As the street stall owner said, there are many realistic things in this ghost market, from different dynasties and generations, with various types of utensils. The only thing in common is ‘new’!
Gao Bin became more and more frightened as he watched, and Huang Yanyan seemed to have been refreshed.
"How could this happen?"
"There must be masters of counterfeiting in this Zhengjia Village." Xu Yuan said in a deep voice.
"Then it's time to get in touch with them and act according to the plan." Gao Bin gave the order and they were ready to take action.
...
A few minutes later, in front of a street stall, Wishing held a cloisonné enamel bronze mirror and asked the boss loudly:
"What do you mean? I see this is a fake and I don't want to buy it. Isn't that okay?"
"I've made a purchase and left. I don't even know the rules. What kind of ghost market are we going to visit?" the boss said disdainfully.
"Fart, you haven't figured out what the word "buy away" means? I haven't paid for it yet, this thing isn't mine yet."
"But you've already said you want it, so of course it's yours. Boy, don't look for trouble. Look where this is. Pay the money quickly and get out of here."
Make a wish and laugh:
"I won't leave! If you don't explain this matter to me clearly today, I won't be done with you. I'm pretending to be a fool with a modern handicraft. Is this how Anyang Ghost Market entertains guests?"
As the two people quarreled louder and louder, more and more people gathered, most of them just watching the fun, and some of them helping to make trouble.
"Grandson, do you think this thing of mine is fake?" The boss saw more and more people around him, and gradually showed a fierce look.
Who is willing to suffer when making a wish? He pointed at the boss and said:
"Okay, grandpa will teach you a lesson today. Before Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the development of bronze mirrors was limited.
Although the bronze mirror casting industry was not as prosperous as in the Ming Dynasty at this time, there were many innovations in modeling, craftsmanship and decoration, forming the unique style of this dynasty.
After Qianlong, as the scope of use of glass mirrors expanded, bronze mirrors gradually declined.
At this time, the number of bronze mirrors was small and the casting was rougher than in the previous stage.
You are in the antiques business, do you know this bit of knowledge?"
The stall owner was dismissive:
"If you fart, let it go."
When I made a wish, I felt like I wanted to express myself. I jumped up on the rockery next to me and said to everyone from a high place:
"In general, the development of bronze mirrors to the Qing Dynasty was already in the latter part of the decline period in the history of bronze mirrors, which was manifested by a sharp decline in output and most of the castings were rough.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, due to the intervention of glass, the production of bronze mirrors began to shift from practicality to imitation of ancient mirrors, and profiteering was the biggest motive for its production."
The stall owner asked impatiently:
"What exactly do you want to say?"
Xu Yuan ignored him and raised the bronze mirror in his hand to show it to everyone:
"The bronze mirrors of the Qing Dynasty have more shapes than those of the Ming Dynasty. In addition to round mirrors and square mirrors, there are also oval eight-cloud head shapes, eight-cloud head shapes, lotus shapes, etc.
In other words, it’s hard to tell the difference between true and false in terms of styling, because it’s possible!
However, bronze mirrors in the Qing Dynasty were influenced by European glass mirrors and were mostly supported by frames, so buttonless mirrors began to increase.
Most of the frames are made of hardwood. The wooden frames used in the palace are carved with exquisite patterns and the craftsmanship is very exquisite.
Some frames are relatively simple, but the concept is very clever. Before opening, it is a brocade-wrapped paper box containing a bronze mirror. Open the lid of the box, and the bronze mirror will stand upright using the support of the lid and the box body.
At this time, some heavy and large bronze mirrors and imitation bronze mirrors were still cast with mirror buttons.
There are generally two types of button systems - one is a cylindrical button, which is taller than the mirror button of the Ming Dynasty, with a flat top and mostly cast with spiral patterns and "Qianlong Year Made" models;
Another type of round button with a flat top, which is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. The top is often cast with longevity patterns and the words "Ren Shou".
The former is mostly found in bronze mirrors cast in the offices of upright officials, while the latter is found in Huzhou mirrors."
Then he pointed to the side of the bronze mirror:
"Look what button this is?"
Although it was dark at night, with so many people, the light from the flashlights was enough to see clearly the true appearance of the bronze mirror.
Especially the button part, which is a round button with eight petals in the shape of a lotus flower, looks more beautiful, but in fact it is neither fish nor fowl.
Xu Yuan held up the bronze mirror and sneered:
"This can only mean one thing. The counterfeiter made a mistake that he took for granted. He didn't have a real master to imitate. He just relied on imagination. He dared to sell such a thing as a genuine product and asked for 10,000 yuan. I'll give you 200 yuan."
It’s all too much!”
Everyone burst into laughter. At this moment, they were naturally in the position of making a wish. After all, everyone here comes here to search for treasures. Who wants to find fakes?"
The boss's face was extremely dark, he frowned and said harshly:
"What you said may not be right. Return the bronze mirror to me quickly. Go away and don't let me see you again!"
Even if he gave in, the people around him began to boo him again, and instead made a generous wish:
"Okay, okay, don't stand around. Thanks to everyone, I successfully cracked down on counterfeiting today. Thank you all, thank you!"
Next, Gao Bin and Huang Yanyan took action separately and exposed several fakes in public. If the management didn't notice such a big move, it would be nothing new.
Soon, several burly men blocked the way of Gao Bin and others, and the leader said with a bad look:
"You guys are quite capable, and we, Mr. Zheng, would like to invite you!"
As soon as Gao Bin heard this surname, he knew that the real owner had appeared, and naturally he would not refuse:
"Lead the way."
The other party obviously didn't expect Gao Bin to be so happy, and he originally wanted to take advantage of it.
It was a good thing to be willing to cooperate. The leader nodded, turned around and led the way, passed through the crowd, and finally arrived at the end of the ghost market. Unexpectedly, it was a cave with guards at the door and bulging waists.
"Wait!" the leader said, asking someone to come over and watch them, and then go in and report.
After waiting for a long time, Gao Bin lost his patience and the other party came out:
"Come with me."
After entering the cave and walking about thirty or forty meters, my vision turned dark and bright again. I was shocked to find that this was not just a cave, but a mountain that had been hollowed out.
The huge space is as big as an entire football field, and it is bustling with people. Most people are surrounding a ring. I don’t know what it is for. Is there a black boxing competition held here?
Without time to think too much, the leader led them along the edge of the cave to a fork in the road. After walking a few steps, it was much cleaner.
After walking about 20 meters, we entered a cave that looked like a side hall. The interior of the cave was decorated in an antique style, giving us the feeling of being in an imperial study.
If the irregular rocks above their heads hadn't proved that they were still in the cave, Gao Bin would have thought he had traveled through time.
Several people were looking at Gao Bin and others with strange eyes. They must be the core subordinates of the Zheng family. Gao Bin paid no attention to them, but focused on the middle-aged man behind the desk.
He was playing with a snuff bottle and carefully wiping it with a brush.
The man in the lead whispered a few words into the middle-aged man's ear, and then stood with his hands clasped by his side.
"You guys are making such a big fuss outside, should you give me an explanation?" the middle-aged man spoke.
The leader introduced:
"Mr. Zheng, the person in charge of Silihe Ghost Market in Anyang."
"It turns out to be Mr. Zheng, whom I have admired for a long time."
As soon as Gao Bin opened his mouth, Zheng Zheng became interested:
"You know me?"
"I don't know, but I just came here to find you." Gao Bin's words sounded a little contradictory at first, but after thinking about it carefully, there was nothing wrong with him.
"Haha, that's interesting. The reason you made such a big fuss is just to see me?"
"That's pretty much what it means."
"Don't you know that doing this will cause me huge losses?"
"There is no way, we have never met, you don't know me, I don't know you, so I can only knock on the door in this way."
Mr. Zheng put down his snuff bottle and looked directly at Gao Bin with a pair of eagle eyes:
"So, what is your purpose? Think about it carefully. If I am not satisfied, I will make you regret what you did today."
Gao Bin said directly:
"I want a batch of goods with the same quality as this Xuande stove."
After saying that, I put the high-imitation Xuande furnace I bought before on the table, and the sound of 'dong' was very weighty.
"Haha, why should I believe you?"
Gao Bin spread his hands:
"Let's go with your intuition and see if you are willing to take a gamble for profit and trust my character."
"Betting?" Mr. Zheng suddenly raised his lips:
"Since we are talking about gambling, we might as well take a gamble. Gambling is my favorite."
"How does Mr. Zheng want to bet?"
I saw that Mr. Zheng’s eyes were constantly circling Huang Yanyan and Kido Kana, and then said:
"I'll bet you on these two beauties. If you win, I'll talk business with you. If I win, they'll be mine. Break your hands and get out. I'll pretend you never came."
This Mr. Zheng is ruthless enough.
Gao Bin sneered:
"Are you kidding? The bets are not equal, so I won't bet."
"Then don't blame me. You took a chance and caused me heavy losses. If I don't teach you a lesson, I can't explain it to my brothers. Three swords and six holes, or two fingers, you choose!"
Gao Bin shook his head:
"No choice, Mr. Zheng, we are here with sincerity. Since you are not willing to make a big profit, forget it. We will find someone else. You will definitely not be the only one involved in Zhengjia Village."
After saying that, Gao Bin turned around and was about to leave. Mr. Zheng said coldly:
"Wait a minute, you think this is a brothel where I can come and leave whenever I want?"
Gao Bin was about to go crazy. Without using his gun, the few people in front of him were not enough for him to deal with alone.
But just as he was about to speak, Huang Yanyan stopped him:
"Bet with him, I believe you!"
Kido Kana also followed suit:
"Yes, I believe you still have Mr. Xu."
Mr. Zheng sneered:
"Look, these two ladies are bolder than you!"
Gao Bin's face is a little dark, and he is despised!
"Okay, let's play with you. What's the bet?"
Mr. Zheng clapped his hands:
"Yes, this is interesting. I heard that you have good eyesight, so I will give you half an hour to find the three most valuable treasures in the ghost market.
As for me, I also took out three treasures. As long as the value of the treasure is higher than mine, you win. Otherwise, I will be the groom tonight."
Huang Yanyan frowned and said:
"Is this trying to force others to do something difficult? Half an hour is not enough to walk around, let alone find the three most valuable treasures."
Mr. Zheng has a good attitude towards beauties and spreads his hands:
"Then it depends on your ability. If you don't even have this ability, you are not qualified to do business with me."
"Okay, just half an hour."
In fact, this bet is not fair. This is Zheng Zheng’s territory. What good things does he not know?
What's more, Gao Bin doesn't know much about the treasure in his hand. What if it's really a treasure?
However, Gao Bin still wanted to take a gamble, the worst he could do was cheat.
But this person named Zheng can't take advantage of him.
"Happy, you're ready, I'll start timing."
"Wait, I'm not done yet. I can bet with you, but the bet is not enough. You pay for the three treasures I picked. If I win, I will take the treasure away. If I lose, the treasure will be left to you." p>
The man named Zheng is obviously a gambler. What he wants is excitement. Winning or losing doesn’t matter!
"Okay! I agree."
"Then let's get started!"
When the hourglass turned upside down, Gao Bin and the other four rushed out, saying as they walked:
"Let's act separately, make a wish, Yanyan, let's each choose the same thing, choose what you are good at."
"Okay." Make a wish and agree.
Huang Yanyan said nothing, but looking at her eagerness to try, it was obvious that she had a plan in mind.
Also, as the eldest daughter of the Huang family of the Five Meridians, if she can't defeat a ruffian, she might as well not give up her surname as Huang.
Kido followed and made a wish, while Gao Bin acted alone. Before leaving, he reminded:
"Be careful, your moves are bright."
"Don't worry!"
They made a wish and separated!
After they separated, Gao Bin walked around various stalls while analyzing the situation.
Just now in the cave, he noticed the snuff bottle in Mr. Zheng's hand. Thanks to the other party's careful handling and wiping, Gao Bin was able to observe many details.
This tobacco bottle is made of Nirvana white material, and its color is milky white, just like cutting fat.
The body of the device is oblate and round, with exquisite shape, fine and smooth fetal bones, graceful and smooth outer contours, and very fine and clean soles.
The vessel is painted with enamel material, with phoenixes and peonies painted on one side, and quails and chrysanthemums painted on the other side. Because "quail" and "an", "chrysanthemum" and "ju" are homophonic, they take the meaning of living and working in peace and contentment.
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The layout of the picture is good, the rendering is good, the colors are gorgeous, magnificent, the meticulous brushwork is sophisticated, the three-dimensional effect is rich, and it has the style of a palace.
If you read correctly on the bottom of the vessel, there is a blue material stamp of "Gu Yuexuan", and the brushwork is smooth.
A little knowledge, enamel color was an imperial product of the Kang, Yong, and Qian dynasties of the Qing Dynasty. It is the best among porcelains. Its firing process is extremely difficult. Only very small utensils, such as snuff bottles and tobacco dishes, are made in the royal kilns. Wait.
The one in the hand of the man surnamed Zheng should be an enamel phoenix smoke bottle painted with Nirvana. It is not clear which era Gao Bin belongs to during the Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong periods.
But coincidentally, he had seen a snuff bottle from the Qianlong period in a magazine before, which was almost exactly the same as the one Mr. Zheng had. The auction price at that time was close to two million, making it an absolute luxury item.
Gao Bin believes that there are definitely not many treasures of this level in the hands of people named Zheng. In the treasure fight half an hour later, there must be a snuff bottle among the three items.
In other words, he must find a treasure worth more than 2 million to win.
In order to prevent this grandson from cheating, it is best to defeat him with a snuff bottle!
But the snuff bottle in Zheng’s hand is already the best among snuff bottles. Will there be two best snuff bottles in one market?
Speaking of snuff bottles, the three emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong played a role in promoting the formation and development of the decoration of porcelain snuff bottles.
Because these three emperors were all lovers and collectors of snuff bottles, their personal aesthetic tendencies and interests directly affected the initial design and production of snuff bottle decorations, pushing the style of porcelain snuff bottle decorations into a new era. Stage.
Although the porcelain snuff bottle is small, it is very exquisite and has artistic taste that can be appreciated by both refined and popular people.
Emperor Kangxi specially invited French enamel craftsmen to the palace manufacturing office to teach their skills and produce porcelain painted enamel snuff bottles. Not only did he like snuff bottles himself, he also frequently rewarded palace-made snuff bottles to his ministers and foreign officials.
The emergence of porcelain snuff bottles is inseparable from Emperor Kangxi.
Under the initiative of Emperor Kangxi, porcelain snuff bottles began to be fired at the Qing Palace Manufacturing Office and the Jingdezhen Royal Kiln Factory.
In the 23rd year of Kangxi's reign, when Emperor Kangxi visited Nanjing for the first time on his southern tour, he met with Wang Ruwang and Big Jia, missionaries from Europe.
When the two missionaries presented gifts to Emperor Qianlong, Emperor Qianlong politely declined other gifts and only left snuff.
From this we can infer that this snuff must have been packed in a snuff box, but European snuff boxes are inconvenient to carry and easy to smell. If it is packed in an old medicine bottle, it will be too shabby.
Emperor Kangxi loved Western science and technology and loved to accept new things, but he never forgot to put himself first in everything he did.
Therefore, it is very likely that Kangxi ordered the Manufacturing Office to design and manufacture special snuff bottles. The snuff bottles seen today were first made during the Kangxi period.
Since the porcelain snuff bottles fired in the official kiln were ordered by Emperor Kangxi, the decoration of the porcelain snuff bottles was accordingly affected.
Because Emperor Kangxi himself liked elegance, he loved calligraphy and painting and had a strong interest in it. He also loved traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting.
Therefore, the Qing Palace Office gathered a large number of highly accomplished painters, and the content painted by these painters were all designated by Emperor Kangxi, or were subjects that Emperor Kangxi was interested in.
Therefore, since the Kangxi period, some court painters have been directly involved in the painting of porcelain decorations, and the decorations of the porcelain snuff bottles they painted were also indirectly influenced by Kangxi.
And Emperor Yongzheng loved snuff bottles even more than his father.
In particular, Emperor Yongzheng's aesthetics has always been the most advanced among all the emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
The styles favored by Emperor Yongzheng can be roughly divided into two types, one is fine workmanship and uncanny craftsmanship; the other is simple, quiet, natural and simple utensils.
The first style is elegant and delicate, with rich colors, exquisite and breathtaking.
The second style seems to be natural, more natural, without any trace of artificial design, but in fact it is cleverly designed by craftsmen.
But neither Kangxi nor Yongzheng was as fond of snuff bottles as Emperor Qianlong.
How much does he like it? Sometimes he would appreciate it carefully when he was in court. He would hold the snuff bottle and appreciate it anytime and anywhere, so as to appreciate the pleasure that the snuff bottle brought to him.
Therefore, the snuff bottles during the Qianlong period also reached their heyday.
During this period, the number of snuff bottles produced increased greatly, and the varieties emerged in endlessly, with beautiful colors, strange and colorful styles, and various styles.
There are also more types of snuff bottle shapes, almost all styles are available, and the types of decorative techniques are also diverse, such as the combination of enamel and pastel, and the combination of Chinese painting and Western painting.
Whether it is flowers, birds, fish, insects, landscapes, etc., they are all neatly and meticulously represented on a snuff bottle that is only a square inch in size.
This is also the reason why snuff bottles from the Qianlong period easily fetched high prices at auctions.