song Dynasty is good at simplicity, the Yuan Dynasty is good at roughness, the Ming Dynasty is good at softness, the Qing Dynasty is thick and stiff... But this one is thin and bony?
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that what Lin Sicheng said made sense. She suddenly raised her head and asked, "Anything else?"

"Yes!" Lin Sicheng pointed at the scriptures. "Tibetan Buddhism was introduced to China in the seventh century by Songtsen Gampo's Indian consort, Princess Bhrikuti. She brought with her paper scriptures in Gupta Sanskrit, which are clearly recorded in relevant documents.

Therefore, it is impossible to carve Pali palm leaf scriptures on Tibetan Buddhist statues... And in the world, only the Southern Buddhism in India and Thailand and Myanmar uses Pali and palm leaf scriptures... Let me say one more thing..."

Lin Sicheng followed the Buddha statue and made a hand gesture, holding something with one hand and letting the other hand hang down: "This posture originated from the mendicant Buddha in Southern Buddhism, one of the seven incarnations of Sakyamuni, and symbolizes begging for alms...

Only during the Wakhan Dynasty in Myanmar did begging for alms change to begging for sutras, meaning to preach the Dharma... But this practice lasted only a short time, about 70 years. After the Wakhan Dynasty moved its capital to Pegu and established the Pegu Dynasty, begging for sutras changed again...

But no matter what it is changed to, it has only one name: Wednesday Buddha: ...To be more precise, believers in Thailand and Myanmar worship different Buddhas every day of the week: this one is only worshipped on Wednesdays...

Therefore, this is a Theravada Buddhist statue of the Buddha of the Sun Yat-sen School, carved in the early Ming Dynasty and belonging to the Wakhan Dynasty of Myanmar, a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty... It has nothing to do with Chinese Buddhism or Tibetan Buddhism."

The three siblings were confused and stunned for a long time.

Suddenly, Fang Jingxian realized: "Are there any followers of Theravada Buddhism in China?"

"Yes!" Lin Sicheng nodded. "It's limited to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, and some surrounding counties and cities... But there's one thing: they only honor the Buddha, Shakyamuni. No other gods are recognized, and it doesn't matter what day of the week it is!"

Fang Jingxian was stunned, his face turned from pale to red, and then from red to blue: There are not even any believers in the country, who can I sell this thing to if I buy it?
(End of this chapter)