Riding the wind of rebirth

“The most common feature of Ru kiln porcelain is its light azure glaze, which is as warm as jade, and the exquisite openings such as crab claw patterns, fish roe patterns, ice crack patterns, and cicada wing patterns are formed on the glaze. Its exquisiteness surpasses that of the Song Dynasty. It is the first of the five famous kilns, so it is said that 'Ru kiln is the chief', and it is famous all over the world."

"In the Xuande Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty, the official kilns in Jingdezhen began to imitate Ru porcelain, with slices on them, and they were never fired after that."

"In the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Yongzheng had exquisite taste and admired the simple and elegant beauty of Ru kiln, so he ordered Tang Ying, the pottery officer in charge, to imitate it. The quality was far superior to that of the Xuande Dynasty."

"After Emperor Qianlong came to the throne, he also loved Ru kiln very much and continued to order Tang Ying to supervise the firing."

"Flower goblets are a porcelain display shape that Qianlong loved very much. This pair of vessels is copied from the celadon flower goblets from the Southern Song Dynasty official kiln."

"So we know that this kind of imitation Ru glaze halberd flower goblet was created and fired in the Yongzheng Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty, and continued in the Qianlong Dynasty. The firing glaze color process has truly reached the level of 'the imitation of the ancient and the real thing', until In the Jiaqing Dynasty, it was no longer burned because of the weakening of national power, and there is no record in the Qing palace archives."

"This pair of flower goblets, with their handsome and straight shape and the subtle and elegant glaze color, are actually the best imitations of yours from the Qianlong official kiln. However, there is one thing that makes an expert like my uncle puzzled."

"That is the opening. This pair of flower cups is clean and traceless, and does not have the special openings that are common in Ru kiln and imitation Ru kiln porcelain!"

"That's right." The old man said: "Since the Ming Dynasty, Ru kilns have regarded those with crab claw patterns as authentic, especially the overlapping distribution of multiple old and new openings, which is a sign of the age of porcelain."

"This pair of flower vases are typical Qianlong Dynasty utensils with open doors in terms of shape, glaze color, base, and feet. The only problem is that they don't have openings, the glaze color is clear, and the condition is too new." The old man sighed: "So the shop I asked several experts here, and they all said it was a sustenance from the late Qing Dynasty or even the Republic of China."

"What do uncles think?" Zhou Zhi shook his head imperceptibly. It seems that after so many years, although Shanghai has been able to sell things well, its appraisal ability has shrunk a bit, and professional training needs to be strengthened.

"I think if you don't take into account the characteristics of Ru Kiln, this is a typical Qianlong utensil. But just now the young man also said that in the Qing Dynasty, the halberd and flower goblet ended in Jiaqing," the old man said, "I can't control them either. , so it was set in Jiaqing, because it would be too much to say that such exquisite porcelain is an old product from the folk kilns of the Republic of China."

Zhou Zhi looked at the pair of flower gobs with regret: "The Ru kiln of the Song Dynasty was the leader, and the Ming Dynasty imitated it to look for its appearance. They thought the crab claw pattern on the Ru kiln was authentic. These are all recorded in books."

"But what many people don't know is that there were actually two types of Ru kilns in the Song Dynasty, one with open pieces, and the other which is extremely rare, and that is the Ru kiln without patterns."

"Really?" The old man's first reaction was to tear off the price tag on the flower goblet and hold it in his hand: "Mr. Can you tell me which ancient book contains the record?"

"The "Gegu Yaolun" written by Cao Zhao of the Ming Dynasty recorded: 'Ru kilns with crab claw patterns are good, and those without patterns are especially good.' He believed that Ru kilns can be subdivided into two types: those with openings and those without openings. In terms of levels, Ru kilns without openings are better than those with openings." Zhou Zhi smiled and said: "There may be this notebook in the ancient book bookstore next door. If uncle goes to look for it, he should be able to find it."

The old man immediately picked up the phone and dialed a number, speaking excitedly in Shanghainese dialect. Zhou Zhi and Jiang Shuyi could roughly tell that he was calling an old friend in the bookstore, asking him to look for this book. . So Zhou Zhi hurriedly said: "Uncle, please ask him if he has Tang Ying's "Taocheng Chronicle Stele". This book is harder to find than the previous one, but it records that Tang Ying supervised the construction of the Yong and Qian dynasties. Records of imitation Ru glazes mention 'imitation copper bone fish roe pattern Ru glaze' and 'imitation copper bone no pattern Ru glaze'. Two types."

After the old man finished the call, Zhou Zhi pointed to the soy sauce-colored decorative glaze on the upper edge and bottom of the flower goblet and said: "These two are the imitation copper bones mentioned in Tang Ying's notes. Therefore, these two flower goblets should be called 'imitation bronze bones'." The copper bones have no traces and you have glaze'."

"So these two pieces of porcelain are originally Qianlong official kiln wares?"

Zhou Zhi said: "It is recorded in the "Qing Palace Archives" that in the second and third years of Qianlong's reign, the inner treasurer Liu Shanjiu, the seventh-level leader Samuha, and the chief supervisor Bai Shixiu specifically reported to Qianlong that the eunuch Mao Tuan had handed over Ruglai Feijihua. Qianlong solemnly sent a goblet to Tang Ying, who was making porcelain, and they were all fired in the same way. When the firing was completed, the original porcelain was returned and handed over to the porcelain warehouse. There should be large utensils in this porcelain. Take the drawings with you, as well as all the small porcelain utensils. I admire this.'"

"Although it has not been proven whether the mentioned imitation Ru glaze halberd flower goblet has patterns or no patterns, this type of vessel was made for display in the Qing palace and has the words 'Ru glaze flying ridge' or 'Ru glaze Fei'. Halberd' these two names."

"There are very few halberd and flower goblets imitating Ru glaze from the Yongzheng Dynasty. Searching museum collections, we found only one example in the Nanjing Museum, and that one has an opening."

"There are very few halberd flower goblets imitating Ru glaze from the Qianlong Dynasty. There are many pieces in the National Palace Museum in the capital, and a pair in the Liao Provincial Museum. Among the private collections are the Hong Kong Island Temporary Building and the Swiss Meiyintang, one each. pieces."

"Of all the Qianlong halberd gulets, only the Meiyintang one has no opening. Because it came from the Old Summer Palace, the inheritance is very clear and orderly. It was always considered to be an orphan. Now..." Zhou Zhi He lightly traced the rim of the flower vase on the table with his finger: "Here are even more perfect Qianlong imitation copper bone and grainless Ru-glazed halberd flower vase, and there is a pair of them."

The old man finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this: "I see, then why did you sigh just now?"

"The rules in the industry." Zhou Zhi said: "After you tell the appraisal opinion, whether it is true or false, you can no longer buy it."

The old man said no more, took out a piece of paper from the counter, took out a pen and an inkstone, poured a little ink into the inkstone, dipped the pen in the ink and handed it to Zhou Zhi, solemnly saying: "Please give me your ink treasure, sir." "

Zhou Zhi was not modest either. He took over the pen and wrote in beautiful regular script: "Cao Mingzhong's "Essentials of Gegu" states that the Ru kilns came out of the north and were fired in the Song Dynasty in light blue color. Those with crab claw patterns were genuine, especially those without patterns. Good. However, imitations made after the Yuan Dynasty are rare without patterns, but one or two were restored during the Qianlong Dynasty. When I traveled to Shanghai, I saw a pair of Qianlong imitation bronze bone pattern-free Ru-glazed halberds and flower goblets in a cultural relics store, both from Meiyintang On the right side, fortunately he is not alone and can learn from it. In the spring of Jiaxu, in the middle of Shu, Huaxuan Zhou arrives."

The old man couldn't help but nod secretly when he saw Zhou Zhi's beautiful calligraphy. When he saw Zhou Zhi take out the chicken-blood stone seal and leave a seal, he became more and more sure that Zhou Zhi had a good background.

Changhua chicken blood stone, one of the three top printing materials, has been mined out in just ten years. Bahrain chicken blood stone has not been discovered yet, so Changhua chicken blood stone is already worth a lot of money, even far exceeding the current price of Hetian jade. .

It’s certainly not easy for someone who can carry around a seal worth tens of thousands of dollars worth of Bahrain’s chicken blood.