Chapter 034 Kangxi Folk Kiln Blue and White Porcelain
"Is the elder who passed his birthday very close to the Gu family?"
Shen Yu, who had just put down a genuine replica Qianlong pastel celestial vase, turned to Gu Qingqing and asked softly.
Gu Qingqing nodded obediently: "Well, he is a relative on my mother's side. Specifically, he is my grandfather's uncle."
Shen Yu was stunned, and then immediately asked: "Your grandpa's uncle? Isn't he nearly a hundred years old?"
Gu Qingqing covered her mouth and smiled, "Doesn't it sound a little weird?"
Shen Yu nodded but immediately shook his head, "Not really, after all, my grandfather also lived a long life."
Gu Qingqing explained: "This elder is actually not very old, because my grandfather's aunt is only nine years older than my grandfather.
"So this elder's actual age is only eighty, and this year is his eightieth birthday.
"My grandma passed away early, and my grandpa was away from home all year round because of his business, so when my mother was a child, she often went to this elder's house for dinner.
"This elder was a university professor before he retired, and he often tutored his mother in her homework.
"If my dad hadn't just had surgery and couldn't be too tired, and my mother would have to take care of him at home, our whole family would usually come together for this elder's birthday."
Shen Yu nodded: "I understand, then I will try my best to select the best-looking official kiln porcelain."
"Brother Yu, compared to the various antiques on the street stalls outside, the porcelain in this store looks very good to me. If it's really difficult to choose, just choose one of the several official kiln porcelains just now."
Shen Yu smiled: "You think it's good because many items on the stalls outside are dirty.
"Take copper coins as an example. Many of them are stained with rust. When you pick them up and put them down, your palms will be covered with a layer of patina. Don't ask for money. Even if I give it to you Qingqing, you won't take it.
"But if it is carefully wiped, it will give people the feeling of a treasure in the spring.
"The same goes for porcelain. Carefully scrubbed porcelain will definitely look more pleasing to the eye than the one covered with dirt and mud on the floor.
"But people who understand porcelain don't just look at the appearance of the porcelain. Since we are here, we can't make do with it, so we still have to choose one that is good."
Shen Yu counted the Bogu shelves where porcelain is placed in the Bogu Hall, exactly twenty, and now he has looked at half of them.
Seven of the shelves are all antique porcelain, and three shelves have real Qing Dynasty official kiln porcelain.
However, there are not those from the Qing Dynasty, but mostly those from the Daoguang, Xianfeng, and Guangxu periods, and the prices are even more outrageous. A Daoguang official kiln whose quality is much worse than Qian Lao's blue and white bowl is priced at 780,000. .
You can buy such items in the antique city for half the price, so why come to Bogutang and pay a high price?
Shen Yu knew that Bogutang must have many rare official kiln porcelains kept in the vault.
He wanted to ask the old man in the silk shirt directly if he had any good items from the Yatangzhen store.
But after thinking about it, Shen Yu decided to look for it himself. Anyway, there were still ten shelves left, and he could finish them in an hour at most. It would be a good thing to take this opportunity to test his own eyesight.
It would be better if some special abilities of the eyes could be discovered at the same time.
"Brother Yu, what do you think of this bottle?"
Gu Qingqing pointed to a blue and white porcelain vase with a slit, short neck, sloping shoulders, bulging belly, slender body and exquisite shape on the ancient shelf next to her and asked Shen Yu.
Shen Yu glanced at it and found that it was a Guanyin bottle, but there was no specific price tag on it.
The Guanyin bottle is also called Guanyin Zun. The specific year of its creation and firing is unknown. It is said that it is the type of Jun kiln in the Song Dynasty and was also fired in the Ming Dynasty.
Because most of the handed-down Guanyin vases porcelain on the market are from the Kangxi period, some people say that the Guanyin vases were created during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.
Shen Yu walked to the Bogu shelf and took a closer look at it, and suddenly his heart moved. There seemed to be something interesting about this bottle!
The carcass of this bottle has a uniform thickness, the blue and white hair color is rich and green, and the rust spots are obvious. The glaze is bright but does not have the fire of new porcelain, giving people a moist and delicate feeling.
The whole body of the bottle is painted with traditional Chinese ink landscape patterns, with pine trees, rocks, streams and springs forming their own sections, green bamboos and plum blossoms sprinkled with rain, and the mountains in the distance are rendered with dots of ink, without any trace of inscription, as if they were made by splashing ink.
No wonder Gu Qingqing fell in love with this bottle at first sight. This kind of blue and white porcelain with exquisite shape and picturesque patterns is loved by everyone.
Shen Yu has been wandering around the antique market all year round, but he has not seen this kind of complicated and meticulous yet messy porcelain painting technique for a long time.
"A good painter, absolutely a good painter. It is difficult for a painter who has not been decades old to have such superb skills." Shen Yu marveled again in his heart.
Because he knows that putting ink on porcelain is not an easy task.
The production steps of blue and white porcelain are very complicated, and the most critical step is to use blue and white materials to draw various exquisite patterns on the preform.
The craftsmen who paint and write on porcelain all know painting and calligraphy, and the best among them have to copy many master-level works. Wanting to become a porcelain painter often requires both understanding and skills.
The craftsmen who painted on porcelain in ancient times are now respectfully called painters, or porcelain painting masters, or porcelain painting masters.
However, in ancient times, this kind of craftsman master had no status. There was no information about his birth and death dates, his last name, and where his master came from.
Just being called a painter or painter, few people can leave their names in various classics and records like the masters of calligraphy, painting and calligraphy.
Nowadays, a piece of official kiln porcelain from the Ming and Qing Dynasties can easily cost tens of millions, even tens of millions, or tens of millions. However, no one knows who made it, and it has to be said that it is a pity.< /p>
Shen Yu took out his cotton white gloves and wiped the sweat off his palms before gently picking up the bottle. This Guanyin bottle was not easy to hold because the height of the bottle alone was over forty centimeters.
Shen Yu first held the mouth of the bottle with his right hand, then tilted the bottle slightly. When his left hand held the bottom of the bottle, he used both hands to firmly take the Guanyin bottle down from the ancient shelf.
Bogutang has a datewood square table specially designed for people to appraise porcelain. Shen Yu held the bottle in his arms, walked slowly to the square table, placed the bottle firmly on the table, and slowly observed it again.
In fact, the moment he took possession of the bottle, Shen Yu knew that it must be an old porcelain from the Qing Dynasty, because the enamel was warm and moist, which was the same as the Qing Dynasty official kiln porcelain he had handled at Bao Yuxuan.
After observing repeatedly for nearly five minutes, Shen Yu picked up the bottle again.
Gently turning the bottle over, he saw that there were six characters and three lines of "Da Ming Chenghua Year System" on the bottom. Shen Yu shook his head slightly at first, but then nodded again.
At this time, Shen Yu almost knew the origin of the Guanyin bottle in front of him. It must be a fine blue and white porcelain from a private kiln during the Kangxi period.
Although it is not as good as the Kangxi official kiln, the difference is not big, and there is no phenomenon such as glaze shrinkage and flaking. It is probably a fine folk kiln from the late Kangxi period.
In order to confirm his guess, Shen Yu silently recited a treasure appraisal and wanted to use his special ability to identify it.
"Hiss!"
This time, Shen Yu was disappointed again. Just like he was appraising the ancient book "Decoration Chronicles", not only did the special ability of his eyes not appear, but his eyes were in unbearable pain and tears were streaming down his face.
Now Shen Yu feels as if his eyes were pricked several times with a silver needle and then splashed with a few drops of hot oil. The burning heat is accompanied by bursts of stinging pain. Not to mention the uncomfortable feeling.
Fortunately, he has been practicing martial arts with his grandfather for many years, and his body's ability to tolerate pain is extraordinary and he has endured it all his life.
If it were another ordinary person, he would have screamed in pain and might even have accidentally smashed the porcelain bottle in his hand.
"Sure enough, this kind of special ability is not so easy to possess.
"Before we fully understand why the ability to identify treasures can sometimes be used, but sometimes not only cannot be used but also causes severe pain in the eyes, it is better to use it less."
At this time, Gu Qingqing had already called Liu Dongyang, the chief appraiser of Bogutang.
The title "chief appraiser" is given to outsiders, but it actually means the big shopkeeper of an antique shop. Besides the owner, the shopkeeper is the biggest.
Liu Dongyang watched Shen Yu hold the blue and white Guanyin vase without saying a word for a long time. After coughing slightly, he asked in a slightly questioning tone: "My little friend, what are you doing?"
Shen Yu hurriedly turned to Liu Dongyang and smiled: "Mr. Liu, I think this bottle is good. I wonder how much it costs for your store?"
Antique shops generally use the honorific title for seniors over sixty years old, which is the surname Laozi, Lao means Mr. Lao, which means senior.
For example, Li Hanlin, people in the flea market respectfully call him Mr. Li, and merchants in the antique city, including Shen Yu, also call Qian Yunxuan of Porcelain Ancient Zhai Mr. Qian.
Therefore, Shen Yu calls Liu Dongyang "Mr. Liu", which is a title that shows respect. It is not impossible to call the shopkeeper directly, but it is very rude.
Liu Dongyang also nodded to express his gratitude: "My dear friend, you have a sharp eye. This is a blue and white Guanyin bottle from the Kangxi folk kiln 'Mushiju' imitating the ancient Ming Dynasty. The price in the store is 2.6 million."
Afraid that Shen Yu would not understand the specific meaning, Liu Dongyang continued to explain: "On the early Kangxi porcelain, the Kangxi year date was rarely written, and the previous dynasty's inscriptions were mostly written. The inscriptions of the dynasty were written on the imitations.
"This 'Wood and Stone House' is a famous folk kiln and restaurant in the late Kangxi period.
"But friends, don't worry. Although Kangxi blue and white can be divided into private kilns and official kilns, there is no such big gap in porcelain making technology as it was later.
"It can even be said that there is no difference, because the porcelain makers in some private kilns are the same people as those in official kilns.
"They work in the official kilns during the day and go to the private kilns at night, and the folk kilns have much richer themes than the official kilns.
"Because Kangxi folk kilns are the pinnacle of folk kilns, the blue and white porcelain handed down from Kangxi folk kilns are mostly high-quality products. The same is true for this Guanyin vase. If you are interested in it, feel free to buy it."
Shen Yu nodded in agreement, but also showed a wry smile, "Mr. Liu, can you give me a little less bottle? I really can't get it at this price!"
Liu Dongyang thought for a while, "My friend is the first customer in my store who is willing to buy today. Okay, two million and four hundred thousand, this is the best price I can make."
