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

Chapter 86 Famous Celebrities
Lin Sicheng stared intently, reading almost every word.

The more I look at it, the more it resembles me...but how is that possible?

Zhao Mengfu was the eleventh-generation grandson of Zhao Kuangyin. After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, he surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty. He was badly regarded by later generations, who called him a "book slave" and a "lowly flatterer."

Even so, Zhao Mengfu is still ranked among the top ten ancient calligraphers. Therefore, his works are no longer worthy of being described as "precious".

Let’s count again: including those in foreign and domestic museums and private collections, there are less than twenty paintings that have been confirmed to be authentic.

But on the other hand, if he were asked to judge the difference between this painting and the one in the National Palace Museum in Taipei based on the handwriting, Lin Sicheng really couldn't tell.

Because resemblance is only one aspect, it also depends on the brushstrokes, brush ideas, rules and strength.

To be fair: even if it's a copy, it's the work of a master artist whose brushwork is no less impressive than Zhao Mengfu's. And he must have copied the painting in the National Palace Museum in Taipei no less than a hundred times before he finally put pen to paper.

So, this is out of the question: After the Yuan Dynasty, how many people can compare with Zhao Mengfu in brushwork skills?

The more he looked, the more confused he became. Lin Sicheng simply skipped the font and looked at the paper of the painting.

The painting paper shows obvious signs of oxidation and fading, but it can still be seen that it is the finest mulberry paper from the Yuan Dynasty: the color is still bright and the paper is still smooth.

When shining a strong flashlight, gold foil and faint gold dragon and cloud patterns can be seen between the lines.

Mulberry bark as the base, dyed yellow as the bottom, clouds and dragons as the pattern, sprinkled with gold to add brilliance?
Lin Sicheng was stunned and exclaimed: Mingren Hall paper?

This name was only used during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, and refers to the Mingren Hall in the Yuan Dynasty palace where this type of paper was first produced.

Regardless of whether it was a genuine Yuan Dynasty piece or a Qing Dynasty imitation, they had only three uses: writing imperial edicts, providing the emperor with paintings, calligraphy, and Buddhist scriptures, and painting, calligraphy, and Buddhist scriptures for the emperor...

But this is only secondary. The key point is that this thing has long been extinct.

To date, only the Palace Museum has one such painting: a wax paper with gold ruyi cloud patterns painted by Emperor Qianlong in imitation of the Mingren Hall.

That's right, there's only this one in the world. There are no other copies, whether paintings, calligraphy, Buddhist scriptures, or even imperial edicts. This means the one in the Palace Museum is a genuine, one-of-a-kind piece.

Moreover, this is an imitation made during the Qianlong period. It is authentic Yuan Dynasty Mingren Hall paper, which even Qianlong had never seen.

But here, one popped up?
Add to that the handwriting and the decoration... Haha, it was commissioned by Emperor Yuan and it's an authentic work by Zhao Mengfu... Do you believe that it can be a treasure in a provincial museum?
The damn thing is, the more he looks at it, the more real it becomes...

But the logic doesn't make sense: if it is a genuine product, there is no need for Mr. Ma to cheat here.

If it's genuine, Baoli would definitely have started promoting it: a special sale of Zhao Mengfu's "Heart Sutra in Sanskrit Seed Characters," commissioned by the Yuan Dynasty court...

Even though it's only 2007, the starting price is at least 10 million. Ten years from now, if the price is under 100 million, Lin Sicheng will kowtow a hundred times.

So, something must be wrong.

He held a high-powered flashlight in one hand and a magnifying glass in the other, examining the area almost inch by inch.

First, the color: dyed with yellow chrysanthemum, the surface is calendered. Then look at the edge of the drawing paper: it is more than twice as thick as ordinary paper.

"Autumn Stream Collection" by Wang Yun of the Yuan Dynasty: It is yellow and thick like a board, polished on both sides... Does it match?

Lin Sicheng tilted the flashlight:

Gold foil is dotted with stars, and clouds and dragons are faintly visible underneath... Yuan Dynasty's "Zhi Zheng Zhi Ji" Volume 3 "Neifu Paper": Decorated with mud gold cloud and dragon patterns, with gold sprinkled in between... Is it right again?
Hey, that's not right...what's wrong?
The "Neifu Paper" states that "gold is sprinkled between the dragon patterns," but this one says "gold foil is on top, dragon patterns on the bottom?"

Lin Sicheng, feeling refreshed, shone his flashlight to the side. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared before his eyes.

It's not the golden light of gold foil and mud-gold dragon patterns, but the light that shines on the glass and reflects back.

The question is, where did it come from?

Using a high-powered scope, also aimed at the side, Lin Sicheng took a closer look. Then, his eyes slowly widened: Between the gold foil and the cloud pattern, there seemed to be a layer of film? Extremely thin, almost imperceptible, infinitesimal...

Lin Sicheng's eyelids twitched, and it suddenly dawned on him: the paper was fake!

It's definitely a copy.

Authentic Yuan Dynasty imperial paper will definitely have the dragon pattern on the same layer as the gold foil, and there will never be a phenomenon where the foil and the pattern are separated.

If it is separated, it is definitely imitation paper.

Simply put, making Neifu paper requires a very high technical level: in order to adhere the gold foil to the paper, wax must be applied to the plain paper. However, wax is water-resistant, so to avoid reducing its ink-receiving ability, the paper surface must be repeatedly polished with jade stones to allow the wax to blend into the paper.

But imitations lack this technology, and cannot achieve both the ability to make the wax film adhere to the gold foil and not be waterproof. To put it bluntly: the dragon pattern cannot be painted on.

There was no other way, so I had to find another way: first draw the dragon pattern on plain paper, then apply wax, then sprinkle gold foil, and finally polish it.

The paper made in this way will form a wax film between the foil and the texture.

Look at the color of the paper: the edge of the paper is brown, and the fibers are broken in a floc-like manner... Roughly speaking, it should be around four to five hundred years old, around the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

In this way, it is equivalent to the Ming Dynasty imitators using Ming Dynasty imitation imperial paper to imitate Zhao Mengfu's original work, and then using Yuan Dynasty binding?

Even the handwriting was copied to 90% of its original size?

Not to mention ancient times, even now, how many appraisers can tell the difference based on their eyesight alone?

But Baoli can do it.

Lin Sicheng really wanted to point out that there is always someone better than you.

That is why Baoli did not accept it, because if this thing was sold as a fake, it would definitely be sold as an authentic work of Zhao Mengfu.

Don’t say that Teacher Ma is cheating. Even if she hangs herself here, Baoli will not be able to destroy her reputation.

But the question arises again, why does Ye Anning still insist?
Because of the words!
As the saying goes, it is easier to draw the skin than the bones of a tiger, which refers to copying.

Any calligraphy forgery that can imitate the original handwriting to 50% can be called an expert, and if it can imitate 70%, then he must be a master.

But no matter how high it is, it is only similar in appearance and the imitation is only the skin.

This painting is different: whether it is the brushstrokes, brushwork, strength, or connotation, it has been imitated to 80% to 90%?
If the original author were to rewrite it himself, the result would probably be about the same. This also shows that the calligraphy skills of the imitator are not inferior to those of Zhao Mengfu at all.

The more important thing is that even if it is an imitation, it can be imitated in its own way. How many masters like this were there from the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty?

That's why Ye Anning felt unwilling.

Lin Sicheng was unwilling to give up: such a master would never exceed two hands. Just a little force would be enough to break through that layer of window paper.

He closed his eyes and recalled the calligraphers of the Ming Dynasty that he remembered.

He is proficient in Zhao Kai, with vigorous brushwork and both form and spirit.

It inherits the elegant style of Zhao style and integrates the vigor of Tang style and the simplicity of Jin style.

And it only has a unique style and is unique...

"Ding", a light seemed to light up in my mind: Yu He, Lu Shen, Jin Cong, Shen Du... and even, Wen Zhengming, Dong Qichang?
Lin Sicheng suddenly opened his eyes.

(End of this chapter)