Chapter 17 Nuclear Radiation
As darkness fell, General Manager Bai instructed staff to add lights, and Lin Changqing also turned on a powerful flashlight.
The two merchants carefully carried out the celadon teapot.
Lin Sicheng followed behind the old man and glanced at it as usual. Then his eyelids twitched: Yaozhou kiln celadon carved flower teapot with handle and inverted flow, and judging from the shape and glaze, it was actually from the Northern Song Dynasty?
As the name suggests, it is a kettle that fills with water from the bottom, with a mechanism inside and a very complex structure.
There are slightly more surviving examples, at least more than the "Auspicious Flowers Offering Bowl" from the Kangxi period. Including those unearthed in China, those lost overseas, and those in private collections, there should be forty or fifty of them.
However, in terms of value, the Xianrui Bowl pales in comparison. This is because the bowl represents the highest level of craftsmanship and technology of the Yaozhou kiln from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
If it's true, calling it a "national treasure" is more than enough.
Lin Sicheng took a breath and looked at it carefully again:
The main outline is wide and tapered on the outside, with comb-like patterns on the inside, creating a distinct relief effect. The patterns are smooth and the layout is well-balanced, exhibiting the typical "every cut reveals the clay" shaping technique of Yaozhou ware from the Song Dynasty.
Looking at the glaze: the glaze is warm, smooth, and deep, with the body and glaze tightly bonded together. The glaze surface is clean and bright, giving it a strong sense of translucent glass.
Looking further, the junction between the foot rim and the glaze reveals a unique "ginger yellow" color. This is because the iron-rich Yaozhou clay reacts with the olive-green glaze, creating a distinctive characteristic of Yaozhou celadon.
Look at the bubbles again; they're uneven in size. Then look at the spurs; they're small and regular. And the patina—thick and natural…
Lin Sicheng slowly opened his eyes wide: It seems... everything is right?
So the more he looked at it, the more he felt that it was genuine.
Subconsciously, he recalled the scene of his first encounter with the Northern Song Dynasty Yaozhou celadon inverted-flow pot in his previous life: the provincial government presided over the event, and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the National Museum of China, the Palace Museum, and Peking University were invited to participate, and CCTV conducted an interview.
It's no exaggeration to say that Lin Sicheng was already quite successful and well-known in the industry at that time, but he only glanced at the vacuum cabinet a few times and didn't even touch it.
This is great! They can look at things however they want, touch things however they want... Is this really a trip to broaden their horizons?
It wasn't just him; the old man wasn't much better off: eyes wide open, mouth agape, a powerful flashlight and a magnifying mirror fixed in one spot, staring for ages. Only when he was absolutely certain would he move forward a little.
After examining the lid, look at the mouth; after examining the mouth, look at the body; after examining the body, look at the ring and the feet.
Inch to inch, it was as if they were about to take an endoscope, stick it into the spout and the water inlet, and take another look inside.
Knowing what it would mean if this item were genuine, everyone else remained quiet.
It wasn't until half an hour later that the old man straightened up.
Mr. Bai asked impatiently, "Professor Lin, how is it?"
The old man spoke frankly: "I haven't seen any problems yet."
Suddenly, Mr. Bai exhaled: He was the one who inspected the teapot, he was the one who applied for it, he was the one who personally submitted it for testing, and he applied for funding from the company leaders and the municipal bureau leaders.
Whether we can take another step forward this year depends on this final push.
The other staff members were also excited: the honor belongs to everyone, and if the leaders make contributions, they can also benefit from it.
The two businessmen exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.
President Bai gave another wink, and the assistant picked up the folder, but Lin Changqing waved his hand: "Don't rush to sign, do you have an expert report?"
"Of course!"
With a wave of his hand, Mr. Bai's assistant handed him several documents.
Lin Changqing looked at it carefully, and Lin Sicheng also moved a little closer.
Carbon-14 dating can be done by the provincial museum, cultural relics bureau, and even the municipal cultural relics bureau. But fearing errors, Mr. Bai personally went to Beijing.
The testing unit is the National Cultural Relics Appraisal Center, which is the most authoritative place in the country, except for the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Accelerator mass spectrometry was also performed, and the samples were dated between 1000 and 930 years ago.
The third sample was thermoluminescence, and the testing unit was the Shanghai Museum.
It's not that there aren't any in Beijing, but rather that, to date, the Shanghai Museum has the highest level of expertise in thermoluminescence dating of antiques.
As expected, the dating range was from 1100 to 900.
The range is slightly larger than that of carbon-14, but this is because the detection principle is different, so the conclusions are different.
Finally, an endoscopic examination was performed, and the internal structure, tire quality, color, and age were all found to be normal.
Judging from this, it seems that there is indeed nothing wrong with this thing?
But Lin Changqing's brows furrowed even more.
After a long while, he turned around and looked at Lin Sicheng, "Have you seen it?"
"I've seen it!" Lin Sicheng nodded. "But the logic is flawed!"
Lin Changqing paused for a moment, then sighed, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.
The implication is that Lin Sicheng didn't see the problem either. That's not surprising; even he couldn't see it?
The illogical statement means that this signature cannot be made.
Lin Sicheng didn't know for the time being why his grandfather was only an advisor, but rather seemed to be the one who made the final decision, but that didn't stop him from having suspicions:
In the previous life, it wasn't until around 2023 that the provincial cultural relics department purchased a Northern Song Dynasty reverse-flow pot from overseas, which filled the gap that "the Northern Song Dynasty Yaozhou reverse-flow pot originated from Shaanxi Province, but there are no reverse-flow pots in Shaanxi Province".
But it's only 2007 now, so where did this one come from, and where did it end up?
Secondly, the scale is insufficient. Recalling my previous life, it was a provincial government, a national-level unit, and CCTV—it was almost like renting a screen in Times Square to announce it to the world. Today's setup is not just shabby, it's bizarre.
Of course, it's also possible that the timeframe hasn't arrived yet, or that various levels of units lack sufficient understanding. But even if their political awareness is low, shouldn't a bureau-level leader be involved, along with three to five equally authoritative experts, to jointly assess the situation?
Regardless of other factors, what if Grandpa took bribes?
Third, the price is wrong: 6.6 million?
Even though it's only 2007 now, adding a zero wouldn't be a big deal, but doubling it wouldn't be a problem at all.
Could it be a patriot who promotes good conduct?
Subconsciously, Lin Sicheng glanced at the two businessmen: calm and composed, seemingly unperturbed...
There were only three reports, and only so many words. Lin Changqing read them over and over again twice.
After thinking for a moment, he picked up the magnifying glass again: "Lin Sicheng, you turn on the light, and I'll take another look at the inner tube through the water injection hole!"
The old man asked two more staff members for help.
Because the teapot needs to be turned upside down, with the bottom on top and the spout at the bottom. The key is that this thing is a single piece, with the handle at the very top, so it has to be suspended in the air, otherwise the handle could easily break.
Lin Sicheng sighed: Another point of doubt has emerged; the merchant is too careless.
If this were my own, why would I agree to do this?
What if it falls and I haven't paid for it?
The old man, once he gets excited, doesn't care about anything else...
In a flash, Lin Changqing took a magnifying glass, covered the water inlet, and gestured to Lin Sicheng to turn on the light.
Lin Sicheng held the handle with one hand and turned on the flashlight with the other, a beam of light shining onto the lens.
Then the old man picked up the endoscopy report, looked at the lens, and then glanced at the photo on the report.
He even gave instructions while watching: "Lin Sicheng, move a little to the left!"
"To the right, even to the right..."
Lin Sicheng immediately laughed: The old man wasn't looking at the inner tube.
No, he was indeed looking at the inner tube, but the way he looked at it clearly indicated that he suspected the test report was fake.
Wait, you're right?
Just as he was secretly pleased, the old man asked him to take two steps back and switch to astigmatism.
Lin Sicheng obeyed without question, took two steps back, and turned on the flashlight.
But as soon as the light was shone out, he subconsciously squinted.
The so-called diffused light is a halo that covers the entire body of the teapot, except for the bottom.
The glaze is not as bright as before, but it is more lustrous, giving people a subtle "green" visual sensation.
To put it simply, it's green.
But this is ancient celadon, which can have a grayish, yellowish, or whitish tint. How could it possibly have a "greenish" tint?
Fear is just a matter of perspective. Lin Sicheng gestured with his chin towards his assistant, who was supporting the kettle—the same girl who had come downstairs to meet them earlier—and asked, "Assistant Guan, isn't she beautiful?"
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at him strangely: No... what is this kid trying to do?
Seeing his grandfather glare at him, Lin Sicheng finally snapped out of his daze: he had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't made himself clear.
"I'm asking about the teapot. Is it very green, like jade?"
Let's assume you're asking about the teapot.
The old man nodded: "It is quite green, probably due to astigmatism!"
Yeah?
Lin Sicheng then switched to a strong light.
Assuming he was just trying to cover up his embarrassment, Lin Changqing remained silent, but the others looked even stranger: Why is this kid so inconsiderate of the occasion?
Want to flirt? Go ahead and flirt.
In an instant, the good impression I had formed was shattered.
Lin Sicheng didn't care at all; he just stared intently at the still greenish body of the teapot, his mind racing.
It is common knowledge that antique porcelain will indeed change color over time.
If it is specifically celadon, it will turn yellow if the glaze ages.
If it gets damp or is subjected to other external disturbances, the structure of the glaze pigments will change, and it will turn gray.
If exposed to sunlight for a long time, the skin will turn white due to the influence of ultraviolet rays.
But this one is greenish?
It's not that it can't have a greenish tint: cyan is composed of green and blue. If the pigment decomposes, the green molecules remain unchanged, while the blue molecules gradually decrease, resulting in this phenomenon.
However, the conditions are extremely demanding, unless there are very strong external factors interfering, such as nuclear radiation.
Nuclear radiation? Hmm, something doesn't seem right...
Lin Sicheng turned his head and looked at the two identification reports on the table: one carbon-14 and the other thermoluminescence.
Nuclear radiation, thermoluminescence...
A thought flashed through his mind, and Lin Sicheng's face turned pale instantly. He gritted his teeth.
I'll fuck your mother!
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