Jianbao life

Chapter 629 Root Carving
"Thank you!"

Chu Chen took the teacup, thanked him, and said with a smile, "Actually, it's not a big deal. The main reason is that my family's ancestral acupuncture and moxibustion techniques are better."

Hearing from Chu Chen that it was an ancestral acupuncture technique, although Professor Zhu was curious, considering the taboo, he changed the subject and talked about treatment.

So he asked, "Doctor Chu, when do you plan to have the next acupuncture?"

Chu Chen thought about it: "I'm going to have surgery tomorrow, so I'll come back the day after tomorrow!"

"OK……"

Next, the two exchanged their views. Seeing that everything had been explained clearly, Chu Chen took a sip of tea and was about to leave. However, when he was drinking tea, he happened to see the table on Professor Zhu's table from the corner of his eye. One thing on display immediately aroused his interest.

"Professor Zhu, this root carving of yours looks good!"

"Is this a root carving?"

Professor Zhu looked puzzled, and then he smiled and said, "I don't know anything about it. This thing was given to me by a parent a few days ago because I cured his child's illness. Originally, I refused to accept it. But he said it was an ancestral item and it wasn't worth much, so he threw it on my table and ran away. Doctor Chu, isn't this item expensive?"

Chu Chen shook his head: "I haven't looked at the things carefully, and I don't know whether they are expensive or not, but the workmanship seems to be quite good."

"That's it!" Professor Zhu frowned: "I originally planned to ask someone to help me find out what the value of this thing is. If it's a few hundred dollars, it doesn't matter if you accept it. If it's too expensive, I will definitely give it back to that parent.”

Yesterday, Chu Chen inquired about Professor Zhu from Liu Qinshu, and knew that he didn't accept red envelopes very much, and he basically didn't accept gifts from patients' family members.In fact, for Professor Zhu, as long as he goes out for surgery on holidays, or gives guidance, he can earn a lot of income, and there is no need to receive any red envelopes.

Professor Zhu continued: "Doctor Chu, since you understand this, please help me identify it, how about it?"

"no problem……"

Root carving is a traditional carving art in our country. It takes the natural and distorted forms of tree roots (including tree trunks, tree nodules, bamboo roots, etc.) Artistic image works such as animals and utensils.

The root carving process pays attention to "three parts artificial, seven parts natural", which means that in the root carving creation, the natural form of the root material should be mainly used to express the artistic image, and the artificial treatment and modification should be supplemented. Therefore, the root carving is also called "root carving". art" or "root art".

The root carving on Professor Zhu's desk is a birthday star carved from bamboo roots.

The raw material of bamboo root carving is the root of moso bamboo, which grows in clusters in nature. There are many kinds and shapes of moso bamboo.Its occasional growth of interesting roots and strange bamboo joints should be considered a rarity.

The key to the success or failure of bamboo root carving depends on whether it can win with natural beauty and skillful carving.Therefore, the works are required to have the key points of novel conception, ingenious composition, appropriate choice and full of interest in artistic modeling.

Of course, Zhugen’s theory seems to show "ugliness" on the surface, but this "ugliness" brings us the charm of capturing materials and displaying skills, and prompts us to arouse our imagination. , can become very beautiful in art".

The bamboo root carving in front of me is carved from the root of the plump bamboo joints, and the birthday star is used as the standing face. It is completely made according to the characteristics of the bamboo root, which is very decent.

The birthday star holds a fan in his left hand and a staff in his right hand, both of which are attached to his body, forming a hidden relief.

Dress with clean lines and fewer wrinkles.There are not many layers, the knife edge is round, strong and powerful, with a slight texture and smooth polishing. It makes full use of artistic exaggeration and focuses on depicting the head of the birthday star.Therefore, the proportion of the head increases, about 3 cm, accounting for a quarter of the total body length.

The width of the birthday star's head is almost shoulder-to-shoulder, and the forehead is high, with three deep wrinkles, indicating both longevity and weather-beaten.

The birthday star has wide eyes, nose and mouth, big earlobe shoulders, squinted eyes looking down, gentle face, kind brows and kind eyes, three beards and short beard, four-faced facial features, dazzling and leisurely spirit, which vividly portrays the characteristics and inner world of the birthday star , giving a deep impression.

This bamboo root carved birthday star has been handed down for a long time, and the patina is rich and even, as if it has the spirit of a fairy.Coupled with the exquisite carving, the knife technique looks smooth and flowing, with a feeling of "the shape of the extreme object, the spirit of the object, and the fun of the object".

Therefore, after a short look, Chu Chen knew that this should be an old root carving work, and judging from the style of the carving, it should be the work of Jiading Bamboo Carving.

Jia Ding bamboo carving was popular in Ming and Qing Dynasties.During the Zhengde and Jiajing years of the Ming Dynasty, famous bamboo carvers Zhu He, Zhu Ying, and Zhu Zhizheng appeared, and they were handed down from generation to generation, known as the "Three Zhus".Sanzhu used calligraphy and painting to integrate bamboo carvings, used knives instead of brushes, and applied brushwork to knife techniques, creating an original deep and high-relief bamboo carving technique.It had a great influence on the bamboo carvings of later generations and formed a unique school of Jiading bamboo carvings.

There is a record in "Bamboo Pen Zunfu" written by Zhao Xin in the Qing Dynasty: "The city is named after bamboo carvings... The engraving method was originally Zhu Sansong's family. It has not been a hundred years since Zhu went to the present, and they competed to imitate. , which is exactly the case.

Sure enough, after a while, Chu Chen saw the inscription "San Song Zhi" engraved on the bottom.This "Three Songs" is exactly the name of Zhu Ying's second son, Zhu Zhizheng.

The year of Zhu Zhizheng's birth and death is unknown, but the works he produced are inscribed in the year of Chongzhen, and the year of his death may have entered the Qing Dynasty.Lu Fuzhao's "Nancun Essay" said: "(Sansong) is good at painting distant mountains and light rocks, bamboo and dead wood, and especially likes painting donkeys. Carving knives are meticulous, and they are made from the beginning, and a piece of art can be completed over time."

Although Zhu Songlin was the pioneer of Zhu's bamboo carving, when it developed to Zhu Sansong, the technique became more refined. The pen holders, armrests, incense tubes and other objects carved were extremely precious treasures at that time. Emperor Jiaqing also had affection for Zhu Sansong's works. One of a kind, tasted the title "Living the spirit only for Xiao Shu's pen, and keeping it simple for a long time".

Chu Chen never expected that he would come across a piece of Zhu Sansong's work, and it happened to be used for birthday celebrations. If he could buy it, he would have a gift for the old man's birthday in Jinling after a while.

As for whether he can buy it, Chu Chen is a little uncertain. Judging from the appearance and craftsmanship of this bamboo root carving birthday star, the market value is sure to be high. He estimates it should be between 35 and 40. Judging from his character, he would definitely return this bamboo root carving to the original owner.

Therefore, if he wants to buy it, he can only ask the original owner. When the other party hears that the item has such a high value, he does not know whether he will sell it, but he can't buy and sell it by force. Time to talk.

Putting down the things in his hands, Chu Chen said with a smile: "Professor Zhu, this thing of yours is indeed a genuine sculpture carved by Zhu Sansong in the late Ming Dynasty."

"Late Ming?" Professor Zhu was quite surprised by the results given by Chu Chen: "Then this thing has been around for hundreds of years, why does it look so new and smooth!"

"It's not new, it's patina! It's a natural oxidation reaction caused by the previous owner's frequent handling."

Chu Chen explained with a smile: "As for the smoothness, it's not right. Although the overall picture of this old root carving looks clean, natural and simple, it was done in one go, but because of its age and human use, there are scars from natural use. Look... "

Speaking of this, Chu Chen picked up the strong flashlight and shone it on the surface of the thing. Professor Zhu was surprised to find that there were a few small scratches on the surface as Chu Chen said, and the number seemed quite large. of.

"Is this the sign of a real antique?" Professor Zhu raised his head and asked.

Putting away the flashlight, Chu Chen explained: "This is indeed one of the signs to distinguish the authenticity, but there are many ways to make fakes now, and this kind of trace can also be imitated. Of course, if something like this wants to distinguish it from the real It is easier to fake, for example, the new root carving imitates the old ones, most of the carving methods are rough and blunt, and the knife skills have not changed. Many characters have one face, and many patterns are decorated in one pattern, mechanical or rigid."

"The overall carving technique of the old root carving is perfect, and it has been inherited in one continuous line. From the main characters to the environment (houses, furniture, trees, etc.), they are all carved seriously, with smooth lines and a sense of chic. Just like this statue, it looks very natural and vivid. , if it is an imitation, it is difficult to make it like this..."

Hearing Chu Chen explain some key points of the appraisal, Professor Zhu smiled wryly and said: "This thing sounds like a cloud, it seems that I am not the material of your profession! By the way, since this thing is real Yes, it’s from the Ming Dynasty again, so it should be very expensive, right?”

Chu Chen said: "It's not that antiques become more valuable as they age. The key is to see how the things are. Low-level artistic or popular things are not worth much, but yours is indeed better. The Zhu Sansong I am talking about is very famous among bamboo root carving artists. I estimate the market value of this thing should be between 35 and 40."

"hiss!"

Hearing the price given by Chu Chen, Professor Zhu gasped. It wasn't that he had never seen so much money, but that he didn't expect that a statue that was only [-] or [-] centimeters high would be worth tens of dollars. Wan, this made him feel incredible when he thought about it.

After a while, Professor Zhu asked in astonishment: "Are all antiques so expensive?"
Chu Chen shook his head: "Of course it's impossible. There are good and bad things, and only a small part of them are valuable. Of course, hundreds of thousands of things are not too expensive among antiques. The expensive price is hundreds of thousands." Thousands, even hundreds of millions."

Professor Zhu was stunned for a moment, and then asked: "I heard people say that there is something that makes you rich overnight. Is it true?"

Chu Chen replied: "This kind of thing does exist, but there are many fakes in the antique industry. If you don't study, and step into this industry with the idea of ​​getting rich overnight, you will often get bruised and swollen."

(End of this chapter)