She was immediately exposed, and Fu Ying said awkwardly, "Senior Uncle, you really have sharp eyes, you can see through anything. I really have something to ask you."
As she spoke, Fu Ying sat down on the wooden chair in front of the coffee table, put her bag on the other side of the table, then picked up the small purple clay teapot, poured tea into a small cup, placed the cup in front of Liu Qingyuan, and said with a smile, "Uncle-Master, please have some tea first!"
Liu Qingyuan couldn't help but smile slightly at Fu Ying, picked up his tea and drank it. "You silly girl, you used to be filial. Tell me, what is it?"
"As you know, my great-grandfather's 98th birthday is in two months. I recently bought a piece of top-quality jade in China, and I would like to ask you to carve it into a dragon and phoenix ornament, which is your specialty, as a birthday gift!"
Fu Ying explained her purpose clearly, and Liu Qingyuan snorted and said, "Don't you know I don't do this for others anymore? Hmph... It's not impossible for me to agree to your request, how about this!"
Liu Qingyuan pointed to the ornaments on the wooden shelf by the wall and said, "The three porcelain pieces on the far left of the shelf are from the Ming Dynasty official kiln that I just acquired. Go and take a look. If you can tell if they are genuine or not, I'll take care of your business!"
Fu Ying said with a smile, "Uncle-Master, you know I don't know much about this. Could you let my friend take a look for me?"
Liu Qingyuan then glanced at Zhou Xuan standing to the side and said indifferently, "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't agree either. You're just an exception. Alright, let your little lover have a say!"
Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying spoke almost simultaneously: "No..."
The two then looked at each other and smiled helplessly.
Fu Ying said helplessly to Zhou Xuan, "Go and see, don't embarrass me!" But in her heart, she was thinking that if Zhou Xuan couldn't recognize her either, she would just have to beg him.
Zhou Xuan nodded and walked towards the shelf, saying, "I'll do my best!"
Liu Qingyuan is naturally a seasoned collector. In his experience, it is almost impossible for a young person of Zhou Xuan's age to possess profound expertise in authentication in this day and age.
There weren't many porcelain pieces on wooden shelves, and some other items like grinding tables, but the most numerous were jade pieces, which is probably related to Liu Qingyuan's own craftsmanship.
Zhou Xuan walked to the front left of the wooden shelf, where the three porcelain pieces were placed on the top shelf: a blue and white porcelain vase with a dragon and cloud design and the character for longevity, an underglaze red bowl with a chrysanthemum design, and a red porcelain vase with a dragon and cloud design and two handles.
Although Zhou Xuan didn't know much about ancient porcelain and had only recently learned a lot from books, he had heard of blue and white porcelain, which is one of the most distinctive types of porcelain in China.
Of course, besides those in this industry, what has made it most noticeable to ordinary modern people is Jay Chou's song "Blue and White Porcelain".
The line that Zhou Xuan remembered most was: "Your beauty has drifted away to a place I can't reach!" This line undoubtedly best expresses the feeling of blue and white porcelain being so beautiful yet unattainable for ordinary people.
Zhou Xuan looked at them for a while. The three pieces of porcelain were indeed very beautiful, but with his knowledge of porcelain, he naturally couldn't see the beauty with his eyes. So he picked up each of the three pieces and examined them for a while.
Of course, the icy energy from the pill in his left hand was also released.
At the coffee table, Fu Ying looked at Zhou Xuan nervously, wondering if he could recognize him. Liu Qingyuan, on the other hand, was very relaxed and didn't even look at Zhou Xuan, as if he expected that Zhou Xuan would not be able to recognize him at all.
After putting the last double-eared vase back on the shelf, Zhou Xuan pondered for a moment before saying, "Old Liu, none of these three porcelain pieces are official kiln blue and white porcelain from the Ming Dynasty!"
Fu Ying was taken aback. Although she didn't understand this field either, Liu Qingyuan had spent his entire life collecting antiques and artifacts. How could she not know? Just now, Liu Qingyuan had said that these were three pieces of Ming Dynasty official kiln blue and white porcelain. How could it be fake if he said it himself? However, it was also a bit strange. If Liu Qingyuan wanted him to identify the authenticity, why did he say it was from the Ming Dynasty official kiln himself? This was a big plot hole. Could it be a smokescreen played by Liu Qingyuan on her?
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Volume One: The Lotus Buds Just Begin to Emerge, Chapter Five: High-Quality Imitation Porcelain
Zhou Xuan's words startled Liu Qingyuan, who then looked up at him and asked, "What did you say?"
“I said!” Zhou Xuan said clearly again, “I said that none of your three porcelain pieces are from the Ming Dynasty imperial kiln!”
Liu Qingyuan abruptly stood up and walked to the wooden frame.
Fu Ying was startled and looked at him nervously, but Liu Qingyuan said in a deep voice, "Then tell me, what evidence do you have to say that it isn't?"
Zhou Xuan picked up the blue-and-white porcelain vase with a dragon and cloud design and the character for longevity that was placed in the first position, slowly turned it around in front of Liu Qingyuan, and then said: "You see, the most prosperous period for blue-and-white porcelain is the Xuande period. Xuande blue-and-white porcelain is known for its fine clay, even and clean glaze, neat shape, dignified and thick, delicate body, fine sandy bottom, diverse shapes, rich blue color, and beautiful patterns. There are few joints in the carved pieces, and the body is thick and sturdy. But look at this vase, sir."
Zhou Xuan held the bottle up to an unobstructed light and said, “Look at this bottle. The body is a bit thin, and the sand at the bottom is a little coarse. Also, during the Xuande period, the cobalt blue pigment used for porcelain was mostly imported Sumatran cobalt blue pigment. The domestic pigment used was slightly inferior. Xuande cobalt blue naturally diffused, forming heavy, crystalline spots that penetrated deep into the body. You see, although the cobalt blue color here is bright, it is clearly as if it is applied to the surface. It is quite different from the Xuande cobalt blue where the color penetrates deep into the body. Thirdly.”
Zhou Xuan turned the bottle upside down and pointed to the mark on the bottom, saying, "Xuande polychrome porcelain has a reign mark, usually a six-character mark in regular script, but sometimes a four-character mark. The position of the characters is not fixed. In regular script, the character '德' does not have the horizontal stroke above the '心' radical, while in seal script, the character '德' always has the horizontal stroke above the '心' radical. Look, in this four-character regular script '宣德年制', the character '德' has a horizontal stroke above the '心' radical. Logically speaking, shouldn't it be missing this horizontal stroke?"
Fu Ying was a little stunned. She tried to cram at the last minute, but she didn't expect Zhou Xuan to speak so eloquently. She just didn't know whether what he said was true or false.
Of course, she had no idea that Zhou Xuan had been studying diligently these past few days, more so than he had ever been in school. And it just so happened that he came across the section on blue and white porcelain. These few points alone had revealed almost everything he knew. If he were to be supplemented with more information, he might be in danger of revealing his true colors.
Zhou Xuan put the bottle back on the shelf, then took down the red chrysanthemum bowl, turned it over, and found that the bottom of the bowl had the mark "Made in the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty". He said, "Look, the mark on this chrysanthemum bowl is from the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty. The character '大' is pointed and rounded with a high top, the character '成' has a hard stroke that goes all the way to the waist, the character '制' is large at the top and small at the bottom, and the horizontal stroke of the character '衣' does not go beyond the knife."
Zhou Xuan put the bowl back on the wooden shelf, picked up the last piece, a red-glazed vase with cloud and dragon design, turned it upside down, and said, "Look at this one. The inscription says 'Made in the Longqing period of the Great Ming Dynasty,' but the inscription for the Longqing period is usually 'Made in the Longqing period of the Great Ming Dynasty,' not 'Made.' So, I don't think any of these three pieces are Ming Dynasty porcelain."
Liu Qingyuan's eyes lit up. He patted Zhou Xuan on the shoulder and chuckled, "Little brother, not bad, not bad. There are almost no people your age who can study porcelain so thoroughly. Alas, there is no one to carry on the tradition. But since you can tell that it is not Ming Dynasty porcelain, can you tell which era it is from?"
This was a much more difficult task for Liu Qingyuan, but for Zhou Xuan it was the simplest thing.
Liu Qingyuan had only intended to use these few fakes to embarrass Fu Ying. These basic facts about Ming blue and white porcelain were common knowledge for most industry veterans, but they were a real challenge for laymen. The fact that Fu Ying could explain these things was somewhat surprising to Liu Qingyuan, but not excessively so. However, being able to identify the origin and age of fakes was a much higher level of expertise. Even highly skilled experts were not absolutely certain of success. Making mistakes and being fooled was common for everyone in the industry, and it was not uncommon for people to stumble and fail unexpectedly.
Of course, Liu Qingyuan was also intrigued by what Zhou Xuan said. It wasn't that he wanted to make things difficult for him. How could he not take care of Fu Ying's matter?
Zhou Xuan smiled. This time, he didn't even need to take down the bottles and bowls to make a show anymore. He said, "That cloud and dragon pattern longevity character bottle is from the tenth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. The red chrysanthemum bowl is a private kiln piece from the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty. Although they are fakes, they are still worth something. As for the cloud and dragon double-eared bottle, hehe..." Zhou Xuan smiled as he said this.
Liu Qingyuan stroked his beard, blinked, and asked, "What year is this one from?"
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Last year's!"
Even Fu Ying was stunned, and Liu Qingyuan stood there in astonishment for a long while before asking, "Little brother, how did you figure that out?"
Liu Qingyuan stared at Zhou Xuan and said, "These three porcelain pieces were bought last year. Although they are fakes, their color, quality, and craftsmanship are all top-notch, and they have collectible value. They cost a total of eight thousand US dollars. I recognized the age of the chrysanthemum bowl and the cloud and dragon longevity vase. I was a little suspicious of the cloud and dragon double-eared vase. When I bought it, I was certain that it was made during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty. Until last month, an old friend came and saw it. He was a little suspicious, but not sure. Finally, I asked a friend in the chemistry lab at New York University to test the composition, and finally confirmed that it was made last year!"
Liu Qingyuan's eyes were shining, and he seemed to have become several years younger. He pulled Zhou Xuan to see his other collections.
Fu Ying bit her lip and said, "Uncle-Master, where is my jade...?"
"Stop yelling!" Liu Qingyuan waved his hand and said, "Put it on the table. You little girl, do you think I would really make things difficult for you? Even without this little brother, I would still make it for you. Two months is a bit rushed, but I can still manage to finish it if I try. Now don't bother this old man. I want to have a chat with this little brother!"
Although Liu Qingyuan showed Zhou Xuan the other items, he was still curious and asked, "Little brother, I just want to ask you, how did you determine that the cloud and dragon patterned double-eared vase was a fake made last year?"
Liu Qingyuan has been immersed in this field for nearly fifty years. His eye for quality and skill are far beyond what ordinary experts can match. Usually, the first thing collectors need to learn is how to make fakes. Only by being able to make fakes can they know and understand how counterfeit goods are made. The methods of counterfeiting porcelain usually include wear, glaze peeling, coloring, soil rust, and old appearance, etc.