Seeing Su Yuan's curiosity, Yagyu Saemon explained: "As an important source of Chinese cultural relics and artworks, the island country has long been the object of coveted by global auction houses. Many important porcelains from international auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's come from here. Even Jiade Baoli, many auction houses in China have been operating for many years and are working hard to tap resources. ”

"But for the auction, the transaction is only in a small share, and the most mainstream is the exchange meeting, which is the most authentic way to circulate cultural relics. ”

"The so-called antique exchange meeting is the oldest way of trading, through the antique dealer group to transfer their own collection to the next family, or buy things from other antique dealers, the exchange will collect a certain commission from it, safe and credible, Tong Su is not deceived. ”

"At that time, Goro Sakamoto sold the Rat Shino Cup, which he had treasured for many years, at the Sangaku Club, and sold it for 1 million yen. Due to the need to deduct 10% commission, that trade lost 100,000 yen. I heard that it cost 800,000 yuan to buy that thing, but in order to raise funds to buy a celadon vase, I could only endure the pain. ”

"The resources of the antique world of our island country are in the form of closed and independent cubes. Antique dealers attend different meet-ups, but there is competition between them. It is basically closed, with extremely high requirements for credibility, and requires a joint recommendation from several senior members as a guarantee, and all members can only join after agreeing, such as the Tokyo Art Club, which is one of the last influences. ”

Su Yuan listened carefully and was very interested, this is the key to breaking into the island market. In the future, positioning the high-end boutique route, the exchange will be the most important sales channel.

Saemon took a sip of tea and continued, "The Tokyo Club was established in the Meiji period, and members must be important antique dealers in the country, and they must have worked in the industry for at least five years before they can apply for membership. ”

"The internal shareholder system is implemented, and they are all first-class art dealers. Exchange meetings are held in spring and autumn every year, and there are also levels among members. When Goro Sakamoto joined the association, the seats were arranged according to seniority, and the front row seats were reserved for the most prestigious antique dealers. ”

Sakamoto's goal at that time was to try to sit in the front row, and later even to increase the right to speak, to buy club shares for a few apprentices who have been in the business for more than 10 years, and to be a guarantor for them to join the club. ”

In his later years, he simply followed the way of the Tokyo Art Club, set up his own door, and opened up his own Taoli Club. Originally an internal exchange between the Sakamoto family's disciples and grandchildren, it has gradually developed into one of the most influential antique exchange associations, and is active to this day. ”

"A lot of exchanges will take occasional auctions, the operation is very simple, and a lot of things will be produced every year. Recently, Kansai auctioned a Southern Song Dynasty official kiln Bafang furnace, which was from the Taoli Society. Hundreds of antique dealers attend each time, and many of them are very active on their own. ”

"We also have several well-known exchange meetings in Kyoto, such as Aoyamakai, Osawa Kai, Fukumoto Kai, Chagenkai, etc. I myself am a senior member of Castle Peak Club and am qualified to recommend new people to join the club. ”

"Our domestic antique dealers are mostly based on medium and long-term investment, and the old antique dealers have a habit of buying things for more than five years before they sell, because when they first bought it, they still have an impression of this thing in the circle, and after five or six years, the impression is blurred, and the price can be increased, or even doubled. ”

"So I usually throw things in the warehouse after buying them, and I don't even look at them. Use the form to record the buying time in detail, and then take it out and sell it when the time is almost there. Because short-term operations can only make the difference, the income is not high, unless it is a leak, but the probability of leakage is very low. ”

Su Yuan nodded, this is contrary to the impetuous atmosphere in China, now there is too much hot money, coupled with the illegal black-box operation of the auction house, the real collector has become a spectator, and in the face of the collection he likes, he can only sigh with admiration, and he has no chance to make a move.

"Don't look at the antique exchange meeting as primitive and conservative, but the vitality is tenacious, the rules have not changed in the slightest for hundreds of years, and the exclusivity is very strong. ”

"Sotheby's and Christie's did a big auction in China that year, but the result was a failure, and this is an important reason. However, the exchange will not prevent a large number of high-end products from the antique circle from flowing to the international auction houses. ”

"Although after more than ten years of return, many cultural relics have returned to their homeland, in fact, it is only the tip of the iceberg, compared with the antiques containing the folk, it can be called a drop in the bucket. ”

Su Yuan took a deep breath, although he had been mentally prepared, he still had a faint heartache. The little devil is very obsessed with ancient Chinese art, and it has been flowing in through various channels for thousands of years. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the military plundered a lot.

It can be said that in the past hundred years of war, a large number of antique dealers have searched for antiques in various places, taking Tianjin and Hong Kong shipping as an example, data show that from 1909 to 1919, the export island countries accounted for 90% of all antique exports, which can be said to be almost monopolistic.

Later, it was overtaken by the United States, and achieved two major antique families, Cocoon Mountain Longquantang and Yamanaka Chamber of Commerce, in addition to hundreds of large and small antique dealers.

Saemon said with a smile: "I heard that the person in charge of appraising and evaluating antiques was an expert surnamed Liu, because the tax was paid to the UK as collateral, so the inspection was carried out in the presence of the British, and the tax rate was 30% of the tax on the price of the item. ”

So they bribed the appraiser and asked him to estimate the price at half or one-third of the actual price. Only two out of ten goods are opened, and if they happen to be cheap goods at the original price, the valuation of this is used as a standard to levy taxes on other goods. ”

He even wrote down the number of the cargo box in advance and gave him a bribe to tell him the number of the box that was opened that day. Hiding from the world and changing pillars, many national treasures were smuggled back to China. ”

Su Yuan clenched his hands, sadness rose in his heart, there was no excuse for the war, the king was defeated, and the strong were respected. There is no shortage of traitors and lackeys at any time, and I don't know how many national treasures have been displaced and become trophies that the invaders are proud of.

"As far as I know, the competition for fine porcelain products is very fierce among the major auction houses, such as Christie's and Sotheby's have fixed offices in Tokyo, and China's Poly, Guardian and Kuangshi have also been collecting for many years. ”

"Generally speaking, the older generation of antiques merchants who own fine porcelain prefer Christie's and Sotheby's because of the strong relationship that has been maintained for decades. The credibility of the international leader is indeed very high, and the investment in publicity and operation is large. From the early packaging publicity to the completion of the entire auction, we are very attentive and pursue details, so we have already formed a habit and trust. ”

In September 2015, Christie's launched a special sale of Linyushanren porcelain in Christie's New York, which was 100% sold and the effect was very good. ”

"In 2015, at Sotheby's, the collector who sent the blue-glazed octagonal string pattern plate bottle from the official kiln of the Southern Song Dynasty was disposed of because he had a cerebral hemorrhage and his descendants did not like antiques. At the same time, a lot of Longquan boutiques were sent for auction, and there was even an official kiln. The reason why Sotheby's was chosen is simple, it depends on the level of commitment. ”

"Young antique dealers who have risen in the past two or three decades, seeing the rise of Huaxia auction houses, will also consider sending things to Poly and Guardian. For them, the threshold for international leaders is too high, the demand is limited, and the gatekeeping and screening are very strict. ”

"And you need to have a 60-year collection certificate, which is very difficult to auction. Huaxia auction houses are full of volume, there is no particularly high threshold, high, medium and low-end lots will be taken into account, and the most important thing is that there is no need to provide a certificate. ”