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

Chapter 25 What nonsense?

The room is full of fake antiques, even the boss is fake, but a real pot suddenly appears?
Lin Sicheng found it very curious and looked at it very carefully.

After a few glances, he knew. Why did Hao Jun bring him to see it when he knew that this couldn't be the Mingyuan pot?

One is the degree of simulation.

The ratio is almost one to one with the incense pot that sold for 3450 at the Poly Auction in 2015. Lin Sicheng can guarantee that this one was sculpted piece by piece with his eyes open, following the clay model of the previous one.

The strange thing is, it still has its own characteristics?
It is made of plastic with hollowing, soft in hardness, and has natural texture. It has the heaviness of Mingyuan pot, which is "like a heart when looking down and like a tripod when looking up", and the eye-catching feeling of Shi pot (Shi Dabin, a famous purple clay artist in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties), which is "sparkling silver sand and hidden pearls".

However, the technique is more focused on the retro feeling of "Yang's Mansheng Pot" which advocates nature, simplicity and elegance.

At first glance, it looks like a hodgepodge, but it is all harmoniously blended together, forming an inseparable whole.

Based on this point alone, this pot is definitely made by a master.

The key point lies in the postscript: The font is clear, vigorous and unrestrained, unique and sophisticated, and must be from a great calligrapher.

Look at the carving again: the depth is consistent, the strokes are free and easy, and there is no trace. The person who carved it must be a master carver.

Look at the seal again: the sharp edges are exposed, it is ancient and unrestrained, vast and thick... Only a master of epigraphy can carve a seal of this level.

So let’s put the pot aside for now and just talk about the calligraphy, the carving, and the seal... If Lin Sicheng were to tell the truth: his attainments and skills are much higher than Chen Mingyuan’s.

It's not surprising. As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise. If you ask Chen Mingyuan to paint, he will only paint worse.

What Lin Sicheng found strange was that there were so many masters: famous purple clay artists, famous calligraphers, famous sculptors, famous seal carvers... How great must this person be?

This place is blessed with abundant talents and is known for producing many outstanding individuals. But this one is definitely not one of them: it is clearly a joint pot made by a famous purple clay artist, who shaped the base and engraved it with calligraphy and seal carving.

Two famous masters... who could they be?

Lin Sicheng put down the flashlight and held the pot again. He first looked at the inner tube, then the bottom, and then touched it.

It was indeed an old pot, but he was not sure who made it.

Forget it, just look at the words and prints.

But it doesn't matter. Having too much knowledge is not a good thing: in an instant, dozens of calligraphers and seal engravers from the middle and late Qing Dynasty came to my mind.

He sighed, shook his head to clear his mind, closed his eyes, and drew his fingers in front of the pot.

The carving starts with a strong stroke and ends decisively, cutting into the mud with a strong and powerful force.

Although it is regular script, it is lively and agile, with the strokes echoing each other naturally, and has a distinct "Dong style".

Seal carving and calligraphy are similar in style, and clearly come from the same person: the strokes are square and angular, natural and casual, yet sharp.

Hey, Chen Hongshou, Mr. Mansheng?

Look at the pot again... Haha, what did I say just now: this pot combines the strengths of various schools, but it focuses on the retro feel of Yang's Mansheng pot.

So, this is the Mansheng pot made by Chen Mansheng and Yang Pengnian... Oh no, it's the incense pot imitated by the two of them.

Who is Chen Hongshou?

One of the Eight Masters of Xiling, poet, calligrapher, painter and seal engraver.

His books, paintings and seals are collected by many museums, including the Palace Museum, Taiwan Palace Museum, Shanghai Museum, Zhejiang Museum, Suzhou Museum, Nanjing Museum, etc.

He was also one of the five famous purple clay artists in the Qing Dynasty, second only to Chen Mingyuan.

But this pot was not sculpted by him, but by Yang Pengnian.

Yang Pengnian is also a famous purple clay artist, ranking third among the "Five Masters", but he was not well-known when he was young.

It was not until Chen Hongshou was appointed as the county magistrate of Liyang (southern Jiangsu, bordering Yixing) that he was busy with government affairs and had no time to make teapots. Through an introduction, he found the Yang brothers and sisters from Yixing to make teapots specifically for him.

The sculpture is the "Eighteen Styles of Man Sheng" designed by Chen Hongshou, which has been passed down through the ages. After Chen Hongshou's death, Yang Pengnian regarded himself as a "disciple of Man Sheng" and created his own Pengnian pot, which gradually gained fame and became the third of the "Five Masters".

So, two million is really worth it.

Take a look at the transaction records over the years:

The highest price was 1500 million yuan for a purple clay cauldron pot made by Yang Pengnian and inscribed by Chen Mansheng at the Xiling Seal Society auction in 2017. The lowest price was 386 million yuan for a stone cauldron pot inscribed by Jiang Tingxiang made by Yang Pengnian and inscribed by Chen Mansheng at the China Guardian Auctions in 2012.

Now it is 2007, the price has to be lower, but no matter how low it is, it can never be lower than two million.

Lin Sicheng suspected that Old Song only suspected that the teapot was made by a famous artist, but he had never thought of Chen Mansheng or Yang Pengnian. Otherwise, the asking price would definitely be over 10 million, and he wouldn't even put the teapot here.

Tsk, Senior Brother Hao is pretty lucky.

Afraid of being mistaken, Lin Sicheng picked up the pot again and looked at it carefully.

He didn't move, his eyes fixed on the subject. The more Hao Jun and Lao Song looked at him, the more puzzled they found him.

At first, Old Song was still thinking: Hao Jun is a well-known figure after all, but he is getting worse and worse. It doesn't matter if you can't judge it yourself, why don't you bring an expert?
Look at this kid again: there are only a few hairs on his mouth, less than twenty, and you want him to see?

You know what, it looks pretty good and he’s pretending quite well?

Afterwards, as he was watching, Lin Sicheng suddenly closed his eyes, stretched out his fingers in the air, and drew them back and forth, just like drawing a talisman.

Old Song’s eyes almost popped out: This is really an eye-opener. Looking at an antique, there is also a ritual involved?

After looking for a while, Lin Sicheng opened his eyes again.

I don't know if it's the lighting or the angle, but it seems like the young man's eyes are shining. Old Song half-jokingly, half-teasingly said, "Young man, do you want to say a spell?"

What kind of spell are you chanting?
Hao Jun glared at him, then looked at Lin Sicheng: "How is it?"

"Not bad!" Lin Sicheng nodded. "It's a pretty realistic imitation."

Of course Hao Jun knew that this was a replica, and the real Mingyuan pot could not reach here.

Old Song also knew that this was a replica, otherwise he wouldn't have offered it at only two million.

They also knew that this teapot was definitely an old one. Judging from the craftsmanship, it was probably not made by an ordinary artist, and might even be made by a famous artist.

But it was just a guess; they had no idea which famous artist it was.

So Hao Jun only offered 150,000, but Old Song still held on to a glimmer of hope and insisted on 300,000 and refused to give in.

Hao Jun nodded: "There's more!"

"It's definitely an old teapot, from the late Qing Dynasty if not the middle Qing Dynasty. But it's not a Yixing teapot, at least it's definitely not made of Yixing purple clay."

"What?"

Hao Jun and Old Song were both stunned, then lowered their heads: the glaze was purple-black, the diffuse light was lustrous, the sand texture was obvious, and the color was elegant...

Whether it is color and light, or quality and texture, it has obvious characteristics of Yixing kiln, but you say this is not a Yixing pot?
Old Song squinted his eyes and said, "Young man, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say anything you want!"

"I know!" Lin Si smiled. "So, Master Song, can you use this pot to make a pot of tea?"

"Of course!"

Take care of the teapot, take care of the teapot. What's the point of taking care of the purple clay teapot if you don't use it to make tea?

So every day when he opens his eyes, Lao Song will use this pot to make a pot of black tea to stimulate his appetite.

He moved very quickly, boiling water in the electric kettle and taking out the tea box.

A few minutes later, the water boiled, and Old Song sieved, washed, and brewed the tea in one go.

After waiting for two minutes, Lin Sicheng pointed at the body of the pot and said, "Master Song, take a look at the color of the clay first!"

The two of them came over together and looked at it for a long time: the body of the pot was brown-red, and the clay was shiny.

That’s right, right?
Hao Jun raised his head suspiciously.

Lin Sicheng picked up the flashlight, turned it on and shone it towards the pot. "Swish", a blue light reflected onto Hao Jun's face.

Why is it so blue?
He squinted his eyes subconsciously, and was suddenly stunned: Blue purple clay teapot...what bullshit?

Two chapters will be released together today.

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(End of this chapter)