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

Chapter 18 Nuclear Radiation

As the sky gradually darkened, President Bai arranged for staff to provide additional lighting, and Lin Changqing also turned on a high-intensity flashlight.

The two merchants carefully carried out the celadon pot.

Lin Sicheng followed the old man and took a look as usual, and then his eyelids twitched: a Yaozhou kiln green glaze carved handle backflow pot, and judging from the shape and glaze color, it was actually from the Northern Song Dynasty?

As the name suggests, it is a pot that fills water from the bottom. It has a mechanism inside and its structure is very complicated.

There are slightly more of these in existence, at least more than the "Qunfang Xianrui" bowls from the Kangxi period. Including those unearthed in China, lost abroad, and in private collections, there should be about 40 or 50 of them.

But in terms of value, the Xianrui bowl is not even a younger brother to it, because this bowl represents the highest level of craftsmanship and technology of the Yaozhou kiln from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

If it is true, it is more than worthy of being called a "national treasure".

Lin Sicheng took a breath and looked carefully again:
The main outline is broadly cut on the backing, while the inner part is decorated with comb patterns, creating a distinct relief effect. The lines of the pattern are smooth, and the layout is well-organized, reflecting the typical Song Dynasty Yaozhou kiln "every knife reveals the mud" molding technique.

Look at the glaze color again: the base layer is warm, even and deep, the body and glaze are closely combined, the glaze surface is smooth and bright, giving people a strong translucent glass texture.

The junction of the foot ring and the body glaze reveals a unique "ginger yellow" color. This is because the Yaozhou porcelain clay is rich in iron, which reacts with the olive green glaze to produce a unique characteristic of Yaozhou celadon.

Then look at the bubbles, they are of different sizes, then look at the supporting nails, they are small and regular. Then look at the patina, it is thick and natural...

Lin Sicheng slowly opened his eyes wide: It seems... everything is right?
So the more he looked at it, the more he felt that it was genuine.

Subconsciously, he recalled the scene in his previous life when he first saw the Yaozhou celadon backflow teapot from the Northern Song Dynasty: hosted by the provincial government, with the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the National Museum, the Palace Museum, and Peking University invited, and interviewed by CCTV.

It is no exaggeration to say that Lin Sicheng was already successful and well-known in the industry at that time, but he only took a few glances through the vacuum cabinet and could not even touch it.

Now, you can look however you want, touch however you want... Are you really here just to broaden your horizons?
He wasn't alone; the old man wasn't much better: eyes wide open, mouth open, the powerful flashlight and magnifying mirror fixed in one spot, staring for ages. Only when he was sure he was right would he move forward a little.

After looking at the lid, look at the mouth, then look at the body, then look at the circle and feet.

Inch by inch, he was just about to take an endoscope, put it into the spout and water inlet, and take another look inside.

Knowing what it would mean if the item was genuine, the others were very quiet.

It was not until half an hour later that the old man straightened up.

Mr. Bai was a little impatient: "Professor Lin, how is it?"

The old man spoke frankly: "I don't see any problem for the time being."

Suddenly, Mr. Bai breathed a sigh of relief: it was he who inspected this pot, applied for it, and personally submitted it for inspection, and he also applied for funding from the company leaders and the municipal bureau leaders.

Whether we can make another step forward this year depends on this final step.

The other staff were also very excited: the honor belongs to everyone, and since the leader has made contributions, they can also benefit from it.

The two merchants looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

President Bai winked again, and the assistant picked up the folder, but Lin Changqing waved his hand: "Don't rush to sign it yet. Do you have the appraisal report?"

"Of course!"

Mr. Bai waved his hand and his assistant handed over some documents.

Lin Changqing looked at it carefully, and Lin Sicheng also moved closer.

Carbon-14 dating can be done by the Provincial Museum, the Cultural Relics Bureau, and even the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau. However, to prevent errors, Mr. Bai personally went to the capital.

The testing unit is the National Cultural Relics Appraisal Center. Apart from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, there is no other place in the country more authoritative than it.

Accelerator mass spectrometry was also performed, and the age range of the samples was 1000-930 years.

The third one is thermoluminescence, and the testing unit is the Shanghai Museum.

It’s not that there are no such methods in Beijing, but so far, the Shanghai Museum’s thermoluminescence antique dating method has the highest level of detection.

The results were as expected, with the dating range being 1100 to 900 years.

The span is slightly larger than that of carbon 14, but this is because the detection principles are different, so the conclusions are different.

Finally, an endoscopic examination was performed, and the internal structure, body quality, body color, and age were all normal.

From this perspective, it seems that this thing is indeed fine?
But Lin Changqing's brows furrowed even tighter.

After a long while, he turned around and looked at Lin Sicheng, "Did you see it?"

"I saw it!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "but the logic is wrong!"

Lin Changqing was stunned for a moment, then sighed, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.

What I meant by looking at it is that Lin Sicheng didn't see the problem either. This is not surprising. Didn't he also not see it?

What is illogical is that this signature cannot be made.

Lin Sicheng didn't know why his grandfather was only an advisor but seemed to be the one who made the final decision, but it didn't stop him from suspecting:
In the past, it was not until around 2023 that the provincial cultural relics department purchased a Northern Song Dynasty backflow pot from overseas, which filled the gap that "the Northern Song Dynasty Yaozhou backflow pot came from Shaanxi Province, but there was no backflow pot in Shaanxi Province."

But it’s only 2007 now, so where did this one come from and where did it go in the end?
Secondly, the specifications were insufficient. Recalling a previous life, with the provincial government, a national unit, and CCTV, the only thing missing was renting a screen in Times Square to announce it to the world, the scene today was no longer shabby, but rather eerie.

Of course, it could also be that the time hasn't come yet, or that the level of awareness at all levels is insufficient. But even if political awareness is low, shouldn't a bureau leader be called in, along with three or five equally reputable experts, to jointly assess the case?
Regardless of other things, what if grandpa accepted bribes?
Third, the price is wrong: 660 million?
Even though it is only 2007 now, adding a zero is not a big deal, doubling it is no problem at all.

Could they be patriots who promote their own style? Subconsciously, Lin Sicheng glanced at the two merchants: they were calm and composed, as if they were calm and composed...

There were only three reports and so many words, and Lin Changqing read them over and over again twice.

After thinking for a while, he picked up the magnifying glass again: "Lin Sicheng, you turn on the light, and I'll take a look at the inner tube through the water injection hole!"

The old man asked two staff members for help.

Because you have to turn the pot upside down, so that the bottom is on top and the mouth is on the bottom. The key is that this thing is a whole piece, and the top is the handle, so it must be suspended in the air, otherwise the handle will break if you are not careful.

Lin Sicheng sighed: There is another suspicious point, the merchant is too cautious.

If this thing belonged to me, why would I agree to do this?

I haven’t paid yet, what if it falls?
The old man is the same, once he gets excited, he doesn't care...

In a flash, Lin Changqing took a magnifying glass, covered the water inlet, and signaled Lin Sicheng to turn on the light.

Lin Sicheng held the handle with one hand and turned on the flashlight with the other, and a strong light shone on the lens.

Then the old man picked up the endoscopy report, looked at the lens, and then looked at the photo on the report.

He was still watching and directing: "Lin Sicheng, move a little to the left!"

"Right, and right again..."

Lin Sicheng immediately laughed: The old man is not looking at the inner tube at all?

No, he was indeed looking at the inner tube, but the way he looked at it clearly showed that he suspected the test report was fake.

Hey, don’t tell me?

Just as he was secretly happy, the old man asked him to take two steps back and changed to astigmatism.

Lin Sicheng obeyed the instructions, took two steps back and turned on the flashlight.

But as soon as the light was shot out, he subconsciously narrowed his eyes.

The so-called astigmatism is a halo of light that covers the entire body of the pot except the bottom.

The glaze is not as bright as before, but it is smoother, giving people a vague sense of "green".

To put it bluntly, it's green.

But this is ancient celadon, it can turn gray, yellow, or white, so how could it possibly turn green?

Fearing it was a matter of angle, Lin Sicheng tilted his chin towards the assistant holding the kettle, the girl who had met them downstairs earlier. "Assistant Guan, isn't she beautiful?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked strange: No...what does this kid want to do?
Seeing his grandfather glaring at him, Lin Sicheng came to his senses: he was too absorbed in his thoughts and didn't express himself clearly.

"I'm asking about the pot. Is it very green, like jade?"

Just assume you're asking about the pot.

The old man nodded: "It is quite green, probably because of astigmatism!"

is it?

Lin Sicheng switched to strong light again.

Thinking that he was just hiding his embarrassment, Lin Changqing said nothing, but the others looked even stranger: Why is this kid so inappropriate to the occasion?

Want to tease her?

In an instant, the good impression formed before was shattered.

Lin Sicheng didn't care at all. He just stared at the still green body of the pot, his mind working fast.

It is common sense that ancient porcelain will indeed change color over time.

If it is celadon specifically, if the glaze ages, it will turn yellow.

If it is exposed to moisture or other external interference, the pigment structure of the glaze layer will change and it will turn gray.

If exposed to the sun for a long time, it will turn white due to the influence of ultraviolet rays.

But this one is green?
It's not that it can't have a greenish tint: cyan is composed of green and blue. If the pigment decomposes, the green molecules remain unchanged and the blue molecules gradually decrease, this phenomenon will occur.

But the conditions are extremely harsh, unless there is extremely strong external interference, such as nuclear radiation.

Nuclear radiation? Hmm, something seems wrong...

Lin Sicheng turned his head and looked at the two identification reports on the table: one carbon 14 and one thermoluminescence.

Nuclear radiation, thermoluminescence...

A light flashed in his mind, Lin Sicheng's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth.

Fuck your mother!

(End of this chapter)