Reborn Treasure Appraiser: I Really Didn’t Want to Be an Expert

Chapter 10: Not as awesome as you
In just two minutes, the cashier issued the receipt and the clerk led a slightly portly man in his early forties to the reception area.

The appraiser came straight to the point: "My last name is Hao, where is the item?"

Lin Sicheng stood up: "Master, please, this!"

The appraiser was stunned, his eyes looking a little strange: Feather duster?

Not to mention, he had never seen such an object before.

I have heard that in the late Qing Dynasty, the Cai family in Beijing made Shanshan, which was specially supplied to the palace. It was called "tribute Shanshan" at that time.

Although it is a feather duster, all the feathers are of the same color and are generally of different lengths, and the handle is made of red sandalwood.

Look at this one: the fur is messy and the pole is just an ordinary bamboo pole. It definitely has nothing to do with Gongshan.

So, what is the value of identification?
He frowned: "True Mirror?"

It means: It’s not too late for you to regret now.

Lin Sicheng paused, then laughed and pointed at the tail of the duster, "Of course I have to check it, Master, look: there are words on it!"

There are so many things with words on them that it is impossible for every one of them to be considered a collectible. Even if they are collectibles, it is impossible for every one of them to be valuable.

Young people are indeed like this. One thousand yuan is just wasted like that?

He sighed, opened the box and put on gloves. He was about to reach out to take it, but squinted his eyes: There are indeed words, Mr. Qiu Ming... looks a little familiar.

The key is this word, it looks unusual.

Is it the Liu style or the running script? But it has its own style, and is soft and smooth, yet strong and lean.

Ordinary people cannot write it, let alone carve it. From this, we can infer that the author is at least a famous artist.

Let’s look at Mr. Qiu Ming again... Hey, Shen Yinmo?

His eyes lit up, then he frowned: Something is not right.

It's not the characters that are wrong, but the person: Shen Yinmo first learned the calligraphy of "Two Wangs" and then learned "Ou Kai". He was very upright and rigid, but he couldn't express this kind of softness.

Furthermore, how could the author call himself “Mr.”, even though he is a real Mr.!

The master looked at it for a long time, then stared at Lin Sicheng: "The old starch is too thick, it needs to be washed!"

"Okay, wash!"

"Two days!"

so long?

Lin Sicheng looked around and pointed at the toolbox: "Master, how about I do it myself?"

Young man, can you do without patience?
Even with this in mind, the master nodded and took the tools one by one.

"It's definitely old, at least fifty or sixty years old. It hasn't been properly maintained, so it has accumulated such a thick layer of starch..."

"The bamboo pole must have aged quite a bit after so long. I need to use a soft-bristled brush first, but don't use too much force..."

The master kept chattering and Lin Sicheng nodded continuously, but he was holding cotton cloth instead of a brush.

With a "gulp", a whole bottle of walnut oil was poured on it and then wrapped around the bamboo pole.

The appraiser looked resentful: This guy’s main strategy is, you do your thing and I do mine.

So what do you nod to?

But you know what, he's quite knowledgeable.

After about three minutes, Lin Sicheng untied the cotton cloth, picked up a carving needle, and picked up one piece at a time.

The appraiser was surprised and amazed: This guy not only understands it, but his technique is also very skilled.

He is very brave, but what is rare is that he has a steady hand.

Praising him silently, the old dirt was picked away piece by piece, revealing more and more words. Master Hao said word by word: "If you can't even sweep your own room, how can you sweep the world? Written by a gardener in Zuojing in the winter of the Wuchen year, and presented to Mr. Qiu Ming."

The winter month of the Wuchen year...If Mr. Qiu Ming is Shen Yinmo, then it must be November 1928.

But where is Zuo Jing? I've never heard of it.

I have no idea who Yuanke is. I don't remember which calligrapher used this name, otherwise I wouldn't be so lost. But this name is definitely not unknown, right?
And nine out of ten times he is a famous sculptor.

Unfortunately, after looking at it for a long time, Master Hao still couldn't figure it out. He rubbed his chin and smacked his lips: "Young man, isn't it easy for you to earn this thousand yuan?"

Lin Sicheng suppressed his laughter and nodded.

If it were so easy to make money, this thing wouldn't be sold on the street.

The duster is indeed an ordinary duster. Even if there is no dirt on it, the four words "Mr. Qiu Ming" can make people think of something: During the Republic of China period, Mr. Shen Yinmo called himself Qiu Ming.

A renowned scholar, revolutionary, educator, calligrapher, and poet, he co-founded the New Youth magazine with Chen Xueyan, Lu Xun, and Hu Shi. He later served as president of Peking University and a member of the Kuomintang Supervisory Committee. For his calligraphy alone, he was known as "Shen in the South and Wu in the North," the two "Masters of Peking University."

Just ask if it is bright or not?

But unfortunately, these words were not written by Shen Yinmo?

Since there is no way to prove that it is Mr. Shen’s relic, we can only look for the source, such as the author who calls himself "Yuan Ke".

To be honest, it is really hard to find: this "Yuan Ke" is indeed quite famous, and people call him "Zhang in the South and Pu in the North", referring to him and Zhang Daqian.

But that was then. Ever since he fled to Taiwan in 1949, his reputation has been declining year by year.

This is the first reason. The second reason is that there are too many works in existence and they have not been hyped up, so there are not many people in China who are doing research on either collection or appraisal.

It would take another four or five years for Zhang Daqian to take advantage of the momentum, but unfortunately, it didn't take off in the end.

Third, there are too many names, dozens of them, both commonly used and uncommon. Moreover, he only used the name "Yuan Ke" for a few years, so even a calligraphy and painting expert might not remember it, let alone a miscellaneous expert?
Lin Sicheng didn't keep the secret and pointed to the last signature: "This gardener is Pu Xinyu."

Master Hao was stunned for a moment: "Who are you talking about?"

Puyi's younger brother, Yi's grandson, originally named Aixinjueluo Pu Ru, initially styled Zhongheng, later changed to Xinyu, also known as Xihuangshangren, Xishan Yishi, Jiuwangsun, Mingyi, Huzhongke, Yuanke...

This "Garden Guest" refers to the fact that he first lived in Cuijin Garden of Prince Gong's Mansion, then in Xihe Garden, and then moved to Cuijin Garden... However, after Puyi became the emperor of the puppet Manchukuo, that is, after 1932, he abandoned this title to avoid suspicion. So it didn't last long...

The year Wuchen on the duster also matches: in 1928, Mr. Shen was wanted by the authorities for openly supporting the student movement and temporarily fled to Japan. Because he had previously studied abroad twice at Kyoto University, he rented a house in Yoshida-ryo, Sakyo Ward.

At that time, Pu Xinyu was teaching at Kyoto University and also lived in Yoshida Dormitory... One was a calligrapher, the other a painter, both were celebrities in the cultural circles of the capital, so they had known each other for a long time.

Meeting an old friend in a foreign land, and having known each other for a long time, was a double joy. But since he had nothing of his own, Pu Xinyu gave Mr. Shen a feather duster that he had lying around...."

Lin Sicheng kept talking, but Master Hao's expression became more and more strange: You are quite good at making up stories?
But thinking about it again, it is not impossible: history calls it "Zhang in the South and Pu in the North". Pu Xinyu is good at landscapes and figures, skilled in carving, and his calligraphy is also not bad. He and Shen Yinmo are indeed familiar with each other.

If it is true as this young man said, that the two of them were stranded in Japan and met again by chance, it would be normal for Pu Xinyu to give a feather duster to Shen Yinmo.

Of course, it's just a possibility. So even if it's proven to be Pu Xinyu's work, its value is only average.

This is because there are too many works: it is said that Zhang Daqian has more than 20,000 paintings in existence, and this person has at least three times that many.

Because there are so many of them, their value is not high, so naturally there is less research on them.

Besides, my main research area is miscellaneous, while Pu Xinyu is a painter. What's the calligraphy engraved on the bamboo pole? He also used such a rarely used name, so I really can't blame myself for not having a good eye.

It's no exaggeration. If he had come across it, even if there was no dirt on it, he would not have spent four hundred.

Forty is almost...

“So it’s a Japanese feather duster?”

He found another excuse for himself and pointed at the clerk, "Call Master Liu, and ask him to pick up my computer."

He shouted and stared at Lin Sicheng again, "Where did you get it from?"

"I picked it up at Xiaodongmen and spent four hundred!"

What the hell?
He was startled: "Didn't you take it from home?"

"How is that possible?" Lin Sicheng was at a loss for words. "It's only a few steps away. I'll find out if I ask!"

"No...then how do you know so much?"

Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "I'm a senior in the Cultural Heritage Department of Xi'an University!"

Master Hao moved his lips: I graduated from Peking University, but I’m not as awesome as you.

(End of this chapter)