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

Chapter 95 I Can't (Additional update: Thanks to the book friends who rewarded, subscribed, voted and commented.)
On the laboratory table, ceramic tiles were scattered.

Lin Sicheng is sometimes complex and sometimes dignified.

Below the stage, four people stared at Chen Huaizhi, their eyes full of suspicion and a hint of disbelief.

On-campus recruitment is definitely open. Regardless of whether the position is for a PhD, Master's or intern, the specific requirements for the applicant and the job description after taking up the position will be written in great detail.

For example, the position of "comprehensive research assistant" that Chen Huaizhi applied for requires a major in metal cultural heritage preservation or archaeology, and a concurrent major in ceramic cultural heritage preservation, and must have certain experimental experience.

Even Assistant Feng emphasized during the interview that ceramic cultural heritage protection is a hard requirement. If you don't have this, no matter how well you have studied metal cultural relics or how rich your experience is, you will not be hired.

So they all didn't understand at the time: a laboratory that mainly focuses on metal research hardly uses knowledge of ceramics, so why recruit such research assistants, and even have the same salary and benefits as a doctoral candidate applying for a core researcher?

Now we know: In addition to participating in the laboratory's research projects, Chen Huaizhai also has to do private work for Lin Sicheng... private work!

Are you so blatant about taking the school's money?

And, undergraduate, not yet graduated... Vice President of the laboratory, co-leader of the project...

For a moment, several people's minds were in a tangle and they didn't know how to complain.

The feeling that I had just had a slight change and felt that "the tutor is quite reliable" disappeared in an instant.

I feel that it is worse than a makeshift team...

Just as he was feeling confused and uncertain, Chen Huaizhi stood up and walked to the side of the laboratory table.

She is very tall and has delicate features. Even in a white coat, her figure still looks graceful.

The voice was also very soft, and he spoke slowly and softly: "Junior Brother Lin, do you need help?"

Lin Sicheng didn't even raise his head: "Not for now!"

"Oh!"

Chen Huaizhi nodded and stepped back.

The other four people looked at each other: They’re going to shoot it already?
Chen Huaizhai saw it and smiled without saying anything.

She and Li Zhen had shared a dorm together in college, and it was Li Zhen who suggested she apply for this job.

So she knew very well whether Lin Sicheng was a backdoor agent as the other four thought, or whether he really had the ability.

It is clearer how much Lin Sicheng means to Professor Wang...

The atmosphere was a little quiet, and the few people lost interest in discussing and stared at the laboratory table.

Lin Sicheng was methodical and unhurried, and in a short time, he had all the broken porcelain pieces put back in their original places.

One of them is the "Purple Gold Glaze Fine Sand Sprinkled Gold Bowl" from the Yongle official kiln of the Ming Dynasty: the whole body is brown, and the inside is glazed, as bright as a mirror, as if dyed with purple gold, so it is called purple gold glaze.

The exterior is plain, but before entering the kiln, it is sanded and glaze particles containing "iron oxide" and "ferrous oxide" are added. After firing, the surface of the vessel will show unique "gold-sprinkled" spots.

Not many were fired, and even fewer survive. If it weren't a broken piece, it would be worth at least a million. So, for a broken bowl like this, with a large piece missing, it cost a full 38,000 yuan.

The advantage is that it is easier to fill in the missing piece.

The second one is also not bad: a lard white glaze bowl from Dehua kiln in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty.

The glaze is thick and delicate, oily but not shiny, as warm as jade, with a greasy feel like frozen lard visible to the naked eye.

Moreover, the body is extremely thin, dense yet transparent, and it is definitely the best among Dehua lard white.

Unfortunately, it was even more broken: after putting together more than twenty pieces, there were still more than ten holes. A rough calculation showed that at least one-third was missing. To complete it, repair it properly, and even restore its true value, would require extremely advanced craftsmanship.

After a rough cleaning, Lin Sicheng began to solidify the body: basically, he applied a layer of raw lacquer on the broken ends and then baked it dry.

The steps are relatively simple, so Lin Sicheng works very quickly, just brushing and applying, and then putting it in the electric kiln.

It only takes 15 minutes to make more than 40 white porcelain tiles.

As the saying goes, experts see the details, while laymen see the excitement. Furthermore, as a graduate student, during college, there was no distinction between copper and porcelain; practical courses in all categories were required.

Those people in the audience at least know the process flow of various restoration methods, and they also know how to solidify the porcelain body.

But with Lin Sicheng's speed, even the instructor couldn't have been as fast. The key was that he was too casual, like he was brushing sauce on skewers.

The problem is that the image is fast, have you brushed it evenly?
Although they thought so in their hearts, they knew: Lin Sicheng really could do it, or at least he was much more proficient than they were in college.

But it wasn't surprising: Professor Lin was so famous, everyone who needed to know about him knew about it. Lin Sicheng had been influenced by him since he was a child, so he must be much better than the average person.

A few people thought it was a good idea. Lin Sicheng took out the baked porcelain pieces and let them dry naturally in the shade, then began to mix the paint.

There are not many raw materials, only five: black paint, egg white, glutinous rice flour, lacquer and brick powder.

But the expressions of several people gradually became strange: apart from several kinds of paint, there was only a scraper and a brush on the long table, and no other tools.

There are no drills, no hammers, no rivets, and even no plaster or chemical glue.

What is this for: paint repair?

The so-called cultural heritage restoration is also divided into stages. Undergraduate studies only teach restoration. To put it bluntly: just use glue to stick it on, and use plaster for all damaged areas.

Neither color nor glaze needs to be added. In Lin Sicheng's words: anyone with skills can do it.

Exhibition and commercial restoration are taught at the graduate level, aiming to restore the artifacts to their original appearance, restoring their aesthetic value, artistic value, and even economic value.

The former is difficult, the latter is even more difficult.

The relatively difficult exhibition restoration is divided into riveting, gold riveting, kintsugi, and lacquer according to the completeness and difficulty of the object.

The plum vase that Lin Sicheng had restored last time had been made with the first two. He was now preparing to work on the last and most difficult type: lacquer, also known as lacquer repair.

It’s not that he deliberately wanted to increase the difficulty, but the shape of the vessel was incomplete, so he had to use this method: use lacquer lines to build up the shape, fill the gaps, and then add color and glaze.

What's the difficulty?
First of all, we must not destroy the artistic appearance of the original artifact, but also highlight the retro feel and beauty of imperfection of the restored part.

Secondly, and most importantly: porcelain is porcelain, and lacquer is lacquer, two completely different substances. The difference in expansion coefficients between porcelain and lacquer bodies is extremely difficult to grasp.

If the lacquer base shrinks, a noticeable gap will be left at the repaired area. If the lacquer base expands, the repaired shape will fall apart and may even crack the originally intact porcelain pieces.

It takes at least five or six years of accumulated experience to barely achieve the goal of preventing cracks and shrinkage. Therefore, although schools have relevant courses, not many people take them.

Even if they learn it, they mostly learn theoretical process research rather than practical technical restoration.

Therefore, these people looked so strange: they didn’t quite believe that Lin Sicheng could even do this.

The question is, seeing how skilled he is in fixing the mold and mixing the paint, has he obviously practiced before?
Several people looked at each other. Seeing that Lin Sicheng had mixed the paint and was preparing to mold the tire, Feng Lin propped up his chin and said, "Chen Huaizhi, go and help."

The female master's degree holder was stunned for a moment, her face slightly stiff: "Feng...Assistant Feng, I don't know how to do it!"

(End of this chapter)