Chapter 716
Professor Wen happened to have a class in the afternoon, so Su Miao brought the photos with him.
The bell rang and the students filed out.
Su Miao asked He Rong to go back first. He deliberately slowed down his pace and waited until the other students who had asked Professor Wen questions had left before he approached Professor Wen and said:
"Professor Wen, I have some photos of cultural relics that I'd like you to see."
Professor Wen pushed his reading glasses and smiled kindly, "Is this the 'uncertain' thing you mentioned earlier?"
Su Miao nodded and took out the stack of photos from his schoolbag:
"A high school classmate of mine who studied abroad took a photo of this in the home of an Eagle Country noble. I think...it looks very much like the real thing."
The moment Professor Wen took the photo, the smile on his face froze.
His fingers suddenly began to tremble, and he had to place the photo on the podium to see it clearly.
"This...this...where did your friend take this photo?" The old professor's voice became extremely sharp, and he suddenly looked up at Su Miao.
Su Miao was shocked by the professor's reaction: "Just last month, her schoolmate was a declining noble family. The castle they lived in had many collections from all over the world. This is one of them.
Professor Wen...is this true?"
Professor Wen did not answer immediately. He took out a magnifying glass from his briefcase and carefully examined the details of each photo, especially the close-ups of the base and glaze.
After a full ten minutes, he took a deep breath:
"I need to check with a few colleagues. Are you free now? Or you can go to the office."
Professor Wen asked Su Miao to sit in the office for a while and went out to get someone.
In less than twenty minutes, Professor Wen returned with three professors.
Su Miao recognized that one of them was Mr. Ma, the porcelain expert who had just given a lecture at the school last week, and the other was the head of the archaeology department.
Professor Xiwei gathered around the table covered with photos, taking turns examining them with magnifying glasses and exchanging opinions in low voices from time to time.
Su Miao stood quietly in the corner, her heart beating so fast that it almost jumped out of her chest.
"The glaze color is pure, the crazing is natural, and the characteristics of the nail marks are completely consistent...especially the lotus petals on these two wine trays, the knifework is smooth..." Mr. Ma's voice trembled with excitement.
Professor Wen pointed to the fine cracks on the lamp holder in the photo and said, "What beautiful ice cracks! So standard."
The department head picked up the photo of the flask and frowned. "Those two pairs are fine, but these two... don't look right."
The other Professor Chen turned around and asked Su Miao, who had been "listening to the class" obediently:
"Student Su, your friend said this is a set?"
"She made some claims in her letter, but since she's not an archaeologist and doesn't know much about these vessels, she can't really tell the difference. I personally think the two saucers and the wine glass are clearly a set, but the long-necked vase and the narcissus basin look different."
Professor Chen nodded approvingly, "Yes, among the Ru kiln artifacts handed down from generation to generation, there are indeed saucers and wine cups that are used together. As for the narcissus basin and long-necked vase, I have seen photos of the collections in the Taiwan B Museum.
The glaze color and shape of this one are not very good, it is very likely a copy."
Su Miao waited on the side while flipping through the part about Ru Kiln in the textbook.
There are five famous kilns in the Song Dynasty, namely Ru, Jun, Guan, Ge and Ding, among which Ru kiln is recognized as the best.
Due to the change of dynasties, the Ru kiln was only open for about twenty years, and the porcelain it produced was for the imperial court. The shapes included plates, bowls, bottles, basins, saucers, narcissus pots, etc.
Also due to the short firing time, difficult craftsmanship, and small reserves, it had become extremely rare by the Southern Song Dynasty.
What's more, it has been so long since the Southern Song Dynasty, and it is even rarer to find one that has been preserved intact. It can be said to be one of the few handed down products in the official kiln system.
Half an hour later, the professors came to a conclusion.
Two sets of saucers and wine glasses are authentic Ru kiln products from the Song Dynasty, and the other two are imitations from later generations.
Su Miao asked, "Teacher, does that mean those two items are fake and not worth collecting?"
Su Miao was thinking that if those two items were worthless, then he could just focus on the real thing.
Professor Wen shook his head and said:
"Ru kiln porcelain has been sought after by the public and collectors since the Northern Song Dynasty. There is a saying that goes, 'Even if you have a fortune of millions, it is not as good as a piece of Ru porcelain.'
Although these two pieces are imitations, they are not modern copies, but rather products from the early Qing Dynasty, with distinct characteristics of the dynasty's craftsmanship. They are still cultural relics and are of research value."
Mr. Ma said excitedly:
"Great! We've discovered a new Ru kiln collection, adding another item to our list. Mr. Su, there are only about seventy known Ru kiln porcelains in existence, and only about twenty in China!"
Whether it's domestic or foreign, it's great to find them. Knowing their whereabouts will always give us hope in the future."
Su Miao told the professors about Xiaodie's speculation that Charles' ancestors were members of the "Eight Bandits", but the professors were surprisingly calm.
The department head smiled bitterly and said, "Those of us in this line of work inevitably come into contact with that humiliating history every day. We've gone from being angry at the beginning to being numb now.
History has passed, but we cannot forget it. The only thing we can do is to use our expertise to remedy the situation, uncover the historical truth, and protect and trace the cultural relics.”
Ma Lao also spoke:
“Yes, every Chinese person gnashes their teeth when the Eight Bandits are mentioned, but we must remain sober and carefully trace the origins of the cultural relics.
Because the cultural relics lost overseas were not all stolen by the eight bandits, there were many complicated routes.
In addition to this war plunder, there were also court rewards and outflows.
That is, in the late Qing Dynasty, some palace cultural relics were lost due to rewards, mortgages or sales.
It was so frustrating back then. The moment the foreigners got a little angry, they would give us gold, silver, and jewelry. This only made their appetites grow bigger and bigger, and eventually they wanted to swallow our country whole!
Professor Wen continued, “Besides that, there are also illegal transactions.
In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, the political environment was complicated and a large number of cultural relics were smuggled out of the country by antique dealers.
Some Ru kiln porcelains may be resold to overseas collectors or museums via Hong Kong, Shanghai and other places.
Those in museums are easy to find, but those that have fallen into the hands of individual collectors, if they don’t take them out, then we have no way of knowing.
Now that our international status has risen and public pressure has increased, those who once used dishonorable means to steal our cultural relics have gradually become more low-key.
But the bad thing is, if they hide, we won’t be able to find them.”
Su Miao listened to what the professors said, thought for a moment, and said:
"It's not a good thing for the overall environment, but it's not necessarily a bad thing for what we're facing today. Maybe this public opinion can even help us!"
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