Wanli Wucai refers to the multicolored porcelain that was fired in the official kilns of the porcelain capital during the Wanli period, combining blue, yellow, red, white, black and blue and white.
The highest price of Wanli multicolored colors was in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, the price was comparable to that of Yongxuan blue and white, and directly catching up with Ru kiln.
However, as soon as he got hold of this so-called Wanli colorful gourd vase, Shen Yu immediately showed a hint of disappointment.
Without it, although the workmanship of this gourd vase is fine, after appraising it, Shen Yu immediately knew that it was a high-quality imitation porcelain.
Because this porcelain is not drawn by hand, but by machine.
In other words, the preform of this gourd bottle is produced by machine. Specifically, it is made by grouting the mold into a preform, which is the kind of mold that can be mass-produced.
One of the essences of ancient porcelain is hand drawing.
This is a handicraft with a strong inheritance. Put the clay blocks on a rotating wheel, and use your hands to make the clay blocks into the bottle embryos you need.
This skill looks very artistic, but in fact it is very boring.
Just imagine, would it be boring to deal with mud every day?
If you want to learn this craft, it will take at least seven or eight years, and at most ten or even twenty years of hard work to reach the entry level. If you want to reach the official kiln standard, there may not be one craftsman in a hundred.< /p>
The ancient official kiln porcelain was basically all drawn by hand, so the fired porcelain would have circles of horizontal lines under strong light.
The reason is not complicated. It is because the five fingers of a person are not the same length and width, so there are horizontal stripes.
This bottle is said to be a high imitation because although it was made by machine workers, it has been repaired on the outside of the bottle to look like it has been drawn by hand.
This is very confusing, but one thing is that once the bottle is formed, the inside cannot be repaired.
An expert in appraisal like Shen Yu can tell the authenticity after just a few glances.
"Old sir, how do you sell this colorful gourd bottle of yours?"
"My guest has good eyesight. This is a Wanli official kiln. If you want to buy it sincerely, I will give you 4 million." The old man quoted the price with a smile.
After Shen Yu heard the quotation of 4 million, he immediately cursed the profiteer in his heart.
To dare to charge a seven-digit price for a high-imitation gourd bottle is really extremely sinister.
The so-called kind-hearted person refers to the old man in front of me.
Gently putting down the gourd bottle, Shen Yu looked at the other porcelain on the table again.
In an antique shop, if you don’t bargain after asking for a price, you don’t buy it.
Shen Yu's action was to tell the old man that he would not buy this gourd bottle anymore.
Since the old man can appear in Mr. Dong's treasure hunt market, he must be considered a number one figure in the antique circle, and he naturally understands the process of antique buying and selling.
As Shen Yu expected, after Shen Yu put the gourd vase back to its original place, the old man not only did not persuade him to buy it, but instead continued to introduce other porcelain to Shen Yu with a smile on his face, "My little friend, you are an expert in porcelain appraisal. Why don't you take a look at my pair of colorful dragon-patterned sky-shaped jars from the Chenghua official kiln in the Ming Dynasty?"
Shen Yu followed the old man's fingers and saw a pair of porcelain jars with straight mouths, round shoulders and swollen bellies, and colorful dragon patterns on the surface, placed firmly on a sponge mat.
Doucai is more famous than Wucai.
Doucai is a type of colored porcelain that combines overglaze color and blue and white underglaze color. It was created and fired during the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty.
Another theory is that it was created and fired in Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty. It was made by Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen for Wan Zhen'er, a famous concubine in history.
This kind of porcelain has the nobility and elegance of blue and white, as well as the gorgeous tones of colored porcelain. It is like the combination of platinum and diamond rings in jewelry, ultimately achieving the reputation of being the crown of colored porcelain of a generation.
However, Shen Yu's eyes did not stay on the pair of colorful Tianzi jars for a long time.
Without it, this is also a pair of fakes.
There are many ways to distinguish old and new porcelain. The first point is to see whether the porcelain has fire.
As long as the fire is too bright, it is newly burned.
The surface of newly fired porcelain is unusually bright, while the surface of older porcelain is as warm and moist as jade. Shen Yu can tell the difference at a glance without having to look twice.
The glazed firelight on these two jars is so bright that it can’t possibly be real.
But it’s hard to convince people just by looking at it by firelight.
Another point is that these two colorful pots are made exactly the same.
Some people may ask, wouldn’t it be better if a pair of jars were made exactly the same?
The answer is no!
Handmade porcelain cannot be the same in details, such as size, weight, thickness, decoration, etc. There will always be some subtle differences.
This difference can be distinguished with the naked eye.
There is no need to use a magnifying glass or even a more precise instrument such as a microscope.
It can be said that these two Tianzi jars are made from the same mold.
If the porcelain is exactly the same, it must be fake.
Besides, the appearance of these Tianzi jars is also very good.
There are only a dozen Chenghua Tianzi Jars in the world, so it’s just a joke to pick out a pair here.
In order to avoid leaking the treasure, Shen Yu still looked at it with his golden treasure appreciating eyes. Sure enough, no treasure light appeared.
"This old man not only has a kind face but a dark heart, he is also an expert in counterfeiting. Fortunately, I am quite knowledgeable. If someone else who doesn't know the skills is tricked every minute, it is impossible to miss it here. It is better to look elsewhere."
Without saying any nonsense, Shen Yu came to the second porcelain stall.
It's a pity that after looking at it, I saw a bunch of new fakes, which are not as good as the old man's stall just now. At least the ones they sell are high imitations.
After walking and walking, Shen Yu came to the sixth porcelain stall. The items on this stall made Shen Yu's eyes light up.
Not to mention, there are many real things in this stall, including Jiaqing official kiln blue and white pen holders, Guangxu imitation Kangxi blue and white flower amphora, in addition to several good-quality porcelain snuff bottles.
"Sir, you can read whatever you like."
The stall owner was very young, in his mid-thirties, and looked relatively honest, but Shen Yu keenly noticed that this man's eyes kept rolling, and he was probably a shrewd and extremely difficult seller.
However, out of politeness, Shen Yu smiled and nodded, "Okay!"
The stalls in Xunbaofang City are all the same size, with a length and width of two meters. To be honest, there are not many antiques in this area. Mr. Dong doesn’t mean for you to sell rags, but for you to sell high-quality products. Therefore, if there are any surprising objects, you can see them at a glance.
A bright red plum vase decorated with three fruits appeared in Shen Yu's field of vision, and immediately attracted Shen Yu's eyes.
Bright red color is rare in porcelain, because this is a very cherished porcelain, called: "underglaze red".
This glazed red plum vase has a short neck and broad shoulders, and is decorated with lotus petals and banana leaves. The focus is on three kinds of fruits: peach, pomegranate, and persimmon. Not only is the color rich, but the hair color is also pure and bright red.
"Boss, your red-glazed plum vase is in good condition. I wonder which dynasty it is from?"
