Chapter 295 Unused Snuff Bottle

After glancing at it briefly, Lin Sicheng placed it on the stall and asked, "Boss, how much?"

The man with the goatee didn't speak, but held up three fingers.

Not again?

Let me guess, shall I?

"Three hundred?" Lin Sicheng pretended to take out his wallet. "Not bad, not too expensive!"

The man with the goatee paused for a moment: "Boss, take a good look, is this a time-keeping vessel? After three hundred, you need to add ten thousand..."

"Time-honored teapot?" Lin Sicheng chuckled. "If you put a time-honored teapot in today's market, it would be at least four or five hundred years old. The tea stains would have formed a crystal layer, at least half a millimeter thick. Look at yours, the tea stains have barely seeped into the pot wall, at most 0.2 millimeters, which is just a thin layer."

"A teapot that's four or five hundred years old, exposed to hot water for so long, has had its clay body recrystallized, making it as dense as stoneware. Even if you soak it in a water tank for three days, it will still have beads of dew clinging to it. And look at yours, a little morning dew makes it smudge into patches, which shows how breathable it is!"

"Looking at the patina, the characters on the body of the pot are almost filled in, but the bottom edge is rough to the touch? It must have been rubbed with pigskin every day and then polished with chaff, but only the body of the pot was polished, not the bottom..."

With each sentence Lin Sicheng spoke, the goatee's eyes widened a little, and the word "Holy crap" stuck in his throat.

Both are tea stains, but what's the difference between a half-millimeter layer and a 0.2-millimeter layer?

Machines can certainly measure it, but to say you can see it with your own eyes... that's utter nonsense.

He certainly didn't understand recrystallization. He'd never heard of terms like "beaded" or "scaly" before. But that wasn't his fault: four- or five-hundred-year-old Yixing teapots wouldn't be found here, and he'd never seen one before, so how would he know about a clay body as dense as gravel?

What surprised the goatee the most was the last sentence: "Rubbing with pigskin, wiping with chaff balls, is this his unique skill?"

Damn it, have we run into a master?

After standing there stunned for a while, he put the pot away.

"Don't rush to accept it!" Lin Sicheng smiled and gestured with his hand: "Six thousand!"

The man with the goatee bared his teeth and grinned, looking quite uncomfortable.

It wasn't that the price was unsuitable; it was a matter of mutual consent. If it weren't, he would have kicked people out.

The problem was that the offer was too aggressive: it would only allow him to make a little money, but not much, maybe a thousand or a hundred.

That's why he was upset.

After hesitating for a moment, he cupped his hands in greeting and said, "May I ask for your guidance?"

Lin Sicheng's lips moved slightly: "Cheng Shouzhen!"

What else is there to say?

He quickly wrapped the teapot in a cloth, stuffed it into the box, and then solemnly bowed to Lin Sicheng.

Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "Good, may your business prosper!"

"Prosperity... prosperity!" The shopkeeper slung his back, a broad smile on his face. "Take care!"

Jing Zeyang and Fang Jin were completely baffled.

Lin Sicheng asked about the price, and the boss's attitude suddenly did a complete 180-degree turn?

Especially towards the end, they would bow and scrape, their faces full of fawning smiles.

The three of them walked more than ten meters when Jing Zeyang turned around: the man with the goatee was still standing respectfully by the stall, like an eunuch seeing off the Empress Dowager.

"Cousin Lin, what's the situation with that boss?"

"It's nothing, they just think the price I offered was too low!"

"More than that, right?"

Lin Sicheng didn't say anything more, he just smiled.

The shopkeeper was so respectful for two reasons: first, he respected the man's keen eye and accurate judgment; second, he was afraid the man would reveal the origin of the pot.

The saying goes that rivals are enemies; if either vendor overhears even a single word of it, he can forget about selling his pot.

Of course, he could still sell it for five or six thousand. But rather than selling it for five or six thousand, he'd rather put it on a stall and attract more customers.

Since the goods couldn't be sold and they still needed a favor, they could only be respectful and obedient, sending Lin Sicheng away like a plague god.

Lin Sicheng didn't offer much explanation, and Jing Zeyang didn't ask any further questions either. The three of them strolled around.

As he walked, Jing Zeyang stopped, a curious expression on his face.

It was a small stall, filled entirely with snuff bottles. They were made of all sorts of materials: copper, porcelain, jade, and glass.

Some are new, some are old, some are good, some are bad, and many are covered in patina, so dirty they look like they just came out of a pile of grime.

There's also no shortage of modern items that have been artificially aged: machine-pressed copper bottles, gas-fired porcelain bottles, and even dyed quartz jade.

“Cousin Lin, look at that one: the one with the flowers painted on it.” Jing Zeyang pointed to one of the pieces. “It must have been worn by a Manchu nobleman who smoked opium, right?”

Lin Sicheng glanced back: the glass pot had a cluster of flowers painted inside, colorful, delicate and vibrant.

At first glance, it looks like a blooming chrysanthemum. But it's not; it's a poppy. Look closer, and you can see dark brown soot residue at the bottom of the bottle.

If you pick it up and open the lid, you're guaranteed to smell a musty, stale urine odor characteristic of opium.

But there's no doubt: it's a modern work of art. The thick layer of soot on the bottom of the bottle is all glued on.

After glancing at it twice, Lin Sicheng shook his head.

Jing Zeyang was stunned for a moment: Fake?

The stall owner, a man in his thirties, was wiping something down. Hearing the noise, he stood up and said, "You want this crystal snuff bottle, right? It's not expensive, eight thousand yuan!"

Jing Zeyang shook his head: "What kind of thing costs only eight thousand yuan?"

"You think eight thousand is too expensive? What are you doing browsing Panjiayuan?" The stall owner looked up, glancing sideways. "The glass from the factory is cheap, only eight mao each!"

The words were harsh, and the gaze was even more piercing.

Hi~

Jing Zeyang yelled and started rolling up his sleeves: "Who are you calling a poor wretch?"

The stall owner calmly stood up, took a step back, and glanced sideways at the stall: "It's alright, I have several imperial artifacts here, smash them as much as you like!"

Jing Zeyang paused, his hands clenched into fists: "I forgot for a moment, this is Panjiayuan."

"Fine, you're awesome!" Suddenly, he lost his temper and gave her a thumbs up. "You just wait!"

"We'll wait then!"

Lin Sicheng couldn't help but want to laugh.

This shows that although Jing Zeyang is carefree and irresponsible, he hasn't picked up many of the habits of a spoiled brat. Otherwise, he wouldn't waste time talking to you; he would have smashed it up long ago.

That being said, given its condition, even if it were a snuff bottle from the late Qing Dynasty, it wouldn't be worth eight thousand, unless it was used by a prince or nobleman.

It's normal for Jing Zeyang to think it's too expensive, but this stall owner is so sarcastic and doesn't seem like a businessman; he seems more like someone looking for trouble.

"You're minding someone's stall, aren't you?" Lin Sicheng glanced at him a few times. "Did the boss yell at you?"

The stall owner rolled his eyes: "What's it to you?"

Lin Sicheng didn't mind, "It's alright to take a look, isn't it?"

The stall owner didn't say anything, but snorted coldly.

Lin Sicheng squatted down, looked around, and picked up a blue and white porcelain snuff bottle.

It's not about firing porcelain, but rather carving it: carving first and then firing. This process is quite difficult because the carved porcelain body varies in thickness, and the tension and stress levels differ, making it prone to cracking or glaze chipping during firing, resulting in very few finished products.

Now look at this one: it is entirely off-white, with lotus scrolls carved on the body, the petals layered upon each other, lifelike.

At first glance, it looks quite exquisite, but there's only one thing: it's too new.

The teapot, no more than seven centimeters tall, has a body so finely made that it is without a single impurity, and a glaze so bright that it reflects one's image. If you get closer, you can even see extremely fine parallel lines at the mouth of the teapot, like the marks left by sandpaper.

The lid with its brass buckle has neat edges and shines like new, without any of the patina that an old object should have.

The most striking feature is the lotus scroll on the belly of the pot. The lines of the petals are too smooth, and even the veins on the leaves are carved exactly the same. It doesn't look like a hand-carved style at all, but rather like a product of modern mold pressing and simple finishing.

Overall, it doesn't have the feel of an old object at all.

The bottom mark, "Made in the Jiaqing Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty," is engraved as if it were laser-marked.

That's strange, isn't it?

The items weren't expensive, only a few tens of thousands of yuan. Compared to the bargains I'd found before, it was nothing.

But such objects that are "clearly real" yet "look fake" are really rare.

Lin Sicheng reached into his pocket and pulled out a magnifying glass. He looked it up and saw that the rim of the teapot had a slightly rounded shape, and the fine wear marks were clearly visible.

It's very regular, and the patterns are basically in the same direction. No matter how Lin Sicheng looked at it, it didn't seem like it was formed by long-term use and repeated rubbing, and it was more like the initial polishing marks.

He then examined the lotus pattern. Although the lines were smooth, subtle indentations could be seen at the base of each petal. These were marks left by the uneven force applied by the wrist of the porcelain sculptor when carving by hand. Modern machines simply could not replicate these subtle differences when carving and finishing the blanks.

Then, take out a flashlight and stick it to the bottom of the pot. The fine "glutinous rice" texture can be vaguely seen inside the pot.

This type of clay is unique to the imperial kilns of the Qing Dynasty. The kaolin clay from Jingdezhen is repeatedly washed and fired, resulting in a texture similar to glutinous rice porridge.

Even if modern imitations can replicate a similar body texture, they lack this warm, smooth feel from the inside out; instead, they exude a stiff, unnatural "porcelain-like" quality.

Tap the body of the pot with your fingers. The crisp sound carries a deep, resonant quality, like the echo of an ancient bell. This is the unique sound of old porcelain after long-term aging, when the body becomes porous. New porcelain, while crisp, sounds harsh and lacks this depth.

Tsk, good luck, it really is genuine.

Lin Sicheng put away the magnifying glass, and was about to ask the price when he paused for a moment.

Jing Zeyang grinned, showing his teeth in a gloating laugh. Across from him, the stall owner who had been standing there with his head drooping was now an elderly man of about sixty. The two men looked very alike; they were clearly father and son.

Looking further back, behind the father and son was a rather large storefront with a plaque hanging above the entrance: Jingu Zhai.

I understand now. This stall is part of the same business as the shop. I don't know how Jing Zeyang found out, but he called his father out while I was looking at the porcelain teapot.

Nine times out of ten, they even filed a complaint.

It's good that they changed the person.

Lin Sicheng picked up the porcelain bottle: "Boss, has this pot been scented?"

The boss paused for a moment, as if asking: How did you know?

"I bought it a couple of years ago, and it had already been fumigated when I brought it over. The seller was trying to cheat me, but I saw through him immediately, and he ran away without taking anything."

"After washing it, I realized it was a new item. But it doesn't matter, it's machine-engraved and fired in the modern style. If you want it: one hundred yuan."

It really is Panjiayuan?

If it's a modern, machine-carved craft, it'd cost at most ten yuan outside.

Lin Sicheng readily paid the money and tossed it in his hand: "Brother Jing, do you like it? If you do, pick one out."

Jing Zeyang shook his head: "I don't smoke, and I don't like this kind of stuff."

Lin Sicheng casually put it in his pocket: "If you don't like it, then forget it!"

Jing Zeyang assumed Lin Sicheng had simply taken a liking to something and bought a small trinket. He felt it wasn't worth it, but didn't say anything.

One hundred yuan, just consider it a joke.

But Fang Jin was, after all, an assistant who had been with him for more than half a year, and he knew a little bit about it: if the material wasn't right, Lin Sicheng wouldn't have looked at it for so long.

However, he refrained from asking.

As they walked forward, Jing Zeyang realized something was wrong: Weren't we supposed to be browsing stalls? Why did it feel like we were in a hurry?

"Cousin Lin, where are we going?"

"Make some money for food."

What is that?

Completely bewildered, Lin Sicheng stepped onto the stairs of a store.

Looking up, Jing Zeyang's eyes bulged outwards: Tianhuizhai?

Having grown up in the capital, even if he was ignorant, he knew what Tianhuizhai was: a two-hundred-year-old brand that originated in the Daoguang era, specializing in snuff and snuff bottles.

The four great masters of Qing Dynasty inside-painted snuff bottles (snuff bottles): Ye Zhongsan, Zhou Leyuan, Ma Shaoxuan, and Ding Erzhong, along with other Peking Opera masters such as Yang Xiaolou, Yu Shuyan, and Mei Lanfang, were all guests of Tianhuizhai.

It was a joint venture after the founding of the People's Republic of China, closed down in the 1960s, and reopened in the late 1990s. After tobacco control was implemented, it was no longer possible to sell shredded tobacco, so it could only sell tobacco bottles, making it one of the long-established state-owned businesses.

It is said that an application has been submitted to the city government to prepare for the establishment of a "Snuff Bottle Culture Museum".

Could Lin Sicheng have come here because he just bought a snuff bottle and wants to buy another one to complete the set?

In a flash, the three entered the room, and a beautiful hostess greeted them: "What would you like to order, distinguished guests?"

"I don't need anything else, but shouldn't I accept this?" Lin Sicheng took out the porcelain pot. "Could you please ask the shopkeeper to take a look at it?"

The girl was stunned for a long time: So, after all this time, you're here to sell snuff bottles?

It's quite rare: she's worked here for several years, and this is the first time a customer has come to sell her teapots instead of buying them.

It's only because Lin Si is good-looking that she's grown up; otherwise, she would have thought she was there to cause trouble.

"No... sir, we only sell things, we don't take anything in return?"

Lin Sicheng smiled and pointed to the counter: "If you don't accept anything, where did those things come from?"

"Those were collected!"

Didn't they still accept it?

Lin Sicheng was too lazy to argue: "Okay, let the shopkeeper take a look. If he doesn't accept it, I'll leave!"

"You can take a look, but there's an appraisal fee!" Looking at the seemingly brand-new porcelain teapot in Lin Sicheng's hand, the greeter hesitated, then added, "It'll cost five hundred each time!"

Lin Sicheng didn't care at all: "It's fine, five hundred it is!"

Seeing the host looking completely bewildered, his eyes darting between the porcelain pot and Lin Sicheng's face, Jing Zeyang almost burst out laughing: "Cousin Lin, you've made a fool of yourself, haven't you?"

If you insist on selling white rice to rice shop owners, isn't that just being argumentative?

After asking again to confirm that Lin Sicheng would pay the appraisal fee, the greeter went backstage with a strange look on his face.

Before long, he came over with a man who looked to be around forty years old and had a similarly strange expression.

After stopping, he looked them up and down, a hint of mockery on his face: "Gentlemen, selling teapots?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Selling teapots!"

Is that really true?

Strange things happen every year, but this year there seem to be more than usual?

The manager suppressed a laugh and found a seat by the window.

Lin Sicheng didn't waste any words and placed the items on the table. The manager also didn't waste any words and picked them up to look at them.

After about a minute, he put it down again: "The carving is stiff and lacks any spirit. The glaze is too white, even whiter than modern bone china. It was deliberately smoked to cover up the rawness of new porcelain, but the smoking wasn't thorough..."

"Well then, let me be frank: this is a modern handicraft!" He paused briefly, then held out his hand again. "Thank you for your patronage, two hundred!"

Lin Sicheng nodded and took out his wallet: "Excuse me, manager, could you please have the 500 yuan note come out and take another look?"

Jing Zeyang couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Looking at the seven bright red banknotes on the table, and then at the obviously counterfeit porcelain teapot, the manager didn't know what to say.

Guobao had seen many such cases. He once stood on the roof of a building in Panjiayuan and threw ten bricks down, hitting five out of ten people.

But I've never seen someone so young and so strikingly good-looking before.

It doesn't matter, I'll just consider it a tip for the teacher...

He nodded, handed the money to the greeter, and told her to go to the cashier to deposit it. Then he got up and went backstage.

In the blink of an eye, an elderly man of about sixty years old followed behind him.

After a brief introduction, the old man sat down. At first, he didn't pay much attention, assuming he was just another naive person who thought he had struck it rich and was dreaming of getting rich quick.

But as soon as he touched the object, he froze, his neck instinctively jutting forward.

wrong?

The embryo of this thing is not right.

His heart skipped a beat, and he turned the pot over.

Lin Sicheng nodded secretly: As the saying goes, a connoisseur's touch reveals their skill. A true connoisseur of porcelain can tell just by touching the base of this pot that it is a genuine Qing Dynasty Jingdezhen glutinous rice-bodied porcelain.

To put it simply: modern porcelain clay is all machine-crushed to a micron level, while in ancient times it was ground by hand and repeatedly washed.

Modern imitations look delicate, but they lack the grainy texture of the original Qing Dynasty glutinous rice-based mold.

Secondly, the temperature control of a gas kiln is much more stable than that of a wood-fired kiln, which results in the generation of more glassy phase substances inside the porcelain body, significantly increasing the density of the body.

To put it simply: for the same size and volume, the counterfeit is heavier, while the genuine product is lighter.

Sure enough, after glancing at it twice and tossing it a couple of times, the old man's eyes lit up: "A glutinous rice embryo?"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "Yes, glutinous rice embryo!"

"Glasses, a magnifying glass!" The old man straightened up immediately. "And a flashlight!"

Seeing that his apprentice was still a little confused, the old man tapped the table: "What are you standing there for? Go get the things."

The middle-aged man finally realized what was happening, his eyes bulging outwards: This thing, is it real?

No... it's so new, yet it's obviously been artificially aged?

Despite his disbelief, he dared not argue, and the manager obediently brought over the old man's equipment.

When examining porcelain, start by looking at the base.

After examining it carefully once, the old man looked at the belly of the bottle. The more he looked, the brighter his eyes became, and the more attentive he became.

Jing Zeyang and Fang Jin looked at each other in disbelief, while the manager looked as if he had seen a ghost.

Lin Sicheng remained calm and composed, accepting the tea offered by the greeter and slowly savoring it.

At first glance, this thing looks fake in every way, but it's actually incredibly real.

The body of the bottle is unmarked, except for some fine, hair-like lines remaining at the mouth, which are extremely regular. At first glance, they look like imitation hair-like lines created during an antiquing process.

Actually, that's not the case: it was underfired when it came out of the kiln, and smoke was produced inside, which left a layer of soot stains on the spout. These stains were then left after being hand-polished with fine linen and cowhide.

Therefore, the layer that is faintly covered on the body of the pot is not something that was added later, but is naturally present soot, although it is not as obvious as at the mouth of the pot.

The lines of the lotus pattern on the belly of the pot are too smooth because it was carved by a craftsman who could paint, do enamel, and even carve jade. He used the 'carving and painting' technique: first, the pattern was tracing on the porcelain body, and then it was carved with a carving knife.

Jade is a stone, and when it is carved, it is just a semi-dry clay model. The craftsman can naturally make it with ease: the patterns are the same size, the same shape, and even the deep lines are the same. It looks like a machine-carved product.

Even at the very end, during the glazing process, the different thicknesses of the glaze caused subtle differences in the patterns.

However, they are extremely fine and cannot be seen with the naked eye; a high-powered magnifying glass is required.

Just like the old man is now: his glasses face the mirror, the mirror faces the pot, almost inch by inch.

Finally, he turned the pot over again, but this time he looked not at the bottom, but at the inscription.

Looking at those six characters again: "Made in the Jiaqing Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty," they are indeed neatly written, as if they were rubbed on. But if you look closely, you can find a subtle smudge at the end of the horizontal stroke of the character "年" (year).

To put it bluntly, these six characters weren't written on; they were first rubbed and then carved, then filled with glaze before being fired in the kiln. Of course, they were as perfect as could be.

That smudged area is a mark formed after the glaze penetrates the porcelain body; modern machines simply cannot imitate it.

The old man stared at it for a long time, completely baffled: "Everything else is understandable, but how can the patterns and inscriptions be carved so neatly and so three-dimensionally?"

Lin Sicheng put down his teacup and said slowly, "Road!"

The old man paused for a moment, then suddenly realized.

The so-called "yadao" refers to the use of the boneless technique, a traditional Chinese painting method, to carve porcelain. The craft is very similar to the kingfisher feather inlay technique of cloisonné enamel on copper.

Using a tool shaped like an embroidery needle, fine lines are drawn on the unglazed surface, which are then gathered into the lines needed for the decorative pattern.

Its characteristics are prominent yin and yang and strong three-dimensionality. Its disadvantage is that it is extremely labor-intensive: a simple stroke or a single line often requires hundreds of stitches to carve, so it would be strange if it were not neat.

"Young people have good eyesight and know a lot!"

The old man stared at Lin Sicheng and gave him a sincere compliment.

He's been in this line of work for half his life. I wouldn't say he's incredibly skilled, but he's definitely a well-known figure in Beijing.

Then look at the man in front of him, his face is so tender it looks like you could pinch water out of it, and he's not much older than his grandson.

With a sigh of admiration, the old man put down his flashlight and magnifying glass, then took off his glasses: "It's indeed a good item. If you think the price is right, I'll take it!"

The old man held up an eight, and Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "Please be kind enough to add a little more to make it a round number!"

"Alright!" the old man nodded. "Then it'll be 100,000!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the three people next to him were all stunned: What the heck?

What could possibly be worth 100,000?

The manager stared, mouth agape, watching the greeter go to call the finance department, before he finally realized, "No...sir, this pot has been smoked?"

"That's because you don't have a good eye!" the old man sighed. "It was underfired when it came out of the kiln and got soaked in soot! Even the scratches are from when it was polished with cowhide to remove the soot..."

The manager was stunned. He stared at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

But it's still not right?

"Teacher, this teapot is too new, and the patterns are carved too neatly, and the inscription on the bottom is even more neatly carved?"

"Idiot, moron!"

After being questioned repeatedly by his apprentice, the old man got angry: "That's the carving technique. Every flower, every leaf, every character requires thousands of cuts. How can it not be neat?"

"If it's underfired when it comes out of the kiln, it gets soot that you can't even grind it off, so it becomes a defective product. How can it be put into the palace? If it's not put into the palace, who would dare to use such a thing? Since no one has used it, of course there's no patina. Without a patina, it looks like a brand new thing, doesn't it?"

The old man grew angrier as he cursed, and glared at her, yelling, "Get out of here..."