However, the antique porcelain produced has a kind of slurry similar to that formed naturally, and even experienced appraisal experts cannot distinguish between the real and fake with the naked eye.
Chapter 866 Falling into the Trap (Part 1)
Whether it's the Tang tri-color pottery from before or these two imitation Cizhou ware pieces in front of us, the aging process is impeccable. At least Zhuang Rui couldn't spot the flaws with the naked eye.
As times change and technology advances, although many ancient porcelain-making techniques have been lost to the annals of history, the wisdom of modern people is only more advanced than that of the ancients, especially in the imitation and aging of antiques.
It is estimated that in a few decades, these counterfeit artifacts will be undetectable even by carbon-14 dating.
Picking up the broken porcelain shards from the ancient kiln site provided by Xu Guoqing, Zhuang Rui compared them with the two porcelain pieces. Because the broken porcelain shards were unearthed earlier, the black glaze of the shards appeared slightly whitish, while the aged porcelain pieces highlighted the characteristics of newly unearthed porcelain, with relatively brighter colors.
"Wow, truly a master," Zhuang Rui thought to himself. Luckily, he had given the item to Li Dali; otherwise, Zhuang Rui didn't know if anyone else could have made such a lifelike porcelain piece. He was definitely a professional.
"Professor Zhuang, are these two porcelain pieces from the official kilns of the Song Dynasty?"
"Teacher Zhuang, is it a newly made replica or an old item?"
"Tell us quickly! If you say it's true, we'll definitely keep them today..."
Zhuang Rui spent a little too long looking at the two pieces of porcelain, nearly 20 minutes, before putting them back. The people below were already impatient and immediately started asking questions.
"Cough cough..."
Zhuang Rui coughed, and the chatter below immediately ceased. Hundreds of eyes were fixed on Zhuang Rui, and even the Japanese men pricked up their ears, ready to listen to his explanation.
Zhuang Rui took the microphone from Li Dali and said, "The shapes of these two porcelain pieces are quite different. One is for appreciation and enjoyment, while the other is a utensil, which is for daily use and is more in line with the characteristics of Cizhou porcelain..."
The porcelain itself has a pure glaze and a thick patina. The three characters "Chunxing Palace" on the bottom indicate that this should be the residence of a concubine. Song Dynasty official porcelain often had pieces with palace names as inscriptions. Judging from this, it does resemble Song Dynasty official porcelain.
However, the color of this porcelain seems too bright compared to the broken pieces. There are two possibilities: one is that it was originally new porcelain, and the other is that it was well preserved in the soil and was wiped clean after being unearthed...
Of course, the above views are just my own rather superficial opinions. After all, I don't know much about Song Dynasty porcelain. I'll just say what I have to say, and you can take it with a grain of salt..."
Today's situation has put Zhuang Rui in a difficult position. If he tells the truth, he'll definitely implicate those people in China as well. But if he tells it's false, he might scare away those Japanese. In the end, Zhuang Rui could only give an ambiguous answer.
"Professor Zhuang, is this actually an official kiln porcelain piece from the Song Dynasty? Please give me a definite answer..."
"Yeah, I'm still confused after listening for so long. Are we going to film it or not?"
“Brother Zhuang, we’re old friends. Give me a straight answer. If it’s really true, I’ll demolish the houses and sell the land to take them all…”
After Zhuang Rui finished speaking, the crowd below stirred up again. Several bosses who had previously associated with Zhuang Rui acted as if they were following Zhuang Rui's lead, as if they were truly willing to go bankrupt to bid on these two items if Zhuang Rui said they were true.
Upon hearing the man's words, Zhuang Rui waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Everyone, as you all know, I mainly deal in jade and don't have much expertise in porcelain. I really can't tell the difference between these two items. How about we let Teacher Jin come up and take a look?"
After Zhuang Rui said this, everyone in the room remembered that this young man was none other than the "Jade King" of the North!
As for the title, asking him to appraise porcelain is indeed a bit of a stretch.
"No, Brother Zhuang, if you're unsure about an object, it's pointless for me to go up there. However, Brother Zhuang has already analyzed both sides of the object, so let's all make our own decisions..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Fatty Jin shook his head vigorously, knowing his own limitations and daring not to comment on this controversial item.
Seeing that they couldn't count on Zhuang Rui, the amateur collectors surrounded the exhibition table again, and, taking advantage of their numbers, intentionally or unintentionally excluded the Japanese.
However, these people were really only half-baked and lacked real expertise. Compared to Zhuang Rui, they were miles behind. They couldn't see anything at all and eventually returned to their chairs, completely bewildered.
"Mr. Li, we've all finished watching, let's begin..."
"Yes, it's past noon, we should go eat. Let's get filming going..."
"Yes, yes, Teacher Zhuang, I'll treat you to a meal later, you must come!"
Perhaps it was a tacit understanding, but as soon as these domestic collectors sat down, they all urged Li Dali to hurry up.
Firstly, they didn't want to give the Japanese time to authenticate the pieces. Secondly, if these two porcelain pieces were truly genuine, they could take advantage of the situation and acquire them at a relatively low price.
Deep down, these collectors are all just speculators in the antique market; very few of them have pure intentions.
"Mr. Li, I would like to see these two pieces of porcelain. Please."
Before the crowd could finish speaking, the president of the Wild Sex Association, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Li Dali on the stage at a 90-degree angle, startling the guy so much that he almost fell off the stage.
"Damn it, it's one thing for men to bow, but these Japanese women bow even when they're doing it. What kind of tradition is this?"
Li Dali had been to Japan several times. In order to promote my country's prestige, he had found several Japanese women and even hired a translator to learn a few simple Japanese phrases for this purpose.
However, what frustrated Mr. Li was that every time he was having a good time, as soon as he opened his mouth to give a certain command, the Japanese woman under him would immediately nod and lower her chest and say "Hai". That's why he was startled by the sudden action of the wild sex.
"Well, see? China is a land of etiquette, so you can't really see anything wrong with it anyway..."
Li Dali waved his hand and said, "Please take a look, everyone, there's no rush..."
"Damn it, you traitor..."
"A son born without an anus..."
"Fawning over the Japanese is no good..."
As soon as Li Dali finished speaking, a lot of murmurs arose from below the stage. Although the voices were not loud, they were enough for Boss Li to hear. Li Dali's face turned green and he almost choked on his breath.
These people are just talking without understanding the situation. If it were a Japanese company investing there, they would probably be even more humble.
"Yamaki-kun, what do you think?"
Nogai and Yamaki each took an item, and after examining it for about ten minutes, they put it down at the same time.
"President Yehe, judging from the shape and body of this porcelain, it is undoubtedly from the Cizhou kiln. However, ordinary Cizhou kiln porcelain would never be made so exquisitely. Therefore, I suspect that this is the Cizhou official kiln porcelain recorded in history..."
The Yamaki family has a book written in the mid-Qing Dynasty about ceramics from the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. It contains a detailed description of Cizhou porcelain from the Song Dynasty and mentions that Cizhou kilns were presented as tribute to the imperial court. That's why Yehe sought Yamaki's opinion.
And this Yamaki has another identity that Zhuang Rui doesn't know: his father is Yamaki Ichiro, whom Zhuang Rui met in Hebei more than half a year ago.
Out of pride, Yamaki Ichiro did not reveal his experiences in China after returning to Japan. Instead, he urged his research institute to intensify its research and development of Cizhou official porcelain. However, as the saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes," and a month after returning to Japan, Yamaki Ichiro suddenly suffered a myocardial infarction and died at home.
As his son, Yamaki came to China to fulfill his father's last wish: to buy a piece of Cizhou official kiln porcelain that his father never got to see before his death.
"Yes, Mr. Yamaki, I agree with you. These Chinese are short-sighted and can't distinguish the authenticity of this porcelain piece at all. Only we can understand the profound meaning of ceramic culture..."
Nogai gave Yamaki an appreciative look. He was a China expert, especially knowledgeable about Chinese porcelain from various dynasties. After careful examination, Nogai could not find a single flaw in the two pieces of porcelain.
Furthermore, he was somewhat dismissive of Zhuang Rui's behavior of appraising porcelain as a jade expert. In Yehe's view, the knowledge of ceramics alone was enough to keep one pondering for a lifetime.
The Japanese people have their merits, but it must be said that their way of thinking has significant flaws and is prone to extremes.
Yehe was like that; his decades of in-depth research on porcelain gave him an almost arrogant and strong sense of self-confidence.
"Yamaki-kun, please, you absolutely must bring these two porcelain pieces back to Japan, I beg you..."
Although Nogai was a leading figure in Japanese ceramics research, his financial resources were far inferior to Yamaki's. After bowing slightly to Yamaki, Nogai continued, "If you can take these two pieces of porcelain back with you, then after your father's death, if others seize your company's market share, I will help you get it back..."
Since Ichiro Yamaki's death, Yamaki Corporation's business has declined significantly. Their ceramic customers have been snatched away by other companies, and their market share has shrunk drastically.
So when he heard what Yehe said, a blush appeared on Yamaki's face, and he made up his mind to bring the two pieces of porcelain back to Japan.
"Alright, everyone's seen it. Next up is this 'private item,' with a starting price of 1 million RMB. Interested parties can start bidding..."
Although the authenticity of the two porcelain pieces could not be determined on the spot, neither of them seemed to have the high price that Li Dali had quoted.
After Li Dali announced the bottom price, Zhuang Rui kept his eyes fixed on the Japanese. After a month of planning, he was about to be trapped!
Chapter 867 Falling into the Trap (Part 2)
The Song Dynasty was the golden age of porcelain development in my country. The products of the five famous kilns—Ru, Guan, Ge, Ding, and Jun—were treasured by the world. However, all five of these kilns were official kilns.
The reason why Cizhou ware was not included among the famous kilns mentioned above is that no official kiln porcelain has been unearthed from it.
If the two porcelain pieces now displayed before everyone are indeed from the Cizhou official kiln, they will change the entire history of Chinese ceramics. Perhaps in the future, when Song Dynasty porcelain is referred to, it will be called the Six Great Kilns.
Therefore, when Li Dali announced a starting bid of 1 million RMB, no one felt it was abrupt. If the porcelain was genuine, it would be worth 10 million RMB, let alone 1 million.
After Li Dali offered the bottom price, the scene suddenly fell silent. Some people who had been whispering to each other stopped talking and looked around to see if anyone would make a bid.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the price of these two porcelain pieces is definitely well over 1 million. If it weren't for the rumors being so... But I digress. Professor Xue is an expert in the appraisal of Cizhou porcelain from Hebei Province. His appraisal certificate is infallible..."
Seeing that no one was bidding, Li Dali started shouting on stage again, but his eyes kept glancing at the Japanese. He wasn't sure what these Japanese were thinking.
Domestic collectors were all watching and waiting, and the Japanese collectors didn't seem to be bidding either, making the atmosphere in the room somewhat strange.
No one could have imagined that the Cizhou official porcelain, which had been the subject of much speculation before the auction, would actually face the predicament of failing to sell at auction.
"Mr. Yehe, these Chinese people don't think much of this porcelain piece, so I've already put down a bid?"
Yamaki was still young, and after five minutes of silence, he started to lose his composure.
Yehe was a cunning old fox. After glancing around, he lowered his voice and said, "No, it's better if it doesn't sell. That way you can buy it at a lower price..."
Auctions inevitably involve unsold items. In antique auctions, unsold items generally fall into two categories: one is where shills drive up the price to an exorbitant level. These unsold antiques are very difficult to sell after the auction, because if the auction house were to lower the price rashly, it would be slapping itself in the face.
Another phenomenon stems from the antiques themselves. For example, these two pieces of porcelain are difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake, and there is a great risk in bidding for them. After such antiques fail to sell at auction, the organizers often lower the price and sell them off after the event. Yehe saw that no one was bidding, and that was exactly what they were thinking.
"Damn it, they were all so indignant just now, but now not a single one of them is bidding..."
Zhuang Rui was speechless at the performance of the people on the field. Even if these two porcelain pieces were fakes, they still cost more than 10 million RMB to make, and their value was many times higher than the fakes that had just been auctioned off.
"One million, I'll put up one million..."
Zhuang Rui didn't want to steal the spotlight, but if he didn't say anything, Li Dali would probably feel even more awkward standing on the stage.
"Hey, Teacher Zhuang has made a move. Maybe this porcelain is genuine..."
"Yes, I heard that Teacher Zhuang has never been wrong since his debut..."
"Then what are we waiting for? 1.1 million, I'll offer 1.1 million RMB..."
As soon as Zhuang Rui called out his bid, murmurs arose in the room, and others quickly followed suit, making the atmosphere slightly more lively.
"1.5 million, everyone. My museum has a lot of porcelain from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, but very few pieces from the Song dynasty. Please raise your hands and let me bid on them..."
Zhuang Rui added 400,000 yuan at once, then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the four directions. Several people who had originally wanted to take advantage of the situation lowered their hands.
Zhuang Rui had no choice. If the Japanese didn't intervene, he would have to bid back the two porcelain pieces. Otherwise, he would be the one who got into trouble, and if word got out, he, Zhuang Rui, would be unable to continue working in the antique world.
"2 million RMB..."
A voice drew everyone's attention to the source. The person bidding was a middle-aged man in his forties. After announcing the price, he looked apologetically at Zhuang Rui and said, "Brother Zhuang, you know I'm into ceramics. Although I'm not sure about these two pieces, just based on the fact that they're Song Dynasty official kiln porcelain, I have to get them." "2.8 million." Zhuang Rui shook his head with a wry smile. The Japanese still didn't make a move, which made him feel like he had trapped himself. Could it be that after going through all this trouble, he had ended up getting himself into a mess?
"What a small world..."
Zhuang Rui recognized the person who spoke; it was this same Mr. Liu who had smashed the Tang tri-colored pottery he had brought out during the last folk treasure appraisal program in Jinan.