"Yes, most Qing dynasty porcelain is from the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, but this Xianfeng period piece is quite unique and has value for collection and investment..."
After hearing what everyone was saying, the people gathered around the display table began to whisper among themselves.
This black market auction was different from previous ones. Those who did not receive an invitation were not allowed to enter. Many owners were unable to bring their own appraisers, and they had to figure out the authenticity of the items themselves. Therefore, Zhuang Rui's words gave many collectors some peace of mind.
"Brother Jin, have you made up your mind yet?"
After Zhuang Rui put the lotus-patterned bowl back, he looked at Fatty Jin.
"It's hard to say. Judging from the glaze, patina, and style, it should be from the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty. However, there are no objects with this shape in history, so I'm not sure..."
Fatty Jin's answer was relatively objective, giving a vague answer, but it was enough to make Boss Li overjoyed. As long as the experts didn't say it was fake, there would definitely be people bidding against it.
"Is that porcelain real or fake?"
After Zhuang Rui returned to his seat, Officer Miao spoke up for once, which was quite unusual.
Zhuang Rui looked around; no one was paying attention to him. He opened his mouth and mouthed, "Fake..."
"What a swindler..."
Officer Miao curled his lip.
"Tch, if it weren't for that, wouldn't it have given you guys something to talk about?"
Zhuang Rui was dismissive of Officer Miao's words. He said that fake items were simply handicrafts, a matter of mutual consent, and even the police couldn't interfere. But if they were real, then it was illegal.
"Alright, the asking price for this pair of extremely rare famille rose lotus-patterned bowls is 100,000 RMB. Interested parties can now make bids..."
About ten minutes later, after some self-proclaimed experts in ceramics went up to take a look, the auction of the pair of famille rose bowls began under the supervision of Li Dali.
However, to Mr. Li's surprise, no one made a bid within a minute or so after he announced his bottom price.
"I'll offer 150,000..."
A rather unfamiliar boss sitting in front of Zhuang Rui broke the silence in the room by speaking.
"Two hundred thousand..."
Once someone takes the lead, others immediately start bidding. In the eyes of Chinese people, anything that isn't sought after or sold cheaply isn't considered a good thing; the more people scramble for it, the more valuable it is.
"Old Yu, is this item reliable?"
A voice came from the front row.
"It looks alright to me. The glaze is bright, and the patina is quite thick, like an old piece..."
The boss, Mr. Yu, who had shouted out 200,000, answered with a confident air, leaving Zhuang Rui, who was sitting behind him, speechless.
In the antique trade, there's no fear of those who don't understand; they're afraid to make a purchase. The real threat is those players who aren't very knowledgeable but happen to know a little bit about the market. These are the main force in the antique market; you could also call them suckers.
In the end, Mr. Yu bought the pair of lotus-patterned bowls with pink backgrounds for 680,000 yuan. This guy even proudly boasted that it was an auspicious number.
Little did this guy know, he had already been categorized by Teacher Zhuang as one of those people who are foolish and rich.
Next, a painting by Qi Baishi and a piece of so-called Han jade were auctioned off, both fetching hefty prices. Mr. Li was beaming with joy on stage, feeling that today's auction had been a success, bringing in nearly five million.
After auctioning off four or five items, Li Dali coughed and said, "Alright, the next item we'll be discussing is a Song Dynasty porcelain piece unearthed from an ancient kiln site in Cizhou. According to Professor Xue, a renowned cultural relics appraisal expert from Hebei Province, this should be an official kiln porcelain piece presented as tribute to the imperial palace during the Song Dynasty..."
"Mr. Li, whether there were official kilns in Cizhou is still unverified..."
Before Li Dali could finish speaking, he was interrupted by someone in the audience.
"That's right, but it's undeniable that we can see palace marks on previously unearthed porcelain fragments, indicating that there were still official kilns in Cizhou, just that they hadn't been unearthed yet. However, all of that will become history today, because after expert appraisal, these two Cizhou ware pieces are identical to the official kiln fragments previously unearthed from Cizhou, and can basically be identified as Cizhou official kiln porcelain..."
Li Dali waved his hand, and the two porcelain pieces he had obtained from Zhuang Rui were placed on the table, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
The Japanese guests in suits who were sitting in the front row and had never placed a bid also had serious expressions on their faces.
Chapter 865 Antique Finishing
"These two artifacts, one a white-glazed, black-decorated, cloud and phoenix patterned four-handled vase, and the other a erotic figure vase, were both unearthed from the ancient Cizhou kiln site of the Song Dynasty. There are also a few fragments of Cizhou official kiln porcelain unearthed previously; you can come up and compare them..."
After Li Dali gave a brief introduction to the two porcelain pieces, he gave the time to the audience. Whether this scheme could trap those Japanese people depended on how well Zhuang Rui's porcelain was imitated.
In order to spread the news without appearing pretentious, Li Dali went to great lengths, specifically creating an abandoned ancient kiln site that had long been looted by tomb raiders, and then spreading the news of the unearthed official porcelain.
Subsequently, Li Dali, through his overseas connections, relayed the news of the excavation of Cizhou official kiln porcelain to these Japanese individuals. The process was fraught with twists and turns; apart from him and Zhuang Rui, no one else could discern that this auction was a meticulously orchestrated scheme. ...
Just as Li Dali finished speaking, six or seven people sitting in the front row rushed to the display table and surrounded the two pieces of "official porcelain".
"Mr. Yamaki, your family is in the ceramics business, and I've heard that your company has invested heavily in researching this kind of porcelain. In your opinion, are these two pieces of porcelain genuine or fake?"
A Japanese man, about fifty years old and wearing a navy blue suit, asked a young man who looked to be only in his thirties.
"Mr. Yehe, I need to conduct an appraisal first. My father was the most knowledgeable about Cizhou porcelain. Unfortunately, he passed away last month. Otherwise, if he had come in person, he would definitely have been able to determine whether this is a Cizhou official kiln piece..."
The young man was wearing a black suit, with even his shirt and tie in black. If the people around him could understand their conversation, they would know that this young man named Yamaki had just lost someone in his family.
Influenced by Confucianism in China, Japanese funeral customs have many similarities with those in China, and are even more complicated in terms of etiquette and procedures. Japan does not have the custom of wearing mourning clothes; instead, people are dressed in all black.
"Hey, why are there two Japanese people?"
"Yes, Mr. Li, what kind of act are you putting on?"
"Old Li, this is taboo, it's not proper..."
When the people who had gathered behind heard the two Japanese speaking gibberish, the scene erupted into chaos, with shouts and commotion directed at Li Dali.
Although there are many unscrupulous antique dealers in China who have privately sold antiques to Japanese people, they dare not do so openly, as it would easily arouse public outrage.
Because of the history between China and Japan, the Chinese are the least fond of the Japanese. So when they heard two Japanese people talking, the businessmen in the room suddenly turned into angry young men, and some of them started to utter harsh words.
Last time in Tibet, the Japanese man only came to see the sights, but he was questioned for a long time by several people in the industry. So this time, in order to help Zhuang Rui, Li Dali also risked his reputation and went all out.
"Ahem, everyone, please be quiet for a moment and listen to what I have to say..."
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Li Dali quickly gave a signal to the people next to him. A dozen strong young men immediately surrounded them and separated the Japanese from the domestic collectors. The two pieces of porcelain were also temporarily taken back.
"Mr. Li, what's there to say? We can talk behind closed doors, but inviting the Japanese is just making things difficult for us."
"Exactly! Many of our country's treasures have already been lost to other countries. Are we now engaging in cultural aggression?"
"That's right. If you don't give us a reasonable explanation today, we'll smash your porcelain and hear the sound..."
Although the people were separated, domestic collectors remained outraged, loudly questioning Li Dali's motives.
Some of the more agitated individuals even started inciting the crowd to vandalize and loot; this guy was definitely eager to create chaos.
Once the shouting subsided a bit, Li Dali quickly said, "Ladies and gentlemen, please listen to me first. Art knows no borders..."
"Nonsense, then why don't you buy Japanese antiques and bring them to China?"
"What the hell do the Japanese have in terms of antiques?"
Before Li Dali could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the people below the stage. He hadn't expected this to happen. He kept wiping his sweat with a tissue and looked at Zhuang Rui from afar with pleading eyes.
Zhuang Rui had to step in on this, so he immediately stood up and shouted, "Everyone, please calm down and let's hear what this Mr. Li has to say..."
"Okay, let's listen to Teacher Zhuang and see what he has to say..."
"Teacher Zhuang has spoken, everyone please be quiet for a moment..."
"If you don't give me an explanation, I'll never attend your auctions again..."
Zhuang Rui has made a name for himself in the domestic art collecting circle in recent years. This call to action silenced many people, who then sat back down in their chairs.
Two or three of the Japanese men, who were fluent in Chinese, sat back down and began speaking quietly in Japanese to the people around them, presumably translating what had just happened.
Seeing that the room had quieted down, Li Dali wiped his sweat, picked up the microphone and said, "Friends and bosses, let me first introduce these Japanese friends. This is Mr. Kazuo Nogai, the president of the Japan Ceramic Research Association, and this is Mr. Yamaki, the chairman of Japan's largest ceramic production company."
As everyone knows, no actual artifacts from the Cizhou official kiln have been unearthed in China. We can only rely on these few fragments of porcelain to determine whether these two items are official kiln porcelain. To be honest, not only are we unsure, but even I, Old Li, am not entirely sure...
In Japan, research on Cizhou porcelain has been ongoing for over a century. The reason I invited these friends here was to ask them to help authenticate these items...
I'll say it again: art knows no borders. Let's not be so narrow-minded...
Li Dali's words silenced the audience, but then a voice rang out: "Mr. Li, will they participate in the auction of these two porcelain pieces?"
"Well... it depends on what our Japanese friends think. After all, I run a business, and I can't just turn people away, can I?"
Li Dali's shrewd businessman demeanor left everyone speechless.
Most of the people here are business owners. It's understandable that businessmen pursue profits. You can't stop others from making money just because you love your country, can you?
"Gentlemen, if no one has any objections, let's continue examining these two items..."
Li Dali breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was shouting anymore. He picked up the bottle of mineral water on the table and drank half of it in one gulp.
"I've managed to offend quite a few big bosses in the country..."
Li Dali looked at Zhuang Rui, his heart filled with bitterness. What he had done this time would probably spread quickly in the industry, and even if it were to become a regular auction house in the future, it would likely lose a lot of popularity.
"Professor Zhuang, why don't you go up and take a look? You're the only ceramics expert here..."
"Yes, Professor Zhuang, as long as you say it's true, we'll definitely keep it in China..."
"That's right. If it's true, I'd sell everything I own to keep it from leaving the country..."
For a time, all the collectors in the room pinned their hopes on Zhuang Rui, which put Zhuang Rui in a difficult position. Originally, he had set a trap for the Japanese, but he hadn't expected to catch so many people in one fell swoop.
"Alright, let me take a look first. However, I don't have a deep understanding of Song Dynasty porcelain, so I might not be able to discern anything special..."
Zhuang Rui cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards the four directions, walked to the display table, and pretended to examine it.
"Damn, Old Li has some capable people on his hands!" Zhuang Rui was surprised as soon as he took a look. These two porcelain pieces had completely changed in appearance compared to a little over a month ago. The glaze was a bit duller than when it was in his hands, but it looked more substantial and simple.
Although the shape of the vessel remains unchanged, the object itself carries an indescribable sense of historical vicissitude, and it also has an extremely natural-looking patina, as well as traces of wiping. In the eyes of experts, this is caused by cleaning off the dirt.
It can be said that the person Li Dali is working with to age porcelain is definitely an expert in aging new porcelain. It seems that the aging of those Tang tri-color ware pieces last time was also done by this person.
Antique porcelain is a craft, and excluding the very primitive method of polishing shoes, there are usually four methods available on the market.
The first method is polishing, which involves repeatedly rubbing the ceramic surface with tools to make it lose its luster and look old. Commonly used tools include animal hides and gourd shells. However, this method leaves friction marks on the glaze even if the surface is very smooth due to repeated friction.
The second method is the soil immersion method. In order to create the soil patina that forms on ancient porcelain after being buried in the tomb for many years, the method is to immerse the ceramics in the soil to produce an effect similar to that of unearthed cultural relics.
Thirdly, chemical erosion can be used. Placing newly made imitation ceramics in acidic or alkaline corrosive chemicals can also achieve an aged appearance, but this will damage the original patina of the porcelain.
Fourth is smoking. This method usually involves hanging the newly made ceramic replica above the kitchen and letting it be smoked and heated for a certain period of time, which will also achieve satisfactory results.
Besides these four methods, there is another uncommon method of aging, which is re-firing. The newly made ceramic is coated with a type of loess-based nodule stone powder clay and then re-fired in a kiln.
This method is quite complicated and requires extremely high standards for heat control and ingredient selection.