Master descends to earth

Chapter 209 King of Sea Yellow
"The last auction held a total of six special auctions, two of which were dedicated to An Siyuan's Ming and Qing furniture, and there were about 2000 lots, with a turnover of [-] million. This is his last collection, and the quality is very high. We want Be mentally prepared."

Ling Tiancheng took out the information and introduced: "Many people in the circle are eager to try this time, especially several big collectors in Hong Kong Island, the king of huanghuali, Ye Chengyao, the queen of huanghuali, Wu Jiaen, and even Zhai Jianmin were entrusted to participate in the auction. A top connoisseur of furniture."

"Oh? Ye Chengyao and Wu Jiaen are also going to participate?"

Su Yuan nodded, it can be seen that An Siyuan's aesthetic taste is so high that even the two top furniture collectors couldn't help being tempted to make a move. It is estimated that apart from Wang Shixiang, only the king of the Ming Dynasty has such appeal.

"The head of Sotheby's is now Qiu Guofu?"

Ling Tiancheng nodded and said: "The grandson of Qiu Yanzhi, a great collector in the Republic of China, has sold many heavy objects worth over 2015 million yuan through Qiu Guofu's hands in the past five years. Kiln octagonal vase” special sale, Southern Song Dynasty official kiln blue glaze octagonal string pattern plate vase: 1.1388 million Hong Kong dollars, setting the world auction record No.3 for Song Dynasty porcelain, and the buyer is Liu Yiqian.”

"What's interesting is that this official kiln octagonal vase comes from the same private collection as the Ru kiln sunflower wash in the Northern Song Dynasty, which broke the Song porcelain auction record in 2012 with HK$2.786 million. It was a well-known antique shop before the war in the island country. It is as famous as the Mountain Chamber of Commerce."

Su Yuan took over Qiu Guofu’s information. In 2014 Sofoby’s Autumn Auction of Porcelain and Handicrafts, Qing Dynasty Qianlong powder green glaze embossed Canglong Jiaozi pot, 9240 million Hong Kong dollars, setting a world auction record for monochrome glaze.It was in the old collection of Fangshanju, and now I have one in my hand.

The most sensational piece was the Ming Chenghua Doucai Chicken Crock Cup, worth HK$2.8124 million, setting a world auction record for porcelain. The buyer was Liu Yiqian, who also had it himself.

In 2014, the large bowl of Ding Kiln in the Northern Song Dynasty collected by Clark from the collection of Goro Sakamoto was auctioned by an Asian collector with a total transaction price of 1.468 million Hong Kong dollars, setting the second highest auction transaction record for Song Dynasty porcelain.

In 2013, Ming Chenghua blue and white okra pattern palace bowl, 1.41 million Hong Kong dollars, this lot was won by Zhai Jianmin, and he also has it in his hand.

The other party joined Sotheby's in 1999, and in the following two or three years, he was appreciated by Zhu Tangsheng, who specializes in Ming and Qing ceramic appraisal transactions in the auction house, and formally started learning.At that time, the company was much smaller than it is now, and Sotheby's revenue in Asia only accounted for [-]% of the global market.

His grandfather was an all-powerful figure in the Republic of China, known as one of the top five collectors of ancient ceramics in the world. In the 50s, Qiu Yanzhi used 1000 Hong Kong dollars to buy a Ming Chenghua fighting color chicken that others thought was a fake. crock cup. In 1980, when it was auctioned by Sotheby's, the price was 480 million, and it was hailed as a model of picking.Now it has exceeded [-] million, which shows the other party's vision.

In order to obtain a piece of porcelain with the Jianwen year mark, due to the short reign of Emperor Jianwen, the number of porcelains fired was limited, and porcelain with a year mark was even rarer. Porcelain, only a pen holder.

This pen holder was passed down through the ages, and it was collected by Tan Jing during the Republic of China. At that time, my grandfather only collected porcelain from the Ming Dynasty. Except for Jianwen, he collected all the porcelains from the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, if he could not get this porcelain pen holder, it became his. A piece of heart disease.

The more things he couldn't get, the more precious he felt. Later, in order to fulfill his wish, he even exchanged a complete set of Ming Dynasty porcelain that only lacked the Jianwen year mark for this porcelain pen holder!
Su Yuan put down the information, secretly amused, it seemed that he and Chou Guofu had a lot of predestined relationship, and he had all the favorite works auctioned by the other party, and there were more than one.

"I have an idea, there is still time before the auction, why don't we go to Hong Kong Island first?" Ling Tiancheng suggested, "Let Zhai Jianmin introduce a few senior experts to us, and we should pave the way for Tian Cheng to enter Hong Kong sooner or later." Island, after all, that is the center of Asian art.”

Su Yuan nodded in agreement, the real big collectors are in Hong Kong Island and Baodao, where there are two top Chinese collector groups, Minqiu Jingshe and Qingwan Yaji.

Min Qiu Jing She is a collector group established in 1960. Its members are a group of Hong Kong Island collectors who are obsessed with collecting ancient cultural relics and artworks. They have unique collections in Chinese calligraphy, painting and various cultural relics. .We often cooperate with different organizations to organize lectures, seminars and exhibitions, and make the members' collection results and appreciation experience public.

Initiated by Hu Renmu, Chen Guangfu and others, the current site is located in Baoyun Building.Based on the classic exposition in "The Analects of Confucius. Shu Er Pian", "I am not born to know, I am also a person who loves ancient and sensitive things and seeks it", they named the collection association Minqiu Jingshe, and they used research on art and appreciation of cultural relics as The purpose of Minqiu.

Members gather a group of celebrities who are not only pillars of society, but also outstanding collectors.Their collections are not only high-level and influential, but to a certain extent can be said to be world-renowned.

For example, the paintings and calligraphy of Lezaixuan, Beishantang, and Xuanhuitang; the ceramics of Jiudelou, Tianminlou, and Guan Shanming; the collections of Xu Zhantang and Mai Yali; and the ancient furniture of Gongyushanfang, etc.

Members gather twice a month on a regular basis. Minqiu is well-organized and has high requirements for membership. First, personal collections must be high-grade, and second, character must be good.When recruiting new members, unanimous approval is required, and a black ball is not allowed.

The atmosphere of the meeting is very democratic, and the affairs of the meeting are managed democratically. The chairman is elected for a term of two years. At the same time, mainland cultural experts and famous overseas collectors are also hired as honorary members. Mr. Geng Baochang is an honorary consultant.Although the number of minqiu is less than 37, it definitely represents the highest level of collection in Hong Kong.

Minqiu Jingshe has very distinctive personal collections, such as the collection of Qing Dynasty official kiln monochrome glaze wares by the first chairman Hu Renmu, Dr. Ye Yi’s bamboo rhinoceros horn carving collection, Luo Guixiang’s Yixing ceramic tea set collection, Ye Chengyao’s Ming and Qing furniture collection, nine For example, Tang Li Daming’s collection of high ancient porcelain, Tianminlou Ge Shiqiao’s father and son’s collection of Ming and Qing official kiln porcelain, Xu Zhantang’s collection of past dynasties porcelain, etc.

Ling Tiancheng immediately arranged the itinerary. This idea has been planned long ago. It is the easiest way to make contacts with Su Yuan. Once the Xiangdao comes out, who will compete with him?

Su Yuan doesn't care, Hong Kong Island is not only a gathering place for wealthy collectors, but also one of the main producing areas of Wanxiang.Guanxiang refers to the agarwood produced in Guangdong and Guangxi.

Guanxiang is born in the soil mixed with yellow mud, sand and stones. Its leaves are like boxwood and its seeds are like forsythia. It grows when it falls to the ground. After planting for four or five years, the tree is cut off, and only a foot is left to cover it with soil, so that it can be pulled out. The branches can be dug into the soil for two or three years, and a few pieces are chiseled every October.

The old fragrant head is as hard as a stone, and it is not easy to rot even if it is eroded by rain.Some old incense heads are irradiated by the light of the sun and the moon, and stagnated by the frost and dew, and some balsam agglomerates are produced.

The lowest grade is white wood incense. This is the first time the incense door was opened and picked for the first time. The fragrance is green and astringent and light; The block has a slight woody pattern, less oily, and the price is slightly higher than that of Baimuxiang.

The higher level is produced from the body of the old incense tree. It is rich in oil and sinks when it enters the water. Chisel into a horse-tooth shape, such as the size of a finger.

Yaxiang is a high-quality product in Guanxiang. In ancient times, because of its small size and fragrance, some Shannon's daughters secretly hid it in their bosoms in exchange for powder and silk cloth.Every time you take out Yaxiang from your bosom, the fragrance will fill the house. After a long time, Yaxiang is also called daughter incense.

People with good deeds say: the most fragrant in the world!
(End of this chapter)