Incense utensils refer to all kinds of utensils related to spices, including spice storage utensils, as well as all kinds of incense burning utensils and related auxiliary utensils.

Storage utensils include incense boxes, incense treasures, incense bags, etc., incense burning appliances include incense burners, incense diffusers, incense tubes, incense plates, incense plugs, etc., and incense burning auxiliary appliances include incense tables, incense spoons, fire chopsticks, etc.

The use of incense in the Qing court was frequent, so the number of incense utensils was huge and varied, basically including all kinds of traditional Chinese incense forms, and on the basis of inheriting the previous generations, constantly innovating. Due to the status of agarwood as the first of all incense, agarwood will be used on almost all occasions, and agarwood and the incense utensils used constitute a unique Qing palace agarwood culture. On the whole, there are two main types of agarwood utensils in the Qing Palace: packaging utensils and smoking utensils.

According to Li Mingguang, the incense utensils that Zhang Tianyuan brought back from Myanmar this time are basically a complete set, and they should be the court supplies of the Kangxi period, and the incense burner is the most obvious one with the most significant characteristics.

The furnace is round, bulging belly, double punching ears, and three breast feet. The whole body is yellow enamel ground, and the landscape map is painted with yellow, white, ochre, black, light blue, light green and other colors of enamel. At the bottom of the furnace, the blue seal script "Kangxi Imperial System" is a four-character paragraph.

The copper tire of this ware is heavy, the enamel is thick, there is no mutual dyeing between different colors, the surface is smooth, and the bubbles are relatively sparse, reflecting that the enamel texture has reached a very high level at that time, and the firing level has also been quite mature. Although the picture is not only neat, but also elegantly free and easy with the pen, smooth and free. This furnace is a utensil of the late Kangxi period, which belongs to the works of China's ancient painting enamel ware that has reached a mature stage.

"Is agarwood also the same wood as sandalwood?" Liu Mengxun obviously asked this question very layman, but Zhang Tianyuan still gently held her hand and explained: "Unlike sandalwood, agarwood is not a kind of wood. Rather, it is a special kind of fragrant tree "fruit", a solid conglomerate mixed with oil and wood components. ”

"I used to hear my grandfather talk about this thing a lot. Is it worth it?"

"That's natural, its black aroma. The grease condenses into a block, and it can sink into the water, so it is called 'agarwood', also known as 'agarwood', 'water agarwood', and the ancient language is written as 'shenxiang' (shen, with sinking). The "Shen" of the "Shen Tan Dragon Musk Deer" that is often said in ancient times refers to agarwood. Agarwood is elegant and very rare. Since ancient times, it has been listed as the first of all incense. Zhang Tianyuan nodded and said.

"Yes, agarwood itself is a class of organic matter, and the smell will gradually disappear over time, so there are high requirements for the packaging and storage of agarwood. Judging from the archival records, the agarwood of the Qing Palace is generally placed in a tin box. Of course, there are also people who put it in a gold and silver zuò box to show their dignity. Most of the boxes of Qing palace agarwood have exquisite carvings or ornaments, and these boxes are of high quality materials and exquisite decorations. The shapes are different, and the uses are different. These agarwood packaging utensils in the Qing Palace are very different from the folk and have obvious royal characteristics. Li Mingguang added.

"Can you see the royal features?"

"That's natural, it's usually sealed with a bright yellow seal. Cartons and brocade boxes are also generally made of bright yellow, which is the special color of the royal family, which is the same as the packaging pattern of other tributes. The second is the agarwood packaging made by the palace. Most of these packaging utensils have been ordered by the emperor himself, from the selection of materials, the matching of ornaments, the review of samples to the final acceptance of finished products. All of them embody the emperor's personal will, and the craftsman, who is the concrete executor, follows the emperor's intention to put it into concrete objects. You now know why I saw the censer and knew it was a court article. In fact, these characteristics are easy to see, as long as it is genuine, it is quite valuable. Li Minguang replied.

"I see, in this case, what I brought back from Myanmar this time is really a good treasure. Zhang Tianyuan also felt the importance of knowledge again, even if he could judge the authenticity of antiques with word appreciation, but if he didn't have enough knowledge accumulation, he couldn't really judge the true value of these treasures.

"You don't know until now?"

"Teacher, tell me quickly, it's all incense, what kind of incense does the incense burner belong to?" Zhang Tianyuan is really thirsty for knowledge now, there are not many opportunities for this, and it feels really good to let the president of the National University of Geosciences give him a lecture for free.

"Silver-carved spoon red hibiscus, gilded fine coral head. Xuantong flowing gold milk ear furnace, live ash is rising. The beast is bright and red, and it is divided into fine fires. The frost sky is like water and the moon is cold, and the jade three or two pearls fall. The small agarwood ash is half remnant, and the yellow clouds are curtain. Jing Shen proudly sent six roots, called the child and did not roll the heavy curtain. Li Mingguang did not answer Zhang Tianyuan's words, but instead read a poem.

"What kind of poem is this, why does it sound so strange?"

This poem is not famous, you haven't heard of it, it's normal, this is a poem by Emperor Qianlong called "Burning Incense Song", which vividly describes the scene of agarwood burning incense in the palace. After reading this poem, you will actually know how many incense sticks there are. In the Qing Dynasty court, incense tubes, incense burners, incense burners, etc. were placed in front of or on both sides of the throne in the main hall, all of which were indispensable, and wisps of light smoke released from different incense utensils shrouded the throne in the middle, adding to its mysterious color. In the harem room, incense burners, incense bottles, and incense boxes are elegantly arranged on the incense table, which not only adds fragrance to the room, but also is an elegant decoration. In terms of types, the burning appliances of Qing palace agarwood mainly include incense burners, incense diffusers, incense boxes, incense plates, incense plugs, incense tubes, spoons, chopsticks and other auxiliary appliances. Li Mingguang replied with a smile.

"No wonder you let me bring so many things in, it turns out that this is a complete set of incense, there are tools for placing incense, and tools for incense, it is estimated that this set of incense is a gift from Emperor Kangxi to the king of Burma, I didn't expect it to be in my hands now." ”

After listening to Li Mingguang's explanation, Zhang Tianyuan realized that he was really far from a treasure master, although in terms of identifying the authenticity and falsehood, he could not make any mistakes by relying on the word appreciation trick, but if he wanted to talk about the origin and history of this antique, it would not work, so he still couldn't lie down on the merit book to rest. We have to work harder to supplement this knowledge, or we will have to do it one day. That's going to be exposed.

He wants to be a true master, not just a treasure connoisseur who relies on cheats. It's not about money, it's just his personal pursuit.

Zhang Tianyuan is also very interested in the things that the emperor enjoys, and when he has the opportunity in the future, he must also try to smoke agarwood to see what the smell is, how the ancient emperors enjoyed it, and he has to enjoy it himself, anyway, there are such conditions now, and it is not nothing.

This set of incense utensils. It must still be put away and put in its own private museum.

Not only that, but then he has to check the information carefully, study and study the things he still has in the warehouse, and leave the really good things behind, he can't sell them all, and he doesn't lack that money, if he sells it, he wants to take it back later. That's a lot harder.

After Zhang Tianyuan put away the things, he put them aside first, he was not in a hurry to leave now, waiting for the time to leave later. That's it.

At this time, Wu Yue outside had also chosen what he wanted, and in addition to the white jade wrench, he also bought a few calligraphy and paintings. spent more than 200,000 yuan to buy a few strings of jewelry for his daughter-in-law. It cost more than 300,000 yuan, and it was calculated in total. He spent more than 1.5 million yuan in this antique shop today, and this person is really willing to spend money.

Zhang Tianyuan said that when others are willing to spend money, they don't actually think about themselves, that is the real sense of being willing to spend money, hundreds of millions of things, just give them directly to his wife as gifts, isn't this willing to spend money?

After paying for the goods, Wu Yue said goodbye and left, but when he left, he said: "Boss Zhang, I see that you still have a bloodstone seal on the shelf, but I didn't say it, your bloodstone seal is definitely not genuine, but a fake, and the bloodstone is fake." ”

"It's normal to have a few fakes in this store, I don't need to hide it from you, you are also a connoisseur, everyone knows it. "Zhang Tianyuan is not angry, there are fake bloodstone seals in this store, it is too normal, if the antique shop is all genuine and there are no fakes, then it is really strange.

"No, that's not what I mean, you see, my Shangwen Group headquarters is in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Changhua in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, you have heard of it, there is the first place where bloodstone was found, since you have made this antique jade shop, then you can't miss the bloodstone seals and ornaments, otherwise, this is also a pity, right?" Wu Yue waved his hand and said, he expressed his meaning more clearly.

"You mean to take me to Changhua to buy bloodstone?" Zhang Tianyuan heard the meaning of his words, he has always had the idea of going to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to shop, people say that Jiangsu and Zhejiang are good places, but although he has been to Shangpu, but he has not been to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it can not be said that it is a pity, and bloodstone this thing, he is indeed interested, there are bloodstone ornaments in the objects brought back from Myanmar, but there are only one or two things, he is reluctant to sell them, and he has collected them himself, and now since someone has proposed to let him go to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to play, then what else is he unwilling to do, he just got married, and he hasn't gone out for a honeymoon, the scenery in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is also good, take Liu Mengxun to play, that's also something special.

"Yes, Boss Zhang, I won't tell you, I still want to bother you to write an inscription for my Shangwen Group, I have also read the words you wrote, elegant and free, very beautiful. "This Wu Yue originally wanted to enter Beijing to ask for Master Yuanbo's words, but when he heard about Master Yuanbo's situation, he gave up, besides, even if Master Yuanbo is really healthy, it may not be able to write for him, there is no way to do this, and he can only retreat.

Zhang Tianyuan's current appeal in the domestic cultural circle is still quite strong, and he is the godgrandson of General Nie, and his handwriting is quite good.

Of course, he has his own purpose, but he also has the meaning of befriending Zhang Tianyuan, making friends with such a person, what good things do you want to buy in the future, isn't it very simple?

"Let's talk about the inscription, I can't take it out of my broken words, but Jiangsu and Zhejiang are definitely going to go, and when the time comes, Mr. Wu can't refuse people thousands of miles away." Zhang Tianyuan said with a smile.

"Then how can it be, with your boss Zhang admiring his face, it's too late for me to be happy, how can I drive you away, no, no. (To be continued......)