Looking at Mr. Xu's earnest eyes, Shen Yu quickly declined, "Mr. Xu, you are just out of touch. As a junior, it is only natural for me to help you unwrap a piece of wool. How can I ask for such a valuable antique from you? No way. , absolutely not."
Both Xiao Zhongying and Mr. Wu were very surprised when their old friend took out the mutton-fat white jade brand that he had been wearing for more than 20 years.
You must know that Mr. Xu always regarded this jade medal as a treasure and regarded it as the proud work of his career as a treasure hunter. Even if Xu Duofu wanted to wear it for a few days, he would only wear it occasionally at certain treasure appraisal meetings. I took it out for people to look at, but I didn’t know that I gave it to Shen Yu today.
"What's wrong? The stuff belongs to me, so I can tell you it's okay!"
Mr. Xu walked up to Shen Yu and put the jade plaque into Shen Yu's hand with a smile on his face, "Shen Yu, I want to ask you something, and you must tell the truth."
Shen Yu was a little confused, but he still straightened his body and said, "Mr. Xu, if you want to ask anything, just ask, I will definitely tell you everything."
"Everyone in the Chuzhou antique circle should know that Duofu was rescued by you, right? Let's not talk about distant places, just the owners of the three famous stores in the flea market, such as Lao Li of Hanlin Pavilion and Bogutang Lao Liu and the old Dong from Wanbao Tower must know about it, right?"
Shen Yu didn't understand what Mr. Xu meant for a while, and thought to himself, he just knew this if he knew about it? It's not something to be afraid of.
But Mr. Xu asked, and Shen Yu felt that he couldn't pretend that he hadn't heard. While he nodded, he also wanted to explain that there was no one who saved whom at the Jiang'an Villa.
But Mr. Xu waved his hand to signal Shen Yu not to speak yet, so he could only hold back his words.
"I know what you want to say. It can be said that you are helping each other in times of crisis, but outsiders don't see it that way. I called you here today. The first thing is to ask you to join our Chuzhou Collection Association. The second point is also the last point. The important thing is to thank you very much."
Shen Yu smiled and punched Xu Duofu, who was standing stupidly next to him, "Mr. Xu, Duofu and I are very attached to each other. This friendship actually has nothing to do with money. There are many people who I might not be able to save even if I save them. You would never treat me as sincerely as Duofu.
"My brothers and I have a very good relationship, so you insist on giving me some kind of thank you gift. Isn't this a betrayal?"
Mr. Xu waved his hand again, "Xiao Shen, that's not what you think. If I don't repay a favor, what will my peers in Chuzhou think of me?"
After speaking, Mr. Xu pointed to Xiao Zhongying and Mr. Wu, "What will these old friends of mine think of me? Besides, today you cut me another piece of Zhengyang green jade that is infinitely close to glass, and it is still such a big bracelet. Material, if I don’t express myself, I will be stabbed in the spine.”
Seeing Shen Yu's embarrassed look, Mr. Wu smiled and patted Shen Yu on the shoulder, "Shen Yu, the elders can't refuse this gift. Since it was given to you by Lao Xu, just take it. He doesn't lack it anyway." Point some money.
"And this is what you deserve. If the old master of the Xu family picked out the bracelets for this piece of jade, he should be able to get three pieces. This kind of jade without cotton and cracks would cost 12 million for one piece. Three pieces are equivalent to 36 million. The remaining materials can be used to make three or four Zigang tablets and more than 20 ring faces. If calculated in this way, if this piece of jade is fully utilized, it can produce a value of close to 50 million. .
"You should have understood what Lao Xu said just now. If he doesn't thank you now, his reputation will be ruined. You are actually helping him indirectly by accepting this jade plaque."
Shen Yu lowered his head and looked at the jade medal in his hand. It was indeed a mutton-fat white jade medal. It felt warm and delicate. Holding this jade medal was like holding a piece of mutton fat.
Observe carefully, you can see that the head of this jade brand is carved with auspicious cloud patterns, the style is typical of the 46th brand, the jade is white, the patina is natural, the polishing is exquisite, and the carving is delicate.
Overall, there is no choice in material or carving. It is a typical combination of good materials and fine craftsmanship.
Half of the front is a beautiful landscape pattern, and the other half is a scene of ancient scholars rushing to take exams and saying goodbye.
Opening the back, as expected by Shen Yu, there is an ancient poem in Yang-carved seal script, which is the famous farewell poem of Wang Changling, the Seven Masters:
"Flowing water connects you to Wugang, and you don't feel hurt when you are away."
"The green mountains are one with the clouds and rain, how could the bright moon ever be two villages?"
Next to the poem, there is the author's name in regular script with three characters "Lu Zigang".
Many people will ask why the Zigang brand is signed as Lu Zigang? Isn’t he called Lu Zigang?
In fact, there is nothing wrong with this signature, because many Zigang jades collected in the Qing Dynasty have the signatures of both Lu Zigang and Lu Zigang.
Seeing the characters on the jade plaque, Shen Yu immediately gave a thumbs up to the jade carver of the Zigang plaque. The characters had an ancient meaning and were elegant in vertical and horizontal strokes. They were better than those written on paper.
The exquisite carving skills can be said to have reached the pinnacle of jade craftsmanship.
"This sign is a typical Ming Dynasty carver from the decoration to the craftsmanship. The Zigang sign from the Ming Dynasty has basically disappeared. As for whether it was carved by Lu Zigang himself, it's hard to say." Shen Yu reminded himself secretly in his heart. .
In the history of jade carving, the Ming and Qing dynasties deserve a special book.
Without it, the carving would be beautiful.
The shape and carving of jade are in line with modern people's aesthetics, making them pleasing to the eye.
Many people feel that the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty are so close. Is it difficult to distinguish the jade articles of the Ming Dynasty from those of the Qing Dynasty?
No!
In fact, the Ming Dynasty's card-shaped pendants are very different from those of the Qing Dynasty.
Because the size of Zigang tablets handed down from the Qing Dynasty are generally larger than those of the Ming Dynasty, and the borders are wider.
In other words, the materials used in the Zigang brand of the Qing Dynasty were more generous and solid than those of the Ming Dynasty.
The reason is that it was easier to obtain jade materials in the Qing Dynasty, especially during the Qianlong Dynasty and later, while it was more difficult to obtain Hetian jade in the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, jade carving craftsmen in the Qing Dynasty had sufficient materials and were able to express their own ideas on jade articles.
Another point is that the shape and decoration of Zigang tablets in the Qing Dynasty were more complex, and the carving was even more refined than in the Ming Dynasty.
Compared with the Ming Dynasty, the cards in the Qing Dynasty had many more patterns. In addition to the content of traditional poetry, calligraphy and painting of the Ming Dynasty, there were also characters from dramas and ancient legends, such as Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage, Romance of the West Chamber, The Three Heroes, etc. p>
Can it be said that the overall skills of jade craftsmen in the Qing Dynasty have surpassed those of the Ming Dynasty?
Not really!
Because the jade craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty paid attention to a simple and elegant style when carving jade, and did not pay much attention to complicated patterns. If the characters can be lifelike with just a few cuts, why bother with it?
The reason why jade craftsmen in the Qing Dynasty focused on fine knife work was mainly because of the fierce competition.
Although good jade gathers the capital's masters, skillful workmanship is favored by Su County.
The competition among jade craftsmen in Jiangnan was not too fierce in the Ming Dynasty, but became very fierce in the Qing Dynasty.
This is mainly because the production and sales of jade in the Qing Dynasty were more prosperous than in the Ming Dynasty.
If the market demand is great, there will be more people working in the industry. If there are more people working in the industry, the competition will definitely be greater.
In the Qing Dynasty, the more complex the patterns on jade were, the more skilled the jade craftsman was, and the higher the price of the carved jade would be.
Therefore, in some antique markets now, some vendors use some not-so-finely carved cards to pass them off as Zigang cards from the Ming Dynasty, and some people are really fooled.
This is also a discernment process that many collectors must go through in antique collection, because when it comes to antiques, many people think that the older they are, the more sophisticated they are, but this is not the case.
"This jade plaque is Mr. Xu's treasure, so I can't ask for it at all, but how can I politely refuse Mr. Xu?"
We can neither let Mr. Xu lose face in front of his old friends and these juniors of the Xu family, nor let Mr. Xu and the other two big guys feel that they despise the value of this Zigang card.
