Chapter 451 The Significance of Cultural Relics

"Xiao, what did you say to Friedrich? Why are you suddenly going to Cologne?"

On the plane, Fabian asked Xiao Peng in confusion.

How come Xiao Peng had decided to go to Cologne right after chatting with Friedrich? And Friedrich, as if he knew it was going to happen, had already prepared a plane to take them there. Fabian was puzzled.

Xiao Peng grinned. "Why are we going to Cologne? That's a boring question. If we're going to Cologne, we should definitely go to Cologne Cathedral. Walter, keep this painting for me. Chen Zetao will be meeting us in Cologne. When the time comes, give it to him and he'll have someone authenticate it."

Walter held a long tube containing a painting in his hand and asked, "Boss, is Mr. Chen an antique appraiser? Why do you ask him to appraise this painting? Can't Pascal appraise it?"

Xiao Peng explained: "Pascal knows about Western antiques, but this is an ancient painting from China. He is not good at this."

Walter scratched his head and said, “Then how does Mr. Chen identify the authenticity of this painting?”

Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said, "Actually, there are only a few ways to authenticate a work of art. The first is to have a well-documented history, the second is to have supporting evidence, and the third is to look at the technique and style. If there's accurate evidence for all three, then the work is authentic. Similarly, if there's a discrepancy in any one of these three aspects, then it's a fake."

Walter thought for a moment and smiled: "Boss, if you say that, there will be a problem: if you can't produce evidence that it is real and you can't produce evidence that he is fake, what should you do at this time?"

Xiao Peng snapped his fingers and said, "You asked a very good question. It turns out that the key to appreciating a painting is to look at the 'technique style'. For example, there is a very famous painter in our country named Zhang Daqian. How did he become famous in the early days? He imitated the paintings of another painter, Shitao. How similar were his imitations of Shitao's paintings? At that time, there was a famous painter and collector in our country named Chen Banding. He was an absolute 'appreciation authority'. As a result, the 'Shitao painting album' he collected was painted by Zhang Daqian. Another appreciator, Huang Binhong, also suffered from Zhang Daqian's loss. He exchanged Shitao's original work for a Shitao imitation painted by Zhang Daqian. Luo Zhenyu, the authority on Shitao's paintings, was also cheated by Zhang Daqian. Even the young marshal Zhang Xueliang spent a huge amount of money to buy it. In the end, it was discovered that Shi Tao's original work was a forgery by Zhang Daqian. The reason why he was able to deceive so many people was because he had a thorough understanding of Shi Tao's painting techniques and style. Therefore, it is not difficult to forge a work based solely on the "technique style". It is also necessary to add "orderly transmission" and "material proof". Ancient collectors in our country liked to stamp ancient paintings. For example, our country's Emperor Qianlong was nicknamed "the seal maniac". He would stamp his seal and write a short essay on all the paintings in his collection. Although this was destructive to the ancient paintings, it did achieve "orderly transmission". The other "material proof" is that there are other people who have recorded the fact that this artwork has been passed down. For example, "I saw with my own eyes that XXX painted a picture and wrote a calligraphy at a certain time."

"However, forgeries can occur at any of these stages, so authenticating paintings now requires a series of scientific verifications. For example, one must examine the dust on the painting to verify its age. High-tech equipment such as electron microscopes, X-rays, and infrared rays are also used to conduct detailed analysis of the paper and ink used in the work. For example, the most reliable method for authenticating paper is the 'carbon 14' method, which determines the paper's age by calculating its half-life. However, this method is destructive, so most often an electron microscope is used to observe the aging characteristics of the paper fibers. It's a very troublesome task."

"Who painted this picture?" Walter looked at the bucket of paint in his hand and asked, "If it's real, I mean."

Xiao Peng explained, "This is a painting from over 700 years ago by the Yuan Dynasty painter Wang Meng, the grandson of the great Song Dynasty calligrapher Zhao Mengfu."

"Is it valuable?" Walter asked his most critical question.

Xiao Peng laughed and said, "He once sold a painting for about 50 million euros."

Walter and Fabian exclaimed together: "How much?"

"Fifty million euros? That's about the right number." Xiao Peng said.

Walter’s eyes widened: “He just gave you something so valuable like that?”

Xiao Peng looked a little disdainful after hearing this: "Valuable? Friedrich said something to me today that really woke me up."

"What?" Fabian asked in confusion.

"Are all cultural relics valuable?" Xiao Peng explained. "Selling a cultural relic is incredibly difficult! Take the Sultan's ring, for example. It's just a gold ring. Calculating the cost, it's worth a maximum of 1,000 Euros. But with the Sultan's status, even Ivan would rush to get it for 300 million Euros. And what if it didn't have the Sultan's status? It might just be an ordinary antique ring, fetching a few thousand Euros at best. There are so many things to consider when selling an antique: Are there discerning buyers? Even if there are discerning buyers, do they have the purchasing power? And can those with purchasing power afford to pay a reasonable price for the antique? And then there's also the potential for appreciation. 'Appreciation potential' here refers not just to financial returns, but also to the return on intangible assets."

Fabian nodded and said, "You're right. Ivan definitely bought the ring for more than just the money. He'll gain a lot of honor and fame, things that money can't return. But then again, even though he spent 300 million on the ring, if he sells it, he's sure to make more than a loss and a ton of money."

Xiao Peng patted Fabian on the shoulder and said, "Don't even think about how much he can earn. This ring is too big a deal. You can't handle it. Why haven't I ever taken out that ring before? I was thinking of showing it off when I actually return to China one day. Other things are fine, but this ring is really going to drive the Turks crazy. No matter how rich we are, we're just individuals. Compared to a country... it's better to be safe than sorry."

"You don't need to persuade me, I understand this principle." Fabian said.

Walter asked: "Boss, what you said means that these antiques are worthless?"

Xiao Peng shook his head and said, "I didn't say that. I just said it was too difficult to sell it at a suitable price. It's better to get real money. That's why Friedrich came to me."

"Oh." Walter suddenly realized.

"But it's a win-win situation. China is now in a prosperous era, and these things are indeed more necessary for me. Garbage is still garbage no matter how long it is left, but good things are always good things. Wang Meng's paintings are the inheritance of culture! If these things are proven to be true, this thing can be done! No, it must be done!"