"I really can't tell whether this is using slope mud or lake mud, but I can still determine whether it is the Yellow River cement. Yu Yao nodded.

"I understand!" Lao Zhou said, "This square Cheng mud inkstone is made of mud near Suzhou, or in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is Gu Erniang's local selection!"

"In fact, the Chengni inkstone and the purple clay pot still have some commonalities. Yu Yao thought for a while, "The purple clay pot is considered pottery, and the quality of the Chengni inkstone is more delicate than the purple sand, but it is not as good as the porcelain clay, which can be regarded as between pottery and porcelain." ”

Lao Zhou nodded, but was still a little hesitant, "But, Gu Erniang, Chengni Yan ······"

"There are historical materials that Gu Erniang 'does not play the knife in the old pit of Duanxi', and also said that she 'made no inkstone in her life as well as a hundred squares'. But the historical data about her is uneven, and there are many wild histories. Yu Yao explained, "I also read a wild history notebook, saying that Gu Erniang not only made a Chengni inkstone, but also because the Chengni inkstone is easy to shape, she specially made a basket-shaped, mushroom-shaped, and vegetable-shaped!"

"If you say so, it all depends on your eyesight, and you can only judge it from the combination of dating and craftsmanship. Lao Zhou responded.

"The vintage of this mushroom-shaped mud inkstone must be no problem, the key is the craftsmanship. I think it's enough to be called a master!"

Lao Zhou patted the steering wheel, "You can talk about it specifically!"

"You see, not to mention the texture and craftsmanship of the Chengni inkstone, let's just say that this carving is different from the stone inkstone, and when the knife is made, the changes after firing should be taken into account·····

·” Yu Yao was still relatively patient with Lao Zhou, and explained it in detail.

The so-called clear mud means that it is the fine mud that has been washed by Cheng, and the firing process is also very particular, so the inkstone that comes out is very smooth, and at the same time, the ink storage is not easy to dry, and the weather is cold and not easy to ice. Of course, there must be a difference between the superior and the inferior. But everything that involves craftsmanship is often difficult to find.

When I arrived at Gegu Zhai, I basically finished speaking, and Lao Zhou appreciated it in detail in the store.

Those who don't like inkstones may not know much, this Gu Erniang is really a well-known figure in the history of inkstone making in the Qing Dynasty, don't look at the historical materials, but the name is big.

Qing Dynasty calligrapher and painter Huang Ren, is also a famous inkstone obsessive collector, when he returned to his hometown, he once spent 2,000 taels of silver to buy ten ancient inkstones, and named the collection "Ten Yan Xuan", calling himself "Ten Yan Old Man".

His eyesight in the inkstone is enough, and even he respects Gu Erniang. He once traveled thousands of miles to Suzhou with a piece of fine inkstone and asked Gu Erniang to make an inkstone. This matter is supported by a poem written by Huang Ren: An inch of dry will cut purple mud, and it will be dedicated to the west of Zhumen Lane at the beginning of the day. How to roll the rolling machine hand, cut all over the Duanzhou Shili Creek.

After Gu Erniang's death, Huang Ren also wrote a poem of mourning. Gu Erniang's heirloom inkstone is also collected by the Palace Museum.

Lao Zhou praised while watching. Yu Yao half-jokingly said on the side, "I said, you said that it was an appraisal fee for me, you won't regret it, right?"

"Can I be that kind of person? I'm not without good things. Lao Zhou said, put down the inkstone, and set up the Lingbi offering stone and bottom support.

"This 'Chang'e Running to the Moon' is really for you to pick up!" Yu Yao said, "This is something from the Ming Dynasty!"

"Huh?" Lao Zhou couldn't help but be a little surprised, "You said that this bottom support was from the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, I really believed it!

"I'm not lying. This offering stone, I said that it was the third generation of the Qing Dynasty at the latest, and I didn't lie!"

Lao Zhou handed Yu Yao a cigarette, "In other words, it is an offering stone in the Ming Dynasty, and someone re-allocated the bottom support in the late Qing Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty?"

"That's right!" Yu Yao said, "You look at the texture and pulp of this stone, it will definitely not come out after three or four hundred years, and it will not be a big problem in the Ming Dynasty." ”

Lao Zhou smiled, "That's not a bottom support, I also make a lot of money!"

"You can earn more with a bottom support!" Yu Yao stretched out his hand and nodded, "I just talked about Gu Erniang's Chengni inkstone, now it's time to talk about Zhu Zichang's boxwood carving!"

"Zhu Zichang?" Lao Zhou looked surprised, and turned to stroke his forehead, "It turns out that this word 'Chang' is not a surname!"

"This Lao Shi, you say he's not careful, he can find the word 'Chang' hidden in the flower, you say he's careful, he too, missing the word 'son' in another flower!"

Yu Yao said, pointing to a flower on the upper left. In this, there is indeed a "son" character engraved.

However, there are relatively few strokes of the word "Zi", and it is a small seal, especially like the lines in the stamen.

"Whew, why didn't he find out?"

"Are you still hoping he will find out?"

"Of course not. Lao Zhou smacked his lips, "However, he really doesn't necessarily know Zhu Zichang, even I, I only know roughly that he is a boxwood carver." ”

Zhu Zichang, the name is Zhenglun, the word Zichang, born in the late Qing Dynasty, died in the Republic of China, Yongjia people in Zhejiang Province, a generation of famous boxwood carving.

Because of his superb skills in boxwood carving, he also has a very awesome nickname: Lunxian.

In fact, the craftsmen of the old days were very hard, after all, there were very few who became famous and became a family, and most craftsmen often worked hard all their lives, and they may not be able to have any fame and fortune. Zhu Zichang was born in a poor family of painters, lost his father at an early age, and learned the craft of sculpture from his uncle at the age of nine.

However, Zhu Zichang became famous later, and his life was naturally not tight. This man contracted opium smoking in his later years, but he was always meticulous about his carved artworks, and he would not sell them if he was not satisfied.

And Zhu Zichang is also a backbone person, in the early thirties of the last century, the local pseudo-police chief wanted him to carve, he flatly refused, and was imprisoned twice, but he still didn't carve. He was not in good health, smoked opium and was imprisoned, and died soon after.

Nowadays, Zhu Zichang's hand-me-down boxwood carving works, there are many fine works, I dare not say, hundreds of thousands of people must be willing to pay this money.

"This base bracket is not a figure carving, so the value has to be discounted. Yu Yao further explained, "However, this bottom bracket cannot be seen alone at a boxwood carving work itself. ”

When Lao Zhou heard this, he was slightly stunned, and then he understood, "Yes, this is a set! The year is different, and it is considered to be matched later, but Chang'e running to the moon, plus the laurel tree bottom, the laurel echoes, very good, very good!"

"The key is that there is also a vintage in the bottom bracket. Yu Yao nodded, "The ancients imitated the ancients and had fine products, and the bottom bracket that was matched a hundred years ago can also be regarded as an ancient." Therefore, the value of this set must be greater than the value of a single Ming Dynasty Lingbi offering stone and a single piece of Zhu Zichang's boxwood carving!"