"impossible!"
Faced with Lin Yu's questioning, Liu Zhongyi was a little angry and said with a serious face: "I personally handled these three items, and there is absolutely no mistake. I have been playing with antiques all my life, and I am sure I have this kind of expertise!"
Liu Siyun quickly added, "Mr. Lin, could you be mistaken? Every item that enters the third floor undergoes a preliminary review and a secondary review. The people responsible for the preliminary and secondary reviews are all top-level appraisers at Cuihua, and Grandpa personally conducts the final review! We've never made a mistake in all these years!"
Lin Yu frowned and said, "Miss Liu, I meant well, but in my opinion, these three items are indeed fake! If you don't believe me, just take them out and examine them!"
Liu Siyun was stunned and looked at Liu Zhongyi.
Liu Zhongyi frowned and said, "Siyun, true gold fears no fire. Open the cabinet and let Lin Xiaohao take a good look!"
There was a hint of defiance in his tone.
How could there be a problem with something he handled personally?
He wanted to see what Lin Yu could come up with!
Liu Siyun looked helpless and had no choice but to take out a key from her pocket and open the glass cabinet.
Then, putting on a pair of white gloves, he first took out a white porcelain vase.
Liu Zhongyi slowly spoke from the side: "This vase is called the Auspicious Clouds and Flowing Water Vase, and it is one of the few surviving Yuan blue and white porcelains! The body is thick and heavy, and the shape is solid and full. The body color is slightly gray and yellow, and the texture is loose. The base glaze is divided into two types: bluish-white and egg white, with a strong milky opacity. The most distinctive feature of Yuan blue and white porcelain decoration is its full composition, with many layers but not chaotic. The brushwork often uses single strokes, which are smooth and powerful, and the outlining and rendering are bold and steady!"
"Young friend Lin, the characteristics of this bottle are so obvious, I don't need to say anything more, do I?" Liu Zhongyi asked calmly.
Lin Yu nodded. "Indeed, this porcelain piece perfectly embodies the characteristics of Yuan blue and white porcelain. From the outside, there is not a single flaw! But old man, don't forget, this vase is called the Auspicious Clouds and Flowing Water Vase. How did it get this name?"
"Of course I know that!" Liu Zhongyi said calmly. "On the one hand, it's because of the unique shape of the vessel, with its two upturned handles resembling flowing clouds. On the other hand, because its material contains rare sand and stones from the northern frontier, the body is porous, and when you gently tap the bottle, it makes a tinkling sound like flowing water, hence the name 'Auspicious Cloud Flowing Water Bottle'!"
Lin Yu nodded. "Then, sir, why don't you tap it and see if it makes a sound?"
Liu Zhongyi pursed his lips and said, "I already tested this item when it was first brought in, and it's fine!"
As if to prove something to Lin Yu, Liu Zhongyi immediately flicked his finger lightly against the bottle.
Thump!
A dull thud rang out, and Liu Zhongyi froze for a moment, his expression suddenly changing drastically. "This, how is this possible?"
This isn't the sound of flowing water at all; it's more like a muffled, murky sound!
Unwilling to give up, he tried several more times, but each time he tapped the bottle, it produced a dull sound.
It turns out this bottle... is fake!
Liu Siyun looked incredulous. "Grandpa, you personally handled this bottle, how could it..."
She couldn't understand how her grandfather, with all his abilities, could make such a basic mistake!
Liu Zhongyi's expression gradually turned serious. He waved his hand and continued, "Don't say so much yet, let's check the next item!"
Liu Siyun pursed her lips, and then took out a jade seal from the glass cabinet.
Liu Zhongyi took the jade seal in his hand and said to Lin Yu, "Young friend Lin, what do you think of this jade seal? This is a Hetian jade seal from the Southern Dynasties, and its most outstanding feature is the blood staining on it! This kind of blood staining is quite rare in Hetian jade. This can't be faked, can it?"
Lin Yu smiled slightly, "Throughout history, there have only been a few tricks used to fake jade. It's easy to spot with a simple test!"
Liu Zhongyi nodded. "Siyun, fetch the aqua regia from my Liu family!"
"It's Grandpa!" Liu Siyun quickly turned around to get the aqua regia. Soon, she brought it back and poured it into a glass container.
The aqua regia from the Liu family is mainly composed of an acid, which is highly corrosive but will not easily damage jade.
Liu Zhongyi picked up the jade seal and gently placed it into the vessel.
After a moment, thin streaks of red blood slowly spread from the jade seal, eventually staining the entire vessel red!
Liu Siyun exclaimed in astonishment, "Grandpa, this..."
Liu Zhongyi clenched his fist, his face turning slightly pale.
Liu Siyun quickly advised, "Grandpa, why don't you go back and rest for a while?"
Liu Zhongyi shook his head, took a deep breath, and said, "The last one, inspect it!"
The last item is a Tang Dynasty tri-colored horse!
Seeing that her grandfather insisted, Liu Siyun had no choice but to take out the last piece of Tang tri-colored pottery.
Liu Zhongyi examined it himself first before saying to Lin Yu, "Mr. Lin, this Tang tri-color pottery is recognized in the antique world as extremely difficult to imitate. There shouldn't be any problem with this, right?"
Lin Yu felt a pang of pity, but he still sighed and said, "The reason why Tang Sancai is so difficult to imitate is that the white clay used to make it had disappeared, making it difficult to control the color difference! However, after the Ming and Qing dynasties, a group of tomb raiders discovered by chance that by mixing another type of gray clay with plaster, the color difference problem could be perfectly solved!"
"However, this gray clay has a drawback: it has very poor heat resistance. It will easily fall off as long as the temperature exceeds 80 degrees Celsius!" Lin Yu explained casually.
Liu Zhongyi frowned, walked to the coffee table, picked up the boiling water from the kettle, and slowly poured it onto the sancai horse.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
