Live appraising treasures, I became a national treasure expert?

Chapter 248 Castiglione

Humans are very selfish animals, and they often take pleasure in others' misfortune.If you don't like the other party again, Bao Buqi will do something to add insult to injury and tear down the ladder.

If it were you who was at a disadvantage, you would feel unhappy in everything. If the person who took advantage of you happened to have some trouble with you, then it would be over...the tip of your heart would hurt.

Lin Ziliang is like this now. The more he looks at the painting, the more uncomfortable he becomes. He wants to grab it and tear it up.

"Director Sun, is there something strange about this painting?"

Are you asking me about your stuff?
"Mr. Lin, I was just about to ask you, where did you buy this painting?"

"Ancestry!"

What?
Sun Mingfang's eyes widened: You, an antique dealer, are also doing this, so you can say that all the sellers are your father?

"I'm sorry, I always say that I'm used to it..." Lin Zixian straightened his expression, "It is indeed something from home, left by relatives..."

Got it, relic?

"What's the specific origin?"

"I just bought it casually. I didn't spend much money, maybe several thousand yuan... It took me a long time to buy it. It has been sitting in the garage collecting dust for at least ten years. I only dug it out the year before last..."

"Identified?"

"Of course, and we conducted two appraisals, we still hired foreign cultural relic appraisers from Christie and Su Fubi..."

"Didn't you find a domestic appraiser, such as an expert who specializes in Chinese paintings?"

"For a foreign oil painting, what's the point of asking a Chinese painting expert?"

"What about before entering the exhibition, during the audition, who appraised it?"

"Of course he is a domestic expert, but I heard he is a professor from the United States who specializes in oil painting..."

Sun Mingfang twisted his face, as if he had eaten Huanglian.

Just to put it bluntly, how could something like this be sent to a foreign exhibition area: Can someone who studies oil painting see a piece of Chinese painting?

If Lin Zixian were more careful and found an appraisal expert specializing in Chinese painting, or a professor specializing in Chinese painting at major art academies, he would definitely be able to tell something.

By then, let alone 40 and 40, there will be plenty of people rushing to get [-] times eight.

However, if the appreciation ability reaches a certain level, it must be at least the level of him or Ding Licheng.Of course, it is not easy to hire such a person, and it is not possible to hire someone with money.Just like today: If Xiang Zhiqing hadn't spoken, who would he know Lin Zixian?

The investment and return are not proportional. Lin Zixian thinks that his head is not swollen. Why bother looking at a painting that costs only a few thousand yuan?

Including myself, if I encounter this thing, my first thought will definitely be: oil painting?Whoever buys it will be stupid... Then he can only take a quick look and leave, instead of looking at it carefully several times like now.

Therefore, Li Dingan deserves to be picked up.

His throat was dry with envy, Sun Mingfang stared at Li Ding'an, his eyes were like looking at a moving cash machine.

"Director Sun?"

"Oh...Mr. Lin..." Sun Mingfang finally came to his senses and sighed, "I won't hide it from you, this painting is indeed a bit weird. But we agreed before that we would only see one thing today: you see Are you looking at this painting or what you said before?"

Isn't it...the difference is so big: Li Ding'an didn't even invite you, so you rushed to see it, and when it was my turn, it became "this is the only one?"

Muttering in his heart, Lin Zixian instinctively turned his eyes, then reacted and glared at Li Ding'an fiercely.

Let him see it?Unless he kowtows...

"Look at another one..."

"Well, it's getting late..."

Sun Mingfang raised his foot and then put it down again, "Teacher Li, my level is limited and I really can't tell who drew it. If it's convenient, could you let the teacher take a look again?"

It is not impossible.

He called two days ago, and Xiang Zhiqing joked on the phone: Who had the bad idea to let him become an expert at the exhibition?It is purely a waste of talent to tie up tigers and catch mice.

"I'll contact you when I'm done to see if Professor Xiang is available!"

"There must be... There is nothing going on in the ministry during this period. I only go to the Chinese Painting Research Center every three or two days, and my hair is almost growing... Oh, this sentence was said by the old man himself..."

"Haha..." Li Ding'an laughed and nodded again, "Okay!"

Lin Zixian was stunned for a moment, then opened his eyes and looked back and forth at Sun Mingfang and Li Ding'an.

Who is Sun Mingfang’s teacher?Xiang Zhiqing, a master of traditional Chinese painting, a top appraisal expert in calligraphy and painting, a senior consultant to ministries and commissions, and enjoys a State Council subsidy... He had never thought about asking such a person for appraisal.It took a lot of effort for him to invite Sun Mingfang over, and he owed a lot of favors.

But Li Ding'an didn't need to ask himself. Sun Mingfang took the initiative to help him look at it. Feeling that he was not sure, he offered to ask Professor Xiang to take another look, and promised to have time... When did a top scholar like Xiang Zhiqing become so... Whatever?

After he went back that day, he asked specifically about it and found out that Li Ding'an had a very high level of appreciation and a good ability to pick up leaks. He was still a graduate student at Peking University, but he was also a consultant for the National Museum of China... Well, he was pretty good anyway.

But I really didn’t expect that his interpersonal relationships would be so wide and that his relationships would be so strong?
The key is this age... No, are you the second generation of ancient people?

Lin Zixian rolled his eyes. Li Ding'an and Sun Mingfang looked at each other and smiled at the same time.

Everywhere is like a mountain. No matter what kind of object, Lin Zixian will only use money to measure it, and he can't understand what it means to be happy.

When a real player encounters something he likes, he can't wait to cuddle up in bed and sleep. If he encounters something he likes but doesn't understand it well, it's over: before he studies and understands it, he will definitely not know the taste of the food and can't sleep at night.

As a master and apprentice for half his life, Sun Mingfang still doesn't know Xiang Zhiqing's hobbies?It is no exaggeration to say that I am definitely more curious and interested than him when I see this painting.

The same goes for Sun Mingfang. If he doesn't understand, he won't be able to sleep well for at least half a month.

So it has nothing to do with guanxi, and whether you are diligent or not has nothing to do with it. This is called being like-minded...

"Then you're busy, I'll leave first..."

Sun Mingfang said goodbye with a smile, while Lin Zixian looked at the oil painting reluctantly, and then looked at Li Ding'an.His expression changed instantly, his eyes were like machine guns, and he wanted to hit the face in front of him a few times.

But the money has been paid, what can we do?
The contract was signed in black and white before the exhibition. If he regrets it, it will not be Li Ding'an who will be talking to him, but the district government and the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau.

Exciting just thinking about it...

The two of them turned around one after another. Li Ding'an was going to install the frame and study it slowly after returning. Chen Jingshu also came to help.

Just as he was about to get started, Lei Mingzhen walked up to the second floor leisurely.There were still seven or eight steps away, so he subconsciously stopped and looked carefully: "Director Sun?"

With his body type and his temperament that looks more like a street kid than a street kid, you will never forget him once you see him.Sun Mingfang immediately remembered: the big man who followed Li Ding'an during the Shanghai auction.I heard that he is a classmate and his family is quite rich...

"Mr. Lei, what a coincidence?"

"I'm bored, so I came to play with Li Ding'an..."

Very quick response?

Li Ding'an smiled approvingly and squinted his eyes when he saw that he seemed to be holding a book in his hand.

Well, it's not a book, it seems...a folded newspaper?

The traditional Chinese characters should be from the Republic of China period. There are colorful paintings printed on them, and there are more than one, and all of them are women.

The question is, where are the clothes?
Ah Zhen, Ah Zhen, you are really hopeless...

Feeling that something was wrong in Li Ding'an's eyes, Lei Mingzhen lowered his head and his expression froze: he was so absorbed in looking at it that he forgot to put it away?
"What's your expression? Look clearly, the Republic of China Pictorial, a serious antique..."

You know it's an antique and you still hold it like this, it seems convenient, right?

"How much did it cost?" "Eight thousand and eight...isn't it auspicious?"

Oh, a lucky woolen yarn?
As expected of you... Eight hundred and eighty is too much!
Lei Mingzhen simply turned a deaf ear to his own words...

There are men and women hugging each other... Chen Jingshu's presence is really unseemly. Lei Mingzhen curled his lips and put the pictorial into his trouser pocket, then poked his neck: "Oil painting... Is this the painting you were talking about before? "

The things have been obtained, and there is nothing that cannot be admitted. Li Dingan nodded.

"Is the thing old enough? Was it painted by a Catholic missionary?"

As he muttered, Lei Mingzhen moved forward again, "It's almost 200 years, right?"

What are you talking about?
Li Ding'an's eyes bulged, and he felt like his eyeballs were about to fall out.

Do you know a woolen oil painting... Well, it's a bit disrespectful to say this. If I make an analogy: Lei Ming really buys a hundred antiques, it doesn't matter which dynasty or country they are from. As long as there is one genuine item among them, it must be Compliment him on his good luck.

If you want to ask why, just look at the pictorial in his trouser pocket and you will know: Ya's shopping depends entirely on her eyes. She first looks at whether it is pleasing to the eye, and then looks at whether it is old or not.

But what item in the antique market doesn’t look old?

The fake ones are older than the real ones, and he is impatient. Li Dingan teaches him step by step and is unwilling to learn. If he doesn't fall for it, who will?
But now, just by taking a glance at it, he dared to say that this thing was 200 years old.If we do the math again, isn’t it 200 years from the Qianlong period to the present?
And how long did Li Dingan watch it?
Yesterday plus today, it’s more than an hour... Isn’t this unscientific?

Sun Mingfang also stopped and turned around.

He was even more curious than Li Ding'an: They watched for a long time, and they were not even sure whether the author was Chinese or foreign. When Li Ding'an's classmate came, he opened his mouth and said it was painted by a missionary?

Of course he didn't know how many missionaries there were in the mid-Qing Dynasty, but he could count them with the fingers on his hands and feet who could draw and were well versed in Chinese and Western painting.

In shock, he came back again, his face full of surprise...oh no, magical.

Li Ding'an also came to his senses, looking puzzled: "How did you deduce this?"

"Have you forgotten what my brother does? Translator, proficient in seven languages, so there is no need to infer, just see with your eyes..."

He stretched out his hand to draw a little more, "Look at this name. Is the font very large and round? Look at the "P", it's almost like a ball... This writing method originated from the end of the seventeenth century. Biblical stele unearthed in Rome.

In addition to the Bible, it is also engraved with the agreement signed by Pope Stephen II and Frankish King Pepin in the eighth century to establish the Vatican Papal State, so it is called the King's Monument or the Papal Monument, and this font is also named after it...

However, it was not very popular and was only used within the Catholic Church to copy or engrave Bibles.Around the 200th century, when the Vatican was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy, this font completely disappeared. Counting the time, it is only [-] years ago.

And the Bible can't be copied by anyone who wants to... Look at this, the four copper pillars and the red copper dome, this is called the bronze canopy, the Pope's special throne, it was built in the Vatican City State, and it is still there... What a coincidence , my friend has been there, but no ordinary person at that time could see him. What was he if he wasn’t a missionary? "

Let me go, have you gained more knowledge?
It really touches on Li Ding'an's knowledge blind spot: when he was in college, he often helped Lei Mingzhen with his homework in order to earn extra money, so in addition to English, he knew a little bit of French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Arabic, but only limited to modern.

There was really no contact with it two or three hundred years ago.

As for the papal throne... I really want to take a look, but it's only been a few months since he became rich?

Not to mention Sun Mingfang, he has only learned English, but has long forgotten it... Give him an English map, and he will have to think carefully about where the Vatican is for a while...

"Azhen, are you sure?"

"Nonsense, if I hadn't paid you one piece!"

Good guy, if Lei Ming read it correctly, it basically overturned his and Sun Mingfang's judgment: the author is not Chinese, but a serious foreigner.

One is the font.

I have been using calligraphy brushes for half my life, and writing square characters for half my life. Suddenly I have to use a hard pen to write letters. If I can write them well, it is good. How can I care about which font is better?

Of course, if you have to be more realistic, you may not be able to write it out. You can describe everything just by following the description.

But there’s no way to explain the Pope’s throne: I’ve never seen it before, and even if the gods came, I couldn’t draw it.

At the same time, the difficulty of determining the author's identity has also been reduced countless times: if it was finding a needle in a haystack before, now it is finding a chicken in a duck: first of all, the time can be determined: the Qianlong period, no later than Kangxi at the earliest.

The second one is the foreigner, the third one is the missionary, and he can paint, and he is more proficient in Chinese painting.In the end, he was able to come into contact with the court tribute, which means that even if he is not a palace painter, he is definitely an official of the Qing court, and even if he is a junior official... If you count it like this, there are only ten or twenty of them.

Wang Zhicheng, Ai Qimeng, He Qingtai, Lang Shining, Andeyi, Qian Deming, Liu Songling... and earlier, Tang Ruowang, Dai Jinxian, and Nan Huairen, who served as the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty and the Minister of Rites, all painted.

Li Ding'an only has a general understanding of these people, but has no impression of their brushwork and painting style.But it just so happens that the Forbidden City contains the works of these people, including Chinese and oil paintings.Even if you use the stupidest method to find out and compare them one by one, you will probably get the result in less than a day.

At the same time, it also means that this painting is definitely more than 400 million: the lowest among them is like Liu Songling, the price of the painting is the same as Leng Mei: more than [-] million...

In an instant, Sun Mingfang's eyes opened into two circles, and he wished he could put them on the canvas, but he looked at them for a long time and still couldn't figure out why.

It's not that the level is not good enough, it's that there are too few parts of the painting that involve traditional Chinese painting. Let alone his personal style, Sun Mingfang can't even distinguish the general genre.

"Teacher Li, who drew it?"

Li Ding'an couldn't tell, so he simply raised his head: "Let me think about it... Tang Ruowang and Dai Jinxian are Germans, Nan Huairen is Belgian, Qian Deming, Wang Zhicheng, and He Qingtai are French, and Ai Qimeng is Czech. , Castiglione and Andi are Italians...well, without exception, they are all Catholic missionaries..."

Halfway through, he lowered his head again and stared at the painting closely.

"You want to infer from the bronze canopy? It's useless..." Lei Mingzhen shook his head, "You have to find out where this thing is first: the Vatican, which is similar to the Catholic ancestral court, and these people you just mentioned are The missionaries carefully selected by the Holy See came to China only after the Pope personally received them. How could they not have seen the bronze canopy?"

"I'm not talking about the canopy...look at the name and spell it out!"

"Joseph...Joseph..." Lei Mingzhen was stunned for a moment, "Among those people just now, is there anyone with that name?"

"Wang Zhicheng's name is Jean, He Qingtai's name is Louis, Ai Qimeng's name is Jack, Andi's name is Mickler, Castiglione's name is Giuseppe, Liu Songling's name is Ferdinand...well, no one is named Joseph..."

Now it was the others' turn to be shocked: Do you know this?

Lei Mingzhen opened his mouth and was stunned for a long time before he said, "What can you tell me?"

"Don't panic... help me think about it first. In which countries do people use this name?"

"There are so many...the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc.: Any country that believes in Catholicism...oh no, it should be Christian will have this name...Do you want to know the reason? "

Lei Mingzhen bared his teeth and smiled proudly, "Because Jesus' father...well, probably his adoptive father was named Joseph. That's how it was called in the Old Testament: Joseph, so there are many thieves named this name in European countries. Similar to our Lao Wang!"

"Has it evolved, such as now? Are there other spellings and pronunciations?"

"Of course, the pronunciation and writing methods of various countries have evolved a lot. However, although the pronunciation is different, most missionaries from various countries still write like this... huh?" Lei Mingzhen's eyes widened, "Holy crap? "

"What the hell...you dare to brag that you know seven languages? I don't know that names with the same letters and the same order have different pronunciations in various countries, and even after gradual evolution, other spellings will be derived. How to pronounce it? By the time it is spread to China, it will already be paradoxical, not to mention another 200 years? Spell it for me again, and spell the Chinese transliteration..."

I was so proud that I actually forgot...

Lei Mingzhen smiled coquettishly. Seeing Li Ding'an staring at him, he straightened his expression: "It's called Joseph in English. It's called that in the United States and Britain. It's called Joe or Joey in German and Turkish. It's called Yu in German and Turkish." Sufu, we XJ Uyghurs also call us like this... Jose in Spanish and Portuguese, Giuseppe in Italian, also known as Giuseppe, nicknamed Pepe... The latter two are both football stars..."

"Be serious, I don't care if you are a star or not... Well, wait a moment... What kind of hat?"

"Giuseppe!"

"The next one!"

"Giuseppe?"

I wiped it?

In an instant, Li Ding'an's eyes were as wide as lanterns, "Teacher Sun, which country is Lang Shining from, and what is his original name?"

I don't know Castiglione's original name, I only know that he is Italian... Well, isn't that right?
Li Ding'an just said that it seems to be called Pei...

Sun Mingfang was so excited that his head was like a spindle, and he almost hit the painting: "Xi...Xi...Lang...Lang...Lang Shining?"

(End of this chapter)