Lao Lu carefully put the box on the table next to Sun Zhongyuan and opened it. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

There are two things in this. One is an old mahogany bottom tray, and the other is a rhino horn cup! This bottom tray is with a rhino horn cup.

Nowadays, things like rhino horn ivory are no longer allowed to be bought and sold because they involve wildlife protection. Even in ancient times, rhino horns were a rarity, after all, rhinos were not so easy to catch.

Rhino horn itself is also a traditional Chinese medicine, detoxifying, cooling blood, and suppressing convulsions. The ancients used rhino horn cups to hold wine, and the medicinal components of rhino horn can be dissolved in the wine, and can also achieve medicinal purposes.

Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, wealthy tycoons have competed to purchase rhino horn cups to show their wealth and taste. In the middle to late Ming Dynasty, a group of rhino masters also emerged.

This rhino horn cup is made of a whole rhino horn, about 178 centimeters high, with an extravagant mouth and belly and a girdle, red and yellow, and a little translucent. The inner walls are smooth, and the outer walls are carved.

The carving is very old, delicate and delicate. The overall pattern is a lively street market, with city walls, pavilions, long street tourists, shop vendors, some people riding high-headed horses flying forward, and there is a retinue behind them. There are also spring trees and flowers, small bridges and flowing water.

In the blank space of the pattern, thin ground Yangwen, Xingshu, carved a seven-character quatrain of Mengjiao in the Tang Dynasty: the past was filthy and not enough to boast, and now there is no end to debauchery. The spring breeze is proud, and you can see all the Chang'an flowers in one day.

At the same time, Sun Zhongyuan also found a yin engraved inscription on this rhino horn cup, although it was slightly blurred because the pulp was too heavy, but Sun Zhongyuan could still identify it, it was: Hongzhai Ya system.

"My father said that this is an old rhino horn cup, which has also been passed down from ancestors. My grandfather liked to drink and treated it like a treasure, and when he was old, he hid it very carefully. It's on the beams of this old house. Later, my father never took it off, and only told me before he died!" explained Lao Lu.

"As soon as I saw this rhino horn cup, I liked it, not only because it looked beautiful, but mainly because I lived a little aggrieved for half of my life, and I was very happy when I saw the picture of this 'spring breeze proud'!"

Sun Zhongyuan nodded, not too hidden, "This rhino horn cup is really good." Do you know this inscription?"

Lao Lu shook his head, "My father didn't say this before he died, but I looked at it, Hongzhai Ya system, what he said about the elegant play of big families, right? Look, this is from the Qing Dynasty, right?"

Sun Zhongyuan looked at him and said in his heart that it was a good opportunity to pick up a big leak, why was he so reluctant in his heart? Xu is Lao Lu is too real, it is really a bit outrageous, and he can't do it a little.

Even if Sun Zhongyuan helped him in the store of Liulichang, he didn't look like a bad person, and he himself had a little confidence in his old house, but he couldn't do it with a little bit of heart.

It is said that fools have foolish blessings, but it is true that I met Sun Zhongyuan, who has eyesight but no bad heart.

"This is a rhino horn cup from the Ming Dynasty. Sun Zhongyuan lit a cigarette and finally spoke.

The masters of rhino control in the Ming Dynasty were mostly concentrated in the south of the Yangtze River, and the most famous of them were four people: Bao Tiancheng in Suzhou, Zhou Wenshu in Nanjing, You Zhisheng in Wuxi, and Jiang Lieqing in Changzhou.

There was a shortage of masters in the north, and in the capital at that time, the only person who could be compared with the famous masters in the south of the Yangtze River was named Fang Hongzhai.

Hongzhai elegant system, of course, is not the meaning of the elegant play of large families, but the settlement of Fang Hongzhai.

There is very little information about Fang Hongzhai, and there are very few hand-me-down works. However, based on some scattered historical sources, it can be inferred that he mainly carved agate at first, and later focused on rhino horns. The hardness of agate is very high, and the rhino horn is softer and more textured, and the carver who can successfully combine these two materials has become a generation of famous artists, which shows that the skill is extraordinary.

Fang Hongzhai's works handed down, there is one in the Forbidden City, there is one in Liang Yuan in Jiangnan, and in addition, there may be one or two pieces in the hands of collectors. Other than that, there should be none.

Sun Zhongyuan didn't expect that in a small courtyard in Yanjing, a middle-aged man who seemed a little down-and-out would take out another one!

And the "Hongzhai Ya system" has never appeared, it is generally "Fang Hongzhai system" or "square pillar stone system". But from the rhino horn cup itself, combined with this paragraph, it is not difficult for a master to judge that it is Fang Hongzhai's work.

"Mr. Sun, if you like it, I'll sell it to you, don't give it too low, I heard that the average rhino horn cup in the Qing Dynasty can also be worth two or three hundred thousand miles! You said that this piece is from the Ming Dynasty, and the carving is good, seven or eight hundred thousand is no problem, right?" Lao Lu saw that Sun Zhongyuan was looking very seriously, and couldn't help but speak.

Seven or eight hundred thousand? Sun Zhongyuan was speechless. This spring breeze cup is Fang Hongzhai's masterpiece, and it is quite complete, this should be put on the market, and the bottom is 10 million!

Of course, the material of rhino horn is also valuable, but the most valuable thing is the carving of this celebrity!

"Old Lu!" Sun Zhongyuan put the rhino horn cup back into the mahogany box, "You said you are short of money, what is the reason?"

Lao Lu was a little embarrassed, "Private matter, private matter." ”

In fact, he just found a girlfriend this year, so the expenses are a little tight. After all, he is still in the prime of life, and there is also a need in this regard, and he only began to accept introductions from others after the first anniversary of his wife's death.

When Sun Zhongyuan heard this, he didn't ask any more, "If I don't accept your rhino horn cup, will you still sell it to others?"

Lao Lu thought for a while, "Originally, I didn't want to sell it, but I'm not a collector, just like this thing, it's not as affordable as money." To tell you the truth, before I went to the glass factory, I didn't want to sell it, but that painting couldn't be sold, so I moved this thought. ”

In fact, Sun Zhongyuan's psychological struggle is very strong, in the current situation, he can easily win this rhino horn cup with a million, less than one-tenth of the market price, which is also a big leak.

Lao Lu is a stranger, and the payment is clear, and I am afraid that there will be no chance to meet in the future, and he will not be able to keep his tail.

However, seeing Lao Lu like this, he was a little soft-hearted. Sun Zhongyuan is a bit soft and not hard, and he is also very ruthless in dealing with villains, but in the face of people like Lao Lu, he can't let go of his hands and feet. For example, when I met the old man on the high-speed rail, I received 800,000 Xianfeng ingots carving mother, and I spent a lot of money, although I could also make money.

"Mr. Sun, don't be embarrassed, how much can you give? When Lao Lu saw Sun Zhongyuan like this, he thought that the seven or eight hundred thousand he said was too high.