top appraiser

Chapter 170
Chapter 170. Destruction
According to the previous agreement, in each round of competition, porcelain with low value will be judged as "stone" and must be smashed on the spot, otherwise it will be regarded as an automatic surrender.

Of course, everyone will not forget such a bloody rule.

You Zhengxing wanted to fool around, but after being pointed out in person, there was no reason to quibble, so he immediately grabbed the yellow-ground pink butterfly basin and smashed it on the ground with a bang.

The loud sound immediately attracted many customers who were visiting the upper exhibition hall, and they all cast surprised eyes.

You Zhengxing didn't twitch the corner of his mouth, and after ordering the waiter to come over and clean it up, his eyes were fixed:
"next round!"

Qu Zhinong and the others looked at each other in dismay. They were still feeling sorry for this [-] piece of handicraft porcelain, but when they thought that according to today's rules, at least nine more pieces of porcelain would be reduced to fragments, they all looked away.

At this time, the second item of both sides has been put on the table.

Ren Ping's side is a blue and white porcelain bowl, the size of a palm, with a round mouth, a curved belly, and a ring foot. It looks like a larger teacup, but the round mouth is restrained and has no extension, which is slightly different from the classic Chinese teacup shape.

The weirdest thing is that there is a lid similar to a tea lid on it, but there is no handle, so people can't tell what it is for a while.

You Zhengxing's side is much simpler and clearer. It is an amphora, about a foot high, and is covered in dark blue. The ears on both sides of the bottle mouth are about three fingers wide, just enough to fit your hands into it.

This kind of amphora is a common type of porcelain, and it has been found in all famous kilns in all dynasties. Although this one is small in size, its appearance is still in good condition, and it has a small and exquisite beauty.

The point is, it does not belong to the rare porcelain of Daya Zhai series.

It seems that even though he lost a round first, You Zhengxing thought he had a solid family background, so he was not in a hurry to take out the treasure at the bottom of the box.

"Isn't this piece of craft porcelain?"

"Naturally not,"

You Zhengxing glanced at Ren Ping: "I, Yongrongzhai, have never made this kind of craft porcelain, but it doesn't mean I don't know how to collect it. Please take care of it."

As soon as the words fell, Qu Zhinong and others rushed forward and looked at it carefully.

Everyone is an expert in the industry, some touch the porcelain body, some look at the glaze color, some taste the shape, and some identify the style, but there is nothing wrong with this thing, even the year of manufacture is clearly printed on the bottom of the bottle.

The result soon came out, it was an authentic Longquan kiln, dating from the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, worth about 80 yuan.

"Only 80? Are you sure?"

After hearing this estimate, You Zhengxing frowned, obviously dissatisfied.

Qu Zhinong nodded: "I know what Mr. You is thinking. How can Longquan Kiln be worth only this small amount of money despite its great reputation? However, no matter which famous kiln it is, the specific porcelain must be considered."

"For something like yours, there is no major problem with its appearance and age, but the glaze color is a bit poor, and the shape is too moderate. You must know that the shape of the amphora is extremely rich, regardless of size, decoration, and mouth-to-belly ratio. room,"

"The ones with higher value on the market are either due to their age, extremely rare skills, or their outstanding shapes. You don't take advantage of this one. On the contrary, there are quite a lot of similar things, and it is very likely that they were handed down from mass production. "

"So, 80, the name of the Shanlongquan kiln is undoubtedly worth this price, but if it is too much, it is a premium. I think the price should be similar when Mr. You collected it."

You Zhengxing originally wanted to argue, but was stopped by this last sentence and snorted.

It seems that Qu Zhinong guessed right. When he received the amphora, the price was around 80 yuan, or even lower. Now that it was broken, he naturally had nothing to say.

Qu Zhinong looked at Ren Ping again, asking for his opinion.

Ren Ping smiled slightly: "You all have seen it accurately, there is no need to ask me."

"Mr. Ren, you are welcome. I heard that you retrieved the famous Twelve Flower God Cups for the National Museum some time ago. You just relied on an incomplete photo. With your eyesight alone, all porcelain collectors admire you. Take it, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that I don't quite understand Mr. Ren."

Qu Zhinong looked suspicious and pointed at the thing that looked like a bowl but not a bowl, and looked like a teacup but not a teacup:
"This piece of blue and white porcelain looks like something from Longquan kiln in every way, and it shouldn't be too old,"

"President Qu has great eyesight. He can tell the age of the kiln entrance without even passing his hands." Ren Ping interjected.

"That's okay,"

Qu Zhinong shook his head and laughed: "But the shape of this instrument is very special and a bit nondescript. I'm sorry that Qu is blind and can't recognize it."

When the two were talking, the rest of the merchants were also thinking hard, and some were still talking in a low voice, but like Qu Zhinong, they couldn't recognize each other.

You Zhengxing glanced carefully: "Is this weird thing a teacup?"

"No."

"That's a lidded jar."

"Not at all."

"What is that, it can't be an incense burner, can it?"

He snorted coldly, with an impatient expression as if you are going to keep it secret for as long as you want.

Ren Ping didn't do it to show off, but it had to be like this to have an eye-catching effect. He smiled immediately: "This thing is not placed in the right place, no wonder everyone can't see it."

As he spoke, he turned the lid on the porcelain bowl upside down and placed it on top.

The strange thing is that the caliber of the lid seems to be the same as that of the porcelain bowl, no more, no less, and the extensions of the two just fit together tightly, as if it was designed in this way.

The inner surface of the lid is not the imagined white glaze, but the same blue-and-white decoration as the outer wall of the porcelain bowl. Obviously, it should have been placed like this.

Such a weird shape seems unimaginable to ordinary people, but everyone present was different. When Ren Ping turned the lid over to reveal the blue and white inside, everyone guessed its origin.

"Zhuge Bowl!"

Instinctively, You Zhengxing exclaimed immediately, although he immediately realized something was wrong, it was too late.

Qu Zhinong and the others were also pleasantly surprised. Immediately, someone picked up and put down the lid, picked it up and put it down, and repeated it many times to confirm that the size fits well. It should have been put upside down.

The blue-and-white decoration on the inside of the lid is also in complete contrast with the outer wall of the porcelain bowl, making it appear as one.

More importantly, it turned out that there was a round hole the size of a thumb in the bottom of the porcelain bowl, which was flawless when it was placed on the table, and could only be found when it was turned over.

This also proves that the lid on the top is the main part of the porcelain. Otherwise, this porcelain bowl alone would not be able to eat or drink porridge.

"This is the Zhuge bowl, that's right. There are two layers, with a hollow in the middle. The lower layer has holes that communicate with the hollow layer. The upper layer is like a bowl cover, but it is actually the main part of the porcelain!"

"That's right. The blue and white patterns on the two layers also correspond. At first, I thought that the patterns on the lower layer weren't quite right. There was obviously a part of it empty. It turned out that it was connected here."

"Porcelain of this shape is rare. It is said that the first one discovered was from the Longquan Kiln of the Northern Song Dynasty. Although the Longquan Kiln of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties also produced it, there are not many on the market now. As for the value..."

After everyone's confirmation, this thing is undoubtedly the Zhuge bowl. Coincidentally, it also came from the Longquan kiln in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, and it can be called "the same kiln" as the amphora of You Zhengxing.

However, the value of the two is not the same, and regardless of whether one is pure glazed porcelain or the other is more exquisite blue and white, the rarity of a single vessel is far superior to the Zhuge bowl.

Ye Shiyun, who was at the side, had never seen such a strange porcelain, and had never even heard of it, so she couldn't help but ask.

Ren Ping smiled: "Zhuge Wan, if you think about these three words, who should you think of first?"

"Of course it's Zhuge Liang,"

Ye Shiyun said without hesitation: "Why, this kind of porcelain is related to him?"

Ren Ping nodded.

Ye Shiyun was still puzzled, and looked at the weird porcelain: "What is he doing with this thing? The bowl is not a bowl, and the saucer is not a saucer? It's double-layered. Is it because of a large appetite? That doesn't make sense."

"This is related to a historical legend,"

Ren Ping paused: "It is said that during one of Zhuge Wuhou's sixth expeditions to the Qishan Mountains, Sima Yi suffered repeated defeats. He was frightened and finally decided to defend the city. He even sent spies to inquire about Zhuge Liang's diet."

"The spies reported that Zhuge Liang was worried about the lack of progress in the war. He ate very little every meal, and it must not last long. This made Sima Yi firm in his determination to avoid the war."

"When Zhuge Liang heard about this later, he knew that he still had no appetite, but in order to confuse Sima Yi, he had someone make this double-layered hollow porcelain bowl."

"This kind of bowl has a shallow top and a shallow bottom, and can only hold a small amount of food, but outsiders look like a big bowl full, thinking that he has a great appetite,"

"As for the holes in the lower layer, there are two theories. One is that the upper and lower bowls were not tight enough when they were first made, and it was difficult to use force, so they specially made this kind of hole and pulled it with one finger of the hand holding the bowl. Make it less likely to slip,"

"The other is that after later generations named this kind of porcelain bowl after Zhuge, they thought there was no special commemorative meaning, so they deliberately opened a hole in the bottom of the lower bowl, which means 'Kongming', and Zhuge bowl means Zhuge Kongming. .”

Ye Shiyun was amazed over and over again, never expecting that there are so many allusions behind the name of a piece of porcelain.

Ren Ping smiled again: "Of course, these are just legends. No one can tell what the origin of the name is. After all, the earliest surviving Zhuge Bowl only dates back to the Song Dynasty, which is far away from the Three Kingdoms."

After saying this, he looked aside.

Qu Zhinong and others have already discussed the results. This Zhuge bowl, which is also from the mouth of Longquan kiln in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, is finally estimated at 210 million, far exceeding the amphora.

Needless to say, the reason is that the rarity of objects from the same era and from the same kiln directly determines their value. This is an ironclad rule in the collecting world.

You Zhengxing knew that no matter how much he asked, he would be humiliating himself. He looked around at the crowd, suddenly raised his hand, and smashed the amphorae to the ground with a loud bang.

Everyone saw that although he had a ferocious face, he kept his word and did what he said, and they couldn't help admiring him in their hearts.

It only confused the customers who didn't know what was going on, and smashed things twice in a row, thinking that someone was coming to smash the place, and someone wanted to come over to watch the excitement immediately.

Fortunately, he was stopped by the clerks of Yongrong Zhai, and while apologizing, he directed downstairs:

"Sorry, everyone, the upper exhibition hall is closed today, please visit the lower floor first."

When the bustling crowd went downstairs, You Zhengxing suppressed his anger and snorted:
"The third game!"

As he spoke, he took a piece of celadon porcelain from his subordinates:
"This blue-glazed three-legged double-fish wash was used by Zuo Zongtang, a famous official in the late Qing Dynasty. Not long ago, I just bought it from a private collector, and the price was 350 million!"

Amidst the deafening voice, everyone saw that the pen was washed and closed, with three legs, and two red koi carps, one large and one small, were painted on the inside. It looked lively, and it was indeed extraordinary.

Ren Ping compared his thumbs: "Mr. You is refreshing enough."

After finishing speaking, he also put his third piece of porcelain on the table.

After a long time, the rest of the merchants were still comparing left and right, unable to make up their minds, but Qu Zhinong stared at the brush washer, frowning more and more, and finally shook his head, looking at You Zhengxing:

"You lost again, Mr. You."

(End of this chapter)