Riding the wind of rebirth

"So this is a layer of window paper." Zhou Zhi smiled and handed the dragon's head pottery to Zhu Qinghong, who had been itching for a long time. This is a master of antique carvings. Seeing the real thing will definitely inspire him more: "Look at the jade. I am a pure layman, but I have finally gained some grounding today.”

He exchanged the ribbon ring in Zhu Qinghong's hand for his own: "Then how can you tell whether this carving made during the Qianlong period is authentic or not?"

In fact, this issue is not that important, because the jade carving industry emphasizes the "match between work and materials", that is to say, what kind of material should be matched with what kind of carving.

If it is the craftsmanship of Qianlong's inner palace jade, then the materials used must be top-notch.

In other words, if it is top-quality Hotan seed material, in order to maximize its value, its owner will definitely find the top craftsmen to carve it, just like Zhou Zhi does now. This is called the same principle in ancient and modern times.

When the price difference between ancient jade and new jade is not much, there is no point in counterfeiting jade from the Ming Dynasty, because the main value of jade at this stage is not determined by the age, but more by the quality and quality of the jade. The level of craftsmanship.

There are only two situations where there is room for fraud and deception to make money.

Or they are counterfeiting ancient jade from before the Song Dynasty. In this period, jade quality was not very demanding. Low-grade jade materials could be used to fake it, and then traces such as acid color and earthen flowers could be used to cover up the flaws in the jade quality.

At that time, as mentioned above, counterfeiters were eager for quick success and would inevitably expose flaws in the carving. It was enough to know the difference between the traces of ancient stone work and the traces of modern machine carving.

There is also a slightly cleverer method, which is to imitate ancient jade from the Ming Dynasty. However, this kind of counterfeiting leaves little room for counterfeiters. Generally, mid-range jade materials are used. After machine-carving, the machine-carved parts are then polished off by hand. Traces, and then by making it old and patinated, it is disguised as ancient jade to deceive people.

Such fake jade has a high success rate, and it is easiest to deceive half-hearted enthusiasts. However, the cost of fake jade is not low, and the profit left to the counterfeiter will not be too high. The method still requires the use of modern high-speed tools and materials, and it is difficult to achieve the same jade traces as those produced by ancient slow-speed soft materials.

Time is the appraiser’s best friend. For any type of art, the traces left over a long period of time and the traces of fraud formed in a short period of time are one of the easiest features to identify.

Even the Chun Shui Qiu Shan sash ring that was carved to be extremely smooth, under the guidance of Mr. Xu, Zhou Zhi learned to identify the handmade traces and characteristics left by the Qianlong workmanship, and then took out a carving by Zhu Qinghong for comparison. Explain that things that were indistinguishable before are now extremely noticeable.

"It turns out that the identification of jade is quite simple." After finishing the class, Zhou Zhi felt enlightened. From today on, he can add one more item to his appraisal ability.

"Training is not easy. Xiao Zhou can only be regarded as a beginner. If you want to become a master, it is not something ordinary people can do." Xu Zhiman smiled and reminded Zhou Zhi not to be too proud: "Ancient jade collectors are often called warriors. , Why is this happening? It’s because it’s very difficult to date.”

"The style, craftsmanship, and changes between Warring States jade carvings and Han Dynasty jade carvings have not changed much. The skills of appraising and collecting are all in the subtleties. Therefore, many experts cannot pass this level and can only refer to them as 'Warring Han jade carvings.' "

"Yes, I have seen many jades marked like this in the Forbidden City." Zhou Zhi recalled it after being reminded by Mr. Xu: "This shows that those jades have stumped even the experts in the Forbidden City!"

"Yes, because many of the jades in the Forbidden City come from the library. Without unearthed information, we can only judge from the jade material, craftsmanship, and style. It is very difficult to accurately confirm its age, and we can only judge a large cycle. "Xu Zhimian said: "The same situation is much better at the National Museum, because many of the cultural relics in the National Museum come from excavations. With archaeological information, it is easy to determine the age of the unearthed jade." "Today is really worth it." Zhou Zhi is very happy Happy: "It seems that the knowledge of appraisal does not necessarily have to be learned in the research institute of the Forbidden City and the National Museum. The level of the old gentleman at the jade carving factory is no different than that of several old experts I know."

"General Manager Xu has also participated in many national-level tasks." Yao Chong introduced: "The reproduction of cultural relics is also one of the main tasks of our factory. Some of the exhibits at the National Expo are actually replicas. Do you know this little Zhou? "

"Really?" Zhou Zhi really didn't know. Many of the paintings, calligraphy and bronzes in the Palace Museum that were displayed during non-important exhibition periods were actually imitations. Of course he knew this.

However, it is a bit incredible that jade articles have replicas and can be deceived in museums.

"Can Qinse be made the same?" Zhou Zhi asked.

"You're thinking too much." Xu Zhimian smiled and said: "The museum's exhibits cannot be used by visitors. All they have to do is paint them on and make them look exactly the same!"

"That's true." Zhou Zhi laughed at the idea of ​​​​taking advantage of others. Museum fraud and money fraud are two different concepts. The former only requires visual deception, while the latter is exactly the same in all aspects. That's a world of difference. .

After the course, Zhou Zhi gained a deeper understanding of the jade carving industry. The people in the jade carving factory also have a better understanding of Zhou Zhi's character and taste. After everyone becomes familiar with him, it becomes easier to communicate on the following topics.

"The quality of this batch of jade materials sent by Mr. Zhou is something our jade carving factory has rarely received in recent years." Yao Chong said: "So after receiving the materials, the factory attached great importance to them. In addition to the jade carvings that Mr. Zhou named and commissioned, In addition to teachers, Teacher Lu and Teacher Zhang, we also invited Chief Engineer Xu to specifically check the plan."

"Mr. Zhou has communicated with us before, which is to make use of the characteristics of the leather shell of this batch of materials, try to use clever carvings and pretty colors, try to use low-relief techniques, and take maximum care of the jade materials, especially this last point , of course we are very welcome!”

These words made everyone here happy.

There is a common practice in the jade carving industry that the cost of materials and wages are linked. Generally, there is a proportional relationship between the cost of materials and wages.

This ratio generally has a certain relationship with the size and weight of the object.

Take the current Hetian jade seed material as an example. If it is less than 500 grams, the general labor price is about the same as the price of jade. For jade material worth 1,000 yuan, the processing cost will also be 1,000 yuan.

If sold within the system, the item will sell for about 2,500 yuan. If sold externally at a store outside Gongmei or the jade carving factory, the price can range from 3,000 to 5,000 yuan.