"That's not quite like it. Master Qian's works are mostly floral themes, but this one features a phoenix rising from the ashes, a lucky animal."
Another person replied with a frown.
Another master added, "But judging by the phoenix's wings, they do look a bit like it. Master Qian's meticulous craftsmanship is somewhat consistent with this."
"However, Master Qian rarely works on this kind of subject. It's more common for Master Xie to work on this kind of subject."
"Yes, Mr. Xie specializes in carving mythical beasts. This Phoenix Nirvana is exquisitely crafted, with a unique antique technique, which is Mr. Xie's style."
Lu Jiayu also nodded: "Although the technique is somewhat similar to Master Qian's, the style is indeed more like Master Xie's."
Everyone was looking at the jade carving, and people from the surrounding area came over. Soon, everyone was there, and all the jade carvers were around the jade material, expressing their opinions.
Most people say that the carving technique is similar to that of Mr. Qian, but the overall style is more like that of Mr. Xie.
Shui Yiyao examined the jade material and shook her head as she listened to the comments. "Mr. Qian focused on flowers, birds, and insects because they allow him to best demonstrate his skills—the 'fine carving' and 'long carving' he pursued. Mr. Qian's skills have clearly improved greatly, and a breakthrough in subject matter is inevitable."
She commented: "It should be divided."
Mr. Qian is also a Tiangong Gold Award-winning jade carver. His previous gold award-winning work was the flower-themed "Chlorophytum."
The leaves of the orchid are three meters long. Not only are they extremely long, but they are also extremely thin, with the width of the petals being less than one centimeter.
There are also life-sized ants on the orchid leaves, which look lifelike.
In terms of craftsmanship, it represents the pinnacle of skill. Such exquisite craftsmanship can give people a particularly strong visual impact. Even looking at it from a distance, I dare not get close to it for fear of breaking it.
Although the phoenix before him looked different from the orchid, its wings were clearly visible, each feather distinct and with even more distinct down.
The "details" are expressed to a more exquisite level.
When one reaches the pinnacle of skill, one will seek breakthroughs in subject matter. For example, Master Qian has mastered his skills in flower painting to the extreme, which led him to explore the subject of mythical beasts.
Expansion from depth to breadth.
Such exploration is actually inevitable.
She felt that this was a successful exploration.
This phoenix is really beautiful.
Lu Jiayu nodded after hearing this: "Indeed...just looking at these phoenix feathers, this technique is a representative technique of Master Qian."
What Shui Yiyao said also makes sense. Although Mr. Qian has been working on flower themes for most of his life, that is because flowers can better express "fine carving" and "long carving". Now that he is proficient in his skills, he will naturally expand his subject matter.
After all, the subject matter and style can be easily changed, but craftsmanship cannot be acquired overnight.
Lu Jiayu took off a bracelet from her wrist and placed it on the tray: "I bet this is Mr. Qian's work."
At a jade appreciation gathering like this, betting is required to liven up the atmosphere.
Everyone was surprised when they saw her put down the bracelet.
It was a seed material bracelet with red skin and pores. At first glance, it looked like the material was of excellent quality. The whiteness and oiliness were very outstanding. Even in the eyes of those in the industry, it could reach the mutton fat grade.
It is difficult to make bracelets from seed material, especially one of this quality, and it is also carved with good craftsmanship.
You hardly see such bracelets on the market now.
The value is at least in the mid-seven figures.
It's a big deal.
Lu Jiayu was quite confident.
Her father had told her that jade carvers rely on their craft to make a living. They have to compete with their peers and with machine carvers. If they don't want to starve to death, they must learn and not be complacent. Complacency prevents progress and will eventually lead to starvation.
She knew that Mr. Qian was an old jade carver who was very serious about studying his skills, so she would naturally pursue progress on his path.
However, almost no one present had this kind of "predictive" vision.
Generally, top jade carvers like Mr. Qian have already established their own style. A fixed style means stability and low risk, but if you stick to the same style, you will always reach the end.
No one expected that such a "top-level" jade carver like Mr. Qian would continue to learn. Even if they thought he would continue to learn, they could not "predict" which direction he would learn in.
But Shui Yiyao has the vision to look at the "long term" and "trends", and she can predict Mr. Qian's future development trend.
"But Mr. Qian is clearly a master of flower carving... or Mr. Xie's style is more similar." Someone took off their seed-material bracelet, placed it on the other side of the tray, and said decisively: "I still bet on Mr. Xie."
This bracelet is also very valuable.
It is a string of seed stones of uniform size, a total of six thumb-sized seed stones, all of which are bright white seeds with pores, strung into a bracelet.
It’s really a big deal.
Shui Yiyao pulled a seed from her bag and placed it next to Mr. Qian. It was a seed with a gold-sprinkled coating. Knowing that today was a meeting of this nature, she had brought something to place a bet. However, she had already sold all her finished products, leaving only the raw stones she had purchased.
However, most people in the circle prefer raw stones, and the one she picked is quite unique and beautiful, so no one would notice that she chose the raw stone because of poverty.
Everyone placed their bets, and there were basically two answers.
Mr. Qian and Mr. Xie.
Even with Lu Jiayu's leadership, most people still bet on Mr. Xie.
The style is really similar.
Uncle Zhao looked at everyone's bets with a complicated expression.
"So, whose work is this?"
Someone asked him.
Lu Jiayu also said: "Hurry up and tell me, so that I can get my bracelet back. My hand is bare and very cold."
Uncle Zhao: “…”
"This is indeed Mr. Qian's new work."
Lu Jiayu laughed, and her slightly nervous expression suddenly relaxed. She reached out and took her bracelet back from the tray and put it back on her wrist.
"But Mr. Qian has never carved a mythical beast like this before..." Someone was extremely surprised and asked in surprise, "Are you kidding?"
Uncle Zhao shook his head. "Mr. Qian said he wanted to break through and learn more, so he created a new subject. Moreover, he was deliberately imitating Mr. Xie's work."
He deliberately didn't put a stamp on it to confuse everyone and make them guess.
Sure enough, most people didn’t guess it and fell into the trap, guessing Mr. Xie.
After hearing the answer, the people who fell into the trap couldn't help but sigh in regret, feeling sorry for the treasure they had bet on. Others said that Shui Yiyao was really lucky and guessed it right on the first try.
Uncle Zhao looked at Shui Yiyao, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The little girl has a good eye. She can see that."
Shui Yiyao said indifferently: "Not bad."
In fact, as long as you look at the work carefully and don’t think about all those messy things, it’s easy to see.
Besides her and Lu Jiayu, weren't there many other jade carvers who guessed correctly?
Uncle Zhao gave Shui Yiyao a thumbs-up and said, "Great."
Shui Yiyao took her own small seed back from the tray: "The amazing one is Mr. Qian."
This kind of veteran is really admirable. Even at such an old age, he has obviously achieved remarkable success in his field, but he still feels that he is not good enough and wants to make progress. He is tirelessly pursuing the excellence of craftsmanship.
That's what I call amazing.
Shui Yiyao took the lead, and everyone marveled at how great Mr. Qian was.
Lu Jiayu looked at Shui Yiyao.
She remained calm and composed when others praised her, as if the praise had no effect on her. She thought of her brother's precious little son, about the same age as Shui Yiyao, who would soar to the sky at the mere mention of others.
After everyone has shared their thoughts and experiences, it’s time to look at the next work.
Shui Yiyao looked at the waiter who was walking over with a tray, with an expectant look on her face.
In fact, she came to this jade friends meeting to broaden her horizons. The items that can be displayed at such a jade friends meeting are all rare fine products in the industry and are in line with current aesthetics.
Even if she bet wrong on the things she brought and lost them, it wouldn't be a loss. She could just consider it as paying tuition.
The waiter was holding a tray, and on the tray was a piece of black jade with a black cat carved on it.
When Uncle Zhao saw the waiter coming over, he was the first to ask Shui Yiyao, "Little girl, can you tell who created this?"
"Is this from Mr. Mingjue?" Shui Yiyao took a look and without much thought, she gave her answer.
Uncle Zhao frowned. How did he know that?
This is his brother Zhao Mingjue's latest work, and no one knows about it. Although it is not as difficult to guess as the one by Mr. Qian, it is not so easy to tell at a glance.
Lu Jiayu also joked: "I can see that too. This must be Zhao Mingjue's. Look at the style. It's so dull."
"This is..." Someone shone a flashlight on the stone, but no light could penetrate it. "Mudstone? No, this texture..."
Shui Yiyao said, "Given its glossy and smooth texture, it should be black jade. Purely black."
This stone looks like an oil cake. Although it is pitch black, it still has the unique oily luster of Hetian jade.
It is Hetian jade for sure.
Among the Hetian jades, black green and black jade both appear black in appearance, and because both are Hetian jades, their textures are similar, and the surface of the jade has an oily luster.
However, there is a difference in light transmittance. Black jade appears green when light is transmitted, while black jade appears white when light is transmitted.
The man just now used the flashlight to try to tell whether it was black jade or black jade based on the light transmittance.
But that piece of material is not transparent at all. Generally speaking, black mudstone is not transparent.
Black mud stone is not Hetian jade, but a very cheap natural stone.
However, this piece is not mudstone, it is solid Hetian jade. Hetian jade is generally translucent, but this piece is not translucent because it is completely black.
The basic color of black jade is actually white. It turns black all over because the white jade is contaminated by black minerals such as graphite flakes. When the content of graphite flakes reaches a very high level, it turns black all over and is almost opaque.
However, pure black jade is very rare and very valuable, so everyone's speculation is very cautious.
Uncle Zhao chased Shui Yiyao and asked, "Why do you think it was Mingjue's work?"
Shui Yiyao opened her mouth and said, "This piece of material is black jade, and it's carved into a black cat. The subject matter is quite unique. In the past, people said black cats warded off evil spirits and protected the house, but later, influenced by foreign ideas, people believed that black cats were psychic and very ominous."
She looked at the material and said, "So it's quite bold to choose this subject."
"However, this material is very suitable for this theme." She looked up at Uncle Zhao, "And Teacher Mingjue's style—he likes unique stones and unique themes."
She added: "The black cat's design also incorporates a variety of geometric shapes, blending abstract expressions to highlight its mystery."
It’s really beautiful.
Zhao Mingjue beside him laughed and said, "Excuse me for showing off."
This is a direct admission.
Everyone looked at Shui Yiyao in surprise.
Uncle Zhao picked up the jade and showed it to everyone. Sure enough, there was a seal engraved on the back of the jade - Jue.
"That's amazing." Everyone exclaimed and gave Shui Yiyao a thumbs up.
In fact, if they look carefully, they can also tell the origin of the material. After all, the personal style of this piece of material is really strong. However, they have to look very carefully and think and analyze it. After all, there are other jade carvers with similar styles, and they need to eliminate them one by one before they can determine the answer.
But Shui Yiyao was different. She made her decision without hesitation.
Unless you have a clear understanding of the styles of all the major jade carvers and their development paths, it is impossible to achieve this speed.
Shui Yiyao shook her head: "Thank you so much."
Of course she had to understand this clearly. After all, these gold medal winners would all be her competitors in the future.
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