Chapter 1026

Next, Zheng qiuda asked Chu Chen to comment on some of his ancestral items. However, these items are relatively common. There is only one Qianlong landscape porcelain bottle, which is pretty good.

Unfortunately, this porcelain is not an official kiln, it's just a folk kiln work with exquisite workmanship, and its market value is only one or two thousand. But if you change your status as an official kiln, the value of this porcelain is estimated to be tens of thousands, which is a little sad about the folk kiln.

Although his own things are not fine antiques, for Zheng qiuda, even if they are not even antiques, they are also objects handed down by his ancestors. He must preserve them well, and strive to leave them intact for the next generation as a witness of his family history.

At this time, Zheng qiuda took out a box. When he opened it, Chu Chen saw that it was a small box covered with glass. The inside of the box showed the scenes of the old city Hutong.

The simple, elegant and exquisite hand-made quadrangle fence quietly separates the bustling market from the quiet courtyard, while the outside of the courtyard shows the Beijing folk customs you know or don't know, such as the rickshaw, the ice sugar gourd, the knife grinder, the porter, playing go, walking birds, shaking diabolo and so on.

Although the whole scene is small, it's worth appreciating from any angle, especially those "artists" who are also a vivid little monkey, which makes the work more interesting. This is the capital's traditional handicraft "hairy monkey".

Speaking of the hairy monkey, I'm afraid not many people know it now. It's said that this unique folk art in the capital appeared in the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty.

At that time, the young man of a drug shop in Beijing was bullied by Mr. accountant. He happened to find that cicada slough had some image characteristics, so he decided to use traditional Chinese medicine to create a "Mr. accountant".

He chose Magnolia as his trunk, cut off cicada's nose as his head, his forelegs as his lower limbs, and his hind legs as his upper limbs. With Bletilla striata, the image of a man without a man and a monkey without a monkey appeared, and the first hairy monkey in the world was born. This kind of handicraft has been gradually improved by people, and now it is popular in society.

The little monkeys in these glass boxes are covered with dense brown or white fluff, and the whole body is slightly transparent. At first glance, they think that they are specimens of real hairy monkeys. They are very lifelike. They not only show the monkey's agility and liveliness, but also show the author's superb craftsmanship.

Seeing these miniature monkeys, Chu Chen said with a smile: "Sir, you have made a very good set of hairy monkeys. You have grasped the framing design very well. It's the best and most delicious hairy monkey works I've seen in these years. It's very valuable for collection."

Mr. Chen was stunned when he heard that he took out this work of hairy monkey just to amuse everyone. Unexpectedly, it was also a collection. He scratched his head and said, "this work was bought from an old artist who made hairy monkey five years ago. When I have nothing to do, I take it out to have fun. I didn't expect that it also has collection value."

Chuchen said with a smile: "as long as an object has artistic value, it can be collected. What's more, your work of hairy monkey has such characteristics and charm, which is worth collecting. To be honest, I'm thinking about buying now. "

Mr. Chen said with some regret: "unfortunately, the old artist died of a stroke last summer. Since you like Mr. Chu, how about I give you this one? "

"How interesting it is Chu Chen repeatedly waved his hand, saying that he could not win people's favor.

Mr. Chen had just said these words when he was in a hot head. As soon as he said them, he regretted them. Now seeing that Chu Chen said so, he said a few polite words, and he stopped persuading them.

After chatting about some interesting things about the hairy monkey, Mr. Chen called his wife and prepared to take back the things he had just taken out and put them away.

Seeing this, Chu Chen strangely pointed to a scroll made of silk on the table and said:

"I haven't seen this one yet!"

Uncle Chen waved his hand: "Hey! This is a fake of Zhao Ji's "the painting of willow crows and reed geese". When I bought it, I saw that it was realistic, and I was also obsessed with money. Moreover, I didn't know that the original work was collected in the Lushi Museum at that time, so I spent several thousand yuan to buy it. Later, I showed it to my friends, and I realized that I had been cheated. "

After hearing this, Chu Chen frowned and said, "I think it should be an imitation, not a fake, right?"

Chen uncle as like as two peas, he said, "it's a fake. I went to the Shanghai Museum to see the real story. It's the same as it. It can't be a copy."

"as like as two peas"? Chuchen was puzzled by this.

At this time, Zheng qiuda asked: "Xiao Chu, you have not seen this painting just now. Why do you say it is imitation?"

Mr. and Mrs. Chen were stunned. Yes, Chu Chen didn't look at it just now. How can we say that it's imitation?

"Because of the material."

Then Chu Chen took the scroll to his hand and said, "you see, this silk book looks very sparse, and the finish is also very poor. It shows that it is woven with the method of one shuttle, one thread and one pressing. How many people are willing to use handmade silk to make a fake?"After that, he took out a magnifying glass to observe carefully, and then said, "the warp thread of the silk is double silk, the weft thread is single silk, the silk is uniform in thickness and tightly woven, which should be the characteristics of the Ming Dynasty silk. In addition All in all, I think it should be a silk painting of Ming Dynasty, and the quality of silk is very high. "

After listening to Chu Chen's explanation and conclusion, Mr. and Mrs. Chen were stunned. What do you mean? Is it a fake? It's really an imitation, as Chu Chen said?

Zheng Qiuda looked as like as two peas. He said, "after a while, he said," little Chu, but the great uncle said that it is just like the real one. It's two layers, but it's a silk painting.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Chu Chen laughed: "Lao Zheng, have you forgotten the woodblock watermark?"

"Yes, how can I forget this kind of craft?" Zheng qiuda patted his forehead.

Mr. Chen quickly asked, "Mr. Chu, what is a woodblock watermark?"

Chuchen explained with a smile: "woodblock watermark calligraphy and painting is a unique reproduction technology in China. It integrates painting, carving and printing, and displays the charm of brush strokes and ink according to the principle of ink penetration. It can be used to create works of art that reflect its own characteristics, and also to copy all kinds of calligraphy and paintings realistically. "

In a word, woodblock watermark calligraphy and painting has a long history in China. As far back as the Tang Dynasty, monochrome woodblock printing had reached a considerable level. At the end of Ming Dynasty, there appeared overprint such as "fan ban" and "Gong Hua", which indicated that the technology had made greater progress.

Because this craft is always based on hand, it is inherited and developed as a cultural heritage in China. From an economic point of view, this is cost-effective, but the achievements are huge.

Chu Chen went on to say: "the production of woodblock watermark calligraphy and painting is a very professional and creative process. It is divided into four steps: sketching, stereotype, watermark and mounting. The first three steps are the most important and time-consuming."

"It not only involves the quality of the producers to grasp the original work, but also involves their painting and carving skills. In the process of overprint printing, it also involves the exquisite skills of the production personnel. If the materials, pigments, moisture, and even temperature and humidity are not carefully mastered, the early labor will be wasted. "

"Because of this, the success rate of making a woodblock watermark calligraphy and painting is quite low. Take the book of shizhuzhai calligraphy and painting by Hu Zhengyan of Ming Dynasty as an example, a set of woodblock alone costs dozens of professionals ten years' labor, which can be called a huge project and a lot of investment. In addition, the number of times to use a set of woodblock is also quite limited. Usually, the whole set of woodblock can only be used more than 100 times. "

Hearing this, Mr. Chen said: "that is to say, if my painting is a woodblock watermark calligraphy and painting, there may still be a lot of them, but if there were, they would have been handed out a long time ago?"

Chu Chen said: "I mean it's used more than 100 times, but it's possible to print it only once or several times. You should know that Zhao Ji's "the picture of willow crows and reed geese" is divided into two parts, but in the Ming Dynasty, it was collected by the inner government, not by the Emperor himself or the royal family. How could it be watermarked? "

"For these people, they always spare no effort to do many things. Even if the template is carved, it's normal to throw it away only once. And you said as like as two peas in the Shanghai Museum, did you also prove that the watermark template is very high? It's more of a side story. "

After listening to Chu Chen's explanation, Uncle Chen rubbed his hands excitedly and nodded excitedly: "yes! Yes! Why didn't I think of that! "

The old lady said, "well, if you have a bad heart, don't get excited. Let's see if it's right first."

"Just now, Mr. Chu said it was a silk painting of the Ming Dynasty. I can't be wrong!"

Uncle Chen laughs and cleans the table carefully. Then he puts on his gloves and unfolds the picture carefully.

In the former part, the crow is resting on the willow tree to enjoy the scene. The willow and the crow use the boneless painting method with light colors and refined composition. The thick willow roots, the delicate branches and the plump building crow are all well drawn. Louya both enjoy the rest and play, and the form is comfortable and peaceful. The finishing touch is made of raw lacquer, which makes it more energetic. The picture has achieved great success in black-and-white contrast and density.

In the latter part, four reed geese inhabit in the border of reed grass and Polygonum, and light ochre is used to enhance the bleak atmosphere of autumn. Combined, it is the famous song Huizong Zhao Ji's "willow crows and reed geese".

Then Chu Chen quickly picked up the magnifying glass and observed it carefully. After more than 20 minutes, he was relieved. He nodded with a smile and said, "yes, it's really made of 'woodblock watermark', and the level is very high. At that time, it should not be able to be made by ordinary craftsmen."