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Chapter 652 Zhu Zichang

"Whether this is made of slope mud or lake mud, I really can't tell for sure; but it's not the Yellow River mud, I can still be sure." Yu Yao pointed.

"I understand!" Old Zhou said, "This Fangcheng clay inkstone is made from the mud near Suzhou, or from the Jiangnan area, and Gu Erniang selected the materials locally!"

"Actually, the Chengni inkstone and the purple sand pot have some similarities." Yu Yao thought for a while, "The purple sand pot is considered pottery, and the product of the Chengni inkstone is more delicate than the purple sand, but it is not as good as the porcelain clay. Between the china."

Lao Zhou nodded, but still hesitated, "However, Erniang Gu, Chengni inkstone..."

"There are historical materials that say that Gu Erniang 'is not a good stone in Duanxi Laokeng, but does not use a knife', and that she 'made less than a hundred square inkstones in her life'. But the historical materials about her are uneven, and most of them are unofficial ones." Yu Yu Yao explained, "I also read a wild history notebook, which said that Gu Erniang not only made Chengni inkstones, but also made Chengni inkstones in the shape of bamboo baskets, mushrooms, and vegetables because they are easy to shape!"

"If you say that, it depends entirely on your eyesight. You can only judge from the combination of dating and craftsmanship." Old Zhou replied.

"The age of this mushroom-shaped clay inkstone is definitely not a problem. The key lies in the craftsmanship. I think it is enough to be called a master boutique!"

Lao Zhou patted the steering wheel, "Tell me more about it!"

"Look, not to mention the texture and craftsmanship of the Chengni inkstone itself, but the carving is different from the stone inkstone. When cutting the knife, you must consider the changes after firing...
"Yu Yao was quite patient with Lao Zhou, and explained it in detail.

The so-called Chengni refers to the fine mud that has been cleaned, and the firing process is also very particular, so the inkstones that come out are very smooth, and at the same time, the ink is not easy to dry out, and it is not easy to freeze in cold weather.Of course, there must be a difference.Anything that involves craftsmanship is often hard to find.

When we arrived at Geguzhai, we basically finished talking, and Lao Zhou admired it in detail in the store.

Those who don't like inkstones may not know much about it. Gu Erniang was really a well-known figure in the history of inkstone making in the Qing Dynasty. Although there are not many historical materials, she has a big name.

Huang Ren, a calligrapher and painter in the Qing Dynasty, was also a well-known collector of inkstones. When he resigned from office and returned to his hometown, he once spent 2000 taels of silver to buy Shifang ancient inkstones, and named his collection "Shiyanxuan", calling himself " Shiyan old man".

His eyesight on the inkstone is good enough, even he highly respects Gu Erniang.He once traveled thousands of miles to Suzhou with a piece of high-quality inkstone, and asked Gu Erniang to make the inkstone.This incident is supported by a poem written by Huang Ren: An inch of generals will cut purple mud, and it will be dedicated to the west of Zhumen Lane at the beginning of the day.How to roll the ming machine, cut all over the Shili River in Duanzhou.

After Gu Erniang passed away, Huang Ren also wrote mourning poems.The inkstone handed down by Gu Erniang is also in the collection of the Palace Museum.

Lao Zhou looked at it and praised it.Yu Yao half-jokingly said, "I said, you agreed that it's the appraisal fee for me, you won't regret it?"

"Can I be that kind of person? It's not like I didn't get good things." Lao Zhou said, put down the inkstone, and arranged the Lingbi offering stone and the base.

"This 'Chang'e Flying to the Moon', you really picked it up!" Yu Yao said, "It's something from the Ming Dynasty!"

"Ah?" Lao Zhou couldn't help being a little surprised, "You said that this base is from the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, I really believe it! So, I think this offering stone is also from the Qing Dynasty!"

"I didn't lie about this. I didn't lie when I said that the offering stone was the third generation of the Qing Dynasty at the latest!"

Lao Zhou handed Yu Yao a cigarette, "That is to say, it is an offering stone from the Ming Dynasty, and someone re-allocated the base in the late Qing and early Ming Dynasty?"

"That's right!" Yu Yao replied, "Look at the texture and patina of this offering stone. If it's missing for three or four hundred years, it will definitely not show up. It won't be a big problem in the Ming Dynasty."

Lao Zhou smiled and said, "That's not counting as bottom support, I also earn a lot!"

"You can earn even more with a bottom support!" Yu Yao stretched out his hand and nodded, "Just now we talked about Gu Erniang's Chengni inkstone, now it's time to talk about Zhu Zichang's boxwood carving!"

"Zhu Zichang?" Old Zhou Zhou looked surprised and stroked his forehead, "It turns out that the word 'Chang' is not a surname!"

"This old Shi, you say he is not careful, he can find the word 'Chang' hidden in the flower; you say he is careful, he is also, he missed the word 'Zi' in another flower!"

After Yu Yao finished speaking, he pointed to a flower on the upper left side.Inside, the word "zi" was engraved as expected.

However, the character "Zi" has relatively few strokes, and it is a small seal script, especially like the lines in the stamens.

"Hey! Why didn't he find out?"

"You still expect him to find out?"

"Of course not." Lao Zhou smacked his lips, "However, he really doesn't necessarily know Zhu Zichang, even I only know roughly that he is a famous boxwood carver."

Zhu Zichang, whose name is Zhenglun and style name Zichang, was born in the late Qing Dynasty and passed away in the Republic of China. He was born in Yongjia, Zhejiang Province. He was a famous boxwood carver.

Because of his superb skills in boxwood carving, he also has a very awesome nickname: Lunxian.

In fact, craftsmen in the old days were very bitter. After all, very few became famous and married. Most craftsmen often toiled all their lives, and they may not have any fame and fortune.The same was true of Zhu Zichang in his early years. He was born in a poor family of painters, lost his father when he was young, and learned sculpture from his uncle at the age of nine.

But Zhu Zichang later became famous, so life is naturally not tight.This man was addicted to opium smoking in his later years, but he was always meticulous about his sculptures, and he would not sell those who were not satisfied, whether it was for gift or for sale.

Moreover, Zhu Zichang is also a man of integrity. In the early 30s, the local pseudo-police chief wanted him to sculpt, but he flatly refused. He was sent to prison twice, but he still refused to sculpt.His health was not very good, he smoked opium and was imprisoned, and he died not long after.

Today, Zhu Zichang's handed down boxwood carvings are so many masterpieces that I dare not say that someone is willing to pay for hundreds of thousands.

"This base is not a sculpture of a figure, so the value has to be discounted." Yu Yao further explained, "However, this base cannot be viewed as a boxwood sculpture itself."

When Lao Zhou heard this, he was taken aback for a moment, and then he understood, "Yes, this is a set! The year is different, so it was matched later, but Chang'e flew to the moon, with the base of the laurel tree, and the laurel echoed, it was very good. it is good!"

"The key lies in the age of the base." Yu Yao nodded. "The ancients imitate the ancients. There are fine products. The base that was matched a hundred years ago can be regarded as the ancients matching the ancients. Therefore, the value of this set must be higher than that of a single set." The combined value of a piece of Ming Dynasty Lingbi offering stone and a single piece of Zhu Zichang's boxwood carving is even greater!"

(End of this chapter)