Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1559 Exchange Collection

"The origin of my art collection can actually be traced back to my college days. I studied industrial design at Illinois Institute of Technology, and I have been interested in art since then." Luo Zhongrong led Zhou Zhi and others to appreciate the museum. Collection, while starting the chat mode.

"After working, I have been paying close attention to the development of the art market. At first I just bought some European and American prints, and later I also bought some European, American and Southeast Asian oil paintings. As for the first Chinese calligraphy and painting, it should be in 1977. "Luo Zhongrong couldn't help but laugh when he recalled the first collection of Chinese calligraphy and painting works: "It was a landscape strip screen by Wu Dachang. After I met my wife, I asked her to look at it. She thought that work was unreliable at the time. "

"Hahaha..." Zhou Zhi found it funny. The entry standards for this industry are a bit low. Basically, you only need to have money. But it is extremely difficult to enter the industry without taking medicine. You need to have abundant funds and profound education. , broad network of contacts, considerable background, unique vision, and even the right time, place and people.

"After meeting my wife, my collection was on the right track." Faced with Zhou Zhi's laughter, Luo Zhongrong was very calm: "That's when I started to get involved in high-end auctions."

Zhou Zhi nodded: "In the 1980s, the Chinese calligraphy and painting auctions on Hong Kong Island were already relatively active, and it was a good time for the virtuous couple to do so."

"My wife thinks it is better to buy paintings and calligraphy from auction houses, as there are more opportunities, and to a certain extent, she can be sure of authenticity." Luo Zhongrong said with a smile: "She has many more friends in this area than me. We are friends with several senior executives of Guardian. For example, Mr. Mao was the earliest Chinese calligraphy and painting appraiser of Guardian. It was because of her face that he came to our Mei Jie Building as a consultant. "

"But you also know that the most distressing thing as a collector is that you are unable to do anything."

Zhou Zhi said in his heart, Lao Luo, you are so right. For example, I have been begging for Zhang Daqian's large splash-color landscape painting for so many years, and only now I have a chance.

“China has thousands of years of civilization and tradition. No matter how great a collector’s financial resources are, he cannot cover them all. Instead, he can only choose a certain angle, aspect, certain history or certain categories to delimit his own scope. Only in this way can you create the characteristics and advantages of your own collection," Zhou Zhi said: "Unless it's like Anzai and Fujita from the island country, or Ellsworth from North America, Umouf Palus from England, Mr. and Mrs. Clark, Sir David, and Parma. Only individuals and families who have started collecting Chinese art from a very early age.”

"I was born too late, but Mr. Luo got up too late."

"The main reason was that the business hadn't picked up at that time." Luo Zhongrong said: "When I got a little money later, there were not many opportunities for ancient paintings."

"So my wife set up a collection route. We focused on the works of the past two centuries, especially the paintings of famous artists in the 20th century, and took Chinese painting, calligraphy, oil painting, prints and sketches as the system, with Chinese painting as the bulk. , to establish our Mei Jie Lou collection system.”

"If you follow the correct route, you can indeed get twice the result with half the effort." Zhou Zhi admired Mrs. Luo: "The twentieth century ink collection system, Mrs. Luo's vision and courage are really admirable."

"It took a lot of exploration at the beginning." Luo Zhongrong said: "In the beginning, the collection was not fixed. The main thing was to look at the paintings first and then the painters."

"Later on, as time goes by, just like our tastes, they will continue to change. As we collect for a long time and see more of each painter's works, our taste will develop."

"Now I prefer Qi Baishi, Li Keran, Lu Yanshao, Zhang Daqian, Wu Hufan, and a Hong Kong painter Lu Shoukun." Luo Zhongrong said: "It's such a pity. I heard that there is a Wu Hufan and a Wu Hufan in the Shanghai Cultural Relics Store. Zhang Daqian and his wife went to prepare to buy it, but she just called back and said that it had been bought by someone, so it was a waste of time. "

Zhou Zhi secretly thought he was lucky and had to hand it over: "Don't dare to hide it, Mr. Luo of the Shanghai cultural relics store and I are also very close to each other. Some time ago, we were grateful to receive a batch of good objects. In addition to the eighteen pieces of jade, there are also Fu Baoshi's "Orchid Pavilion Scroll", Huang Binhong's "Mountain Scroll", Xu Beihong's "Double Galloping Horses Scroll"."

After speaking, he said with a smile: "Wu Hufan's "Linguoxi Valley Picture Scroll" and Zhang Daqian's "Zhuxi Seeking Sentences Picture Scroll" are also among them." "Huh?!" This time it was Luo Zhongrong's turn to be stunned, then he shook his head with a wry smile: " Mainland collectors are becoming more and more powerful, and the opportunities to acquire good works are becoming increasingly rare.”

"It's obvious that you have been taking advantage of it for too long." Zhou Zhi expressed dissatisfaction: "In order to earn foreign exchange, how many good things did the country transfer from the National Expo? All of them were advantageous to you and the merchants from Taiwan."

"Ten thousand pieces of copper furnaces were approved at one time, as well as porcelain from Jingdezhen and purple sand from Yixing. Which ones have not been scraped clean by you?" The more he talked about it, the angrier he became: "For example, Gongchun, Shi Dabin, Chen Mingyuan I asked the Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Store to look for the pot, but they said it was gone!"

"Actually, in these categories, Zhou Sheng could have followed the path of our Mei Jie Lou and moved the collection of famous artists to the modern era..."

Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "That's true. I collected a set of 'Eighteen Styles' by Master Gu and his disciples from Zisha No. 1 Factory according to the 'Mansheng Eighteen Styles', which is quite comforting."

Gu Jingzhou is still alive. Although he no longer makes purple clay pots by himself, he still has some high-quality goods in stock, and the prices have not risen significantly.

The arts and crafts circle in the province is actually much smaller than the calligraphy and painting circle. Zhou Zhi used his relationship with the masters of the jade carving factory to entrust him to Yixing Factory No. 1, hoping to find a work by Master Gu.

In the 1980s, the pots made by the masters were extremely cheap. Jiang Rong's flower pots were complicated in craftsmanship and could be sold for 28 yuan each. Gu Jingzhou's Hanyun pot was only priced at 25 yuan, which is equivalent to one month's salary of an ordinary worker. Ordinary cadres like dad can afford it if they want to.

It was not until 1988 that Gu Jingzhou became the first Chinese arts and crafts master in Yixing, and Taiwanese and Hong Kong people began to hype purple sand, and his pots began to sell for about 200,000 yuan each.

This is already the price of a Santana, and it is no longer something that ordinary people can ask about.

And this is still inland. At an auction on Hong Kong Island, a Gu's purple clay teapot once sold for HKD 600,000.

However, it is still a standout, and the works of other masters have not become popular.

Master Gu spared no effort for the art of Zisha, and agreed to transfer a good teapot to him, but put a condition, that is, let him acquire a set of teapots, including those of his apprentice and other masters of Zisha No. 1 Factory.

In order to seduce Zhou Zhi, Master Gu also spent a lot of money. The stone ladle he took out was handmade by him, with paintings by Jiang Hanting and poems by Wu Hufan. A total of five were made at that time, and this one is the only one that can still be found today. .

The price offered was not something Zhou Zhou could refuse at all. A set of eighteen pieces of famous purple sand porcelain from Mansheng cost 400,000 yuan.

(End of this chapter)