There are a total of seventeen small wooden boxes of various kinds here, most of which have two-layer apertures, proving to be old items from the late Qing Dynasty.
There is one piece with ten layers of aperture, and the ten layers of light yellow aperture are particularly conspicuous under the three-dimensional picture.
Ten layers of aperture, one circle is sixty years old, ten circles is six hundred years, which means that this small round wooden box was born at least six hundred years ago. Six hundred years ago, it can basically be traced back to the early Ming Dynasty.
"Mr. He, would you like to think about it?"
He Jie had already started to pay, but Lao Tian seemed a little hesitant, and then persuaded him again.
"No need, as long as the things are old, just keep them as your own!"
He Jie shook his head. He didn't know why he always wanted to buy these things. Maybe it was because these boxes were similar to one that the old man had collected that he had the idea to buy them.
At this time, Li Yang's heart was beating slowly.
This box is painted red, and there is a lot of dust on the surface, making the box look unremarkable.
However, even if you look at it with the naked eye, you can still find that the color of this box is different from other red boxes. This red color appears to be thicker, a rich bright red, without any variegation, and with a hint of color.
A touch of nobility.
Under the three-dimensional image, the difference between this box and the others is more clearly distinguished.
Other boxes only have one or two layers of red paint, and the most are only six or seven layers. But this box has more than two hundred layers of red paint, and each layer of these red paints is very fine, so
The combined thickness of multiple layers of red paint is less than ten millimeters.
More than two hundred layers of paint, less than ten millimeters thick, Li Yang took a deep breath, he already understood what this was.
Li Yang never expected that among this pile of ordinary lacquerware wooden boxes, he would see a real carved mahogany box.
Decorating red belongs to lacquerware and is one of the varieties of carved lacquer. It is also called carved red lacquer or red carved lacquer. This method started in the Song Dynasty and was carried forward in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is also available now, but it is rare. Nowadays, few people can master it.
This is a sophisticated level of craftsmanship.
The so-called carved lacquer is something carved out of lacquer.
This craft is quite complicated. During the process of making the red paint, you need to first brush a layer of red paint on the mold, and then apply another layer of red paint when it is semi-dry. After dozens of layers, the paint will turn into brown sugar.
It looks like.
Ancient paint, that is, pure paint, is different from today's paint. Today's paint is diluted and neutralized, so it is easy to brush. Don't even think about carving the paint into a work of art.
The paint used at that time was different. You could apply it layer by layer, and then you could directly use the paint to carve out what you wanted.
However, ancient paint was very viscous and solidified very quickly. When applying each layer of paint, you must control the curing time of each layer. The paint should not be completely hardened, nor should the paint be too soft. When applying each layer of paint,
The heat must be in place, otherwise all your efforts will be wasted.
Generally speaking, it is very impressive if there are 70 or 80 layers of paint in Tihong. It is rare to have more than 100 layers. If it reaches more than 200 layers, it must be a masterpiece of the master at that time. With each additional layer of paint,
What is extra is effort and experience.
After the paint is applied, there is another difficult step, which is to wait for the best time.
Lacquer solidifies easily, and when it dries, it becomes very crisp and cannot be carved with a knife. But if it is too sticky, the lacquer will stick to the carving knife, making it impossible to continue carving.
Therefore, the pattern must be carved when the knife is not sticky and not brittle. It is not easy to grasp the timing. If you make a mistake, you have to start over again. Even if you control the heat, you still have to carve the pattern in a short time.
, if the time exceeds and the paint hardens, it will be impossible to continue carving, and in the end it will only be a semi-finished product.
Putting these skills together is indeed not easy.
In addition, there is a very important point. The more layers of paint, the shorter the optimal time. The many layers of red paint are also the most intuitive proof of the level of craftsmanship.
The carved mahogany box in front of you is definitely the work of a top master. It was rare in ancient times. What is regrettable is that it is damaged.
Li Yang also noticed that there was a layer of scratches on the inside of the box, which should have been where the commemorative mark was engraved. This damage reduced the value of the entire rosewood box a lot, which was very regrettable.
At this time, He Jie had already taken out the money, and Lao Tian shook his head unnaturally.
These seventeen boxes cost 20,000 yuan if purchased together. No matter what Lao Tian thinks, these things are not worth the price. Those in better condition only cost a few hundred yuan each, or at most one or two thousand yuan, depending on the condition.
You can buy a bad one for a hundred yuan, but the rotten one is even cheaper.
In Lao Tian's eyes, such a pile of things was not worth the high price of 20,000 yuan, but He Jie was willing to buy it, but there was nothing he could do about it.
When he saw He Jie handing the money to the man in front of him and starting to pack his things, Li Yang felt relieved.
If there wasn't that red piece in it, Li Yang would have objected to He Jie spending 20,000 yuan to buy this bunch of things. It seems a bit unfair to pay 20,000 yuan for something that can obviously be bought for less than 10,000 yuan. This kind of thing
You can buy a lot of ordinary red lacquered wooden boxes in Panjiayuan, and they are all from the late Qing Dynasty.
But it's different with that Tihong piece. Even if it's damaged, 20,000 yuan is a great value. Li Yang would agree without hesitation with 200,000 yuan or even 2 million yuan.
The woman didn't talk much. After counting 20,000 yuan in cash, she took the money and left. These things were indeed passed down from her family, but they were very ordinary, and some people who came to shovel the land to collect the things were not willing to take them.
She came here just to try her luck, but she didn't expect that she actually sold it at a high price. At this time, she left very satisfied, and she left quickly, so that the buyer would not regret it.
"Brother Jie, come with me!"
Li Yang glanced at He Jie enviously. In addition to envy, he also felt relieved.
Where there is a will, there is a way. Li Yang did not expect that He Jie really picked up a leak, and a big one at that. This carved mahogany box should be a representative work of the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty.
Every emperor in the Ming Dynasty had their own favorite things. Yongle liked Tihong the most. That period was also the glorious period for the development of Tihong. If you calculate it according to time, it can be matched. Yongle came to the throne in 1403 AD, which happened to be
More than six hundred years of history.
"Why are you so mysterious?"
He Jie was packing his things. He was not optimistic about these things. He just thought that the old man had the same things and bought them back to study. As an initial collection, 20,000 yuan was nothing to him.
"What are you doing? You missed it!"
Li Yang said in a low voice, while He Jie looked at Li Yang in surprise, and after a while he said: "You mean, there are real treasures in these things?"
He Jie is not stupid. He understood what Li Yang meant when he said this. Seeing Li Yang nodding heavily, He Jie lowered his head and looked at the pile of square and round shapes still on the ground.
small wooden box.
"Real or false!"
He Jie's heartbeat couldn't help but speed up. Something that Li Yang was so cautious about must be good. Unfortunately, no matter how he looked at it, he didn't know which one was the treasure Li Yang said.
There are seventeen wooden boxes of various types here. He Jie is not crazy enough to think that every value here is a real treasure.
"That's it, take it out first, don't break it!"
Li Yang picked up the carved mahogany box from the ground and handed it to He Jie. At this moment, Li Yang finally felt how the people around him felt when he picked up the missing box.
Seeing a good thing being picked up by others really makes me feel a little uncomfortable.
But Li Yang was more happy in his heart. He Jie was happy, and he was also happy for the old man. He Jie's wish was finally achieved. Although this mahogany box was somewhat damaged, it was also a representative work with extremely high value.
It's quite a generous birthday gift for the old man.
Since it is a birthday gift, it will definitely become the old man's things in the future. Now the old man's collection is fully open to Li Yang. There is almost no difference between the old man's collection and Li Yang's own collection.
Thinking of this, Li Yang felt excited again. There was not much difference between He Jie picking up leaks and him picking up leaks. Anyway, these treasures would be gathered together in the future.
"What a treasure? How much is this thing worth?" Seeing the look of envy on Li Yang's face, He Jie's heartbeat became faster and he couldn't help but ask again.
"This red piece is slightly damaged, which affects its value. If I estimate it, it will be auctioned for eight million without any problem!" Li Yang thought for a while and said softly.
He Jie was completely stunned. Eight million was not a problem to him. He could easily come up with a few eight million. But he got these eight million by accident, so that meant nothing.
It’s different. Twenty thousand has turned into eight million. This is definitely a real big leak.
Li Yang's valuation is also based on the auction records he knows. If this kind of redwood box is complete, it will be at least 30 million yuan, and it may be higher. In 2008, Christie's auctioned a complete redwood box of similar size.
The box is also a representative work of the Yongle period, and it sold for a sky-high price of more than 30 million yuan at the time.
The piece that He Jie bought is still intact except for the place marked with the year mark, which was artificially scratched off. The paint surface is a little dirty, but this can be repaired, and after repair, it can be restored to its original beautiful appearance.
At this time, Li Yang also figured out that if the date mark had not been scratched off, I am afraid it would not have fallen into the hands of He Jie and would have been taken away long ago.
Even if it is damaged, this carved mahogany box has a very high value, definitely more than 6 million. After all, more than 200 layers of carved red wood are very rare. Li Yang estimates that a high price of 8 million is normal.
Besides, this is lacquerware, not porcelain. Lacquerware is not as strict about integrity as porcelain. People who like lacquerware may be willing to pay a higher price when they see this red one.
"Come on, let's talk after we get out!"
It took several minutes for He Jie to realize what he was doing, and he immediately pulled Li Yang out and walked out, not even wanting to take away the few authentic late Qing Dynasty red lacquered wooden boxes on the ground.
Lao Tian picked up the things He Jie threw on the ground and followed closely.
………………
Three updates completed!
I'm not used to writing about other people picking up the slack, and I don't have the same sense of freedom as the protagonist. However, He Jie is a very important supporting role after all, and there will be many more scenes in the future. Let's just let him fulfill his wish for the old man this time.
