"But what if these things are real?" asked the old shopkeeper suddenly.

"If it's true, then it's natural to start. Since the state has not yet opened up the trade in bronzes, the value of bronzes is generally underestimated compared to porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, and other frequently traded cultural relics. In the international antique community, the popularity of Chinese bronzes is much higher than that of Chinese calligraphy and painting. As early as 2001, at the Christie's art auction in New York, the Shang Dynasty bronze 'Vessel Tianquan' Fang Wei was sold at a sky-high price of 9.24 million US dollars. On January 5 this year, a bronze Zhou Yi pot from the middle of the Western Zhou Dynasty in the old collection of the Qing Palace was auctioned for 26.4 million yuan at the Shangpu Chongyuan Art Auction. It can be seen that there is still a gap between the price of domestic bronzes and the international market. Many people see this situation, so they collect bronzes and wait for them to appreciate. We can't be left behind. "Zhang Tianyuan is a person who is not afraid of things, not to mention that the more he comes into contact with this industry, the more he understands that there are many things that can be accommodated.

Seeing that the shopkeeper was about to speak, Zhang Tianyuan motioned for him not to say it yet, but continued: "I know a collector surnamed Feng, and among the bronzes, the Feng collector himself particularly admires the bronze mirror. In his opinion, the bronze mirror of the Warring States period with fine ornamentation as thin as a hair but showing the strength and level, the bronze mirror of the two Han Dynasty that integrates the majestic and beautiful, and the bronze mirror of the Sui and Tang dynasties with the ultimate in round carving and high relief, can be described as exquisite and wonderful, but the price of the bronze mirror is also very 'low'. 'It's very rare to be able to auction tens of millions, and you can buy absolute fine products for millions. ’”

Around 2010, the Feng collector purchased a Tang Dynasty Sea Beast Grape Bronze Mirror for 35 million yuan from the world's largest collector of bronze mirrors, Japan's Qianshi Weiss. In the opinion of the Feng collector. Its exquisite Cheng dù is equivalent to the "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" to ancient Chinese calligraphy and painting, and Venus is to Western sculpture. 35 million can't receive the "Qingming Riverside Map" and the Venus statue. But you can buy the most beautiful bronze mirror in the world. ”

"'In contrast, more than 500 million Qianlong pastel hollow turnaround bottles can rank first in the official kilns of the Ming and Qing dynasties? More than 400 million Qi Baishi paintings. What is the remarkable status in the history of Chinese painting and calligraphy, and why do mainland collectors prefer to spend a lot of money to pursue these very 'watery' works of art, and turn a blind eye to the real treasures, the bronzes?' ”

"Feng collector told Zhang Tianyuan that he had begun collecting modern Chinese paintings and calligraphy twenty or thirty years ago. 'In the nineties of the last century, Zhang Daqian, Wu Hufan, Qi Baishi, the whole green landscape, very good boutique, the most expensive is not more than 10,000 pieces. It is very important to choose different themes for investment in different periods. I think. The current bronzes are ancient porcelain, calligraphy and painting from thirty years ago, and it depends on who has the vision to pick up this 'leak'. ’”

Zhang Tianyuan has always felt that this person is right, the price of bronze is not high because of many willingness, but it does not mean that it will not increase, after all, this is equivalent to Western oil painting and sculpture can represent the achievements of Chinese art.

Internationally, it is not calligraphy and painting that represents China, but in fact it is not porcelain, although Chinese porcelain is very developed. However, when it comes to artistic achievements, when Westerners mention China, they think more of bronzes.

Anyway, Zhang Tianyuan has always been very interested in the collection of bronzes. He also hopes that the state can open up this collection as soon as possible, because even if you block it, there will still be many people who will rob tombs and sell them.

However, the old shopkeeper is obviously a cautious and cautious person. He still shook his head and said, "Although what you said makes sense, boss, it's better for me not to touch this thing." This kind of thing, after all, is illegal. It's good not to get caught, but if you do, it's really not cost-effective. Boss, you have a net worth of tens of billions, you can't go to jail for a few bronzes......"

The words of the old shopkeeper are not unreasonable, and in fact, his words are still because he cares about Zhang Tianyuan.

Although some collectors of bronzes in China also buy bronzes, most of them do so through foreign auctions, or they go directly to the black market, relying on people in the black market to turn illegal things into legal ones.

And this time the situation is a bit special, these bronzes are basically "out of the water" goods, that is to say, it is clear that they have just been dug out of the tomb, if the local police do not find it, it will be fine, once found, according to the situation and remnants in the tomb, you can follow the vine and touch the melons, and finally find these bronzes, when the time comes, Zhang Tianyuan will inevitably be charged with selling stolen goods.

Although he can use some means to settle this matter, this kind of means, if you can, try not to use it, because not only is it not good, but it will also leave people with a handle.

"I understand what you're saying, but what do you think these people will choose if they can't find a buyer in China?" Zhang Tianyuan asked.

"Sold abroad?" said the old shopkeeper for a moment.

"That's right, you also understand this matter, we have two ways to go now, one way is to call the police immediately, let the police arrest these people, but we have no evidence, not to mention that we have been in contact before, it is not easy to make it clear, if someone deliberately frames us, this phone call is likely to get us in. ”

Zhang Tianyuan is reluctant to call the police because of his bitterness, many of the things in his antique shop are from the last Burmese treasure, which is also of unknown origin, it is not clear at all, once the police know about it, it will be a big trouble.

"The other way is to spend money to buy it, and it's definitely cheaper than buying things from abroad. Zhang Tianyuan said: "What's more, I urgently need a lot of antiques and antiques now, just like a hungry vampire who wants to suck blood, even if it is a desperate move, it must be done." ”

He urgently needs these things, in fact, in the final analysis, it is for the museum, and his museum has a lot of contacts now, but compared to the huge museum, it is still far from enough. Although he does not bother to name the museum with the word "country", his museum must be better than any museum, and the core of the museum is the collection.

"No, boss, you have so many good collections, and you still care about these bronzes, although I know that you don't plan to sell them after you buy them, but just collect them yourself, but even so, the risk is a little too great, right?"

Lao Yu knew that Zhang Tianyuan was a paranoid collector, and he basically bought what he liked, but he didn't object to this, people have money, what is the freedom of others. But the problem is, it's not really worth the risk for these things.

"I haven't told you about the museum yet, have I?" Zhang Tianyuan asked suddenly.

"Museum, what museum?" the old shopkeeper was stunned.

He really didn't know, he only knew that the museum base of the national television station had been bought, but who bought it, he didn't know at all. I didn't expect it to be my boss at all, after all, Zhang Tianyuan was still in Europe at the time, how could he buy such a large museum base in China.

"You really don't know. Zhang Tianyuan smiled, and told the story of his museum as it was, anyway, sooner or later everyone will know about this matter, and it is not an unsightly thing, there is no need to hide it.

Bronzes can't be traded, that's true, but if it's a donated museum, it's a different matter, getting such a formality, for Zhang Tianyuan, it's a piece of cake at all, he doesn't even need to use his connections, he just needs to take out the donation agreement of Napoleon VII. Anyway, there is a clause in that clause for donating bronzes, and there are thousands of pieces, so he doesn't trust the police to screen them one by one?

Of course, if these bronzes have already been targeted, it is a different matter, and he will not want them anyway.

In addition, it's not a problem, it's too obvious to say that the pit is too obvious, it doesn't matter, just get the pit directly, anyway, this kind of treatment, he will also know, he learned archaeology back then, and even if he can't, Wang Lao will, Wang Lao won't, and there are professionals in this area.

Of course, there are many people in the collecting circle who do not advocate that every bronze become a "ripe pit", because the bronzes have been tested for thousands of years, and the surface layer is relatively stable, showing a simple and changeable beauty, and it is easy to identify the authenticity.

In fact, the latter idea is incorrect. Whether a bronze should remain in the state of "raw pit" or change into a "cooked pit" depends on the object, and it is by no means blindly emphasizing "raw pit" or "cooked pit". It should be said that when you get an unearthed bronze, you must first wash the dust on the surface or inner wall, and then see if it is corroded, or it has appeared powdery rust, or because the rust has affected its ornamentality, then it must be diagnosed and treated by a professional institution or restoration expert.

Another example is a rusted bronze, if you blindly want to maintain the so-called "shengkeng" appearance, it may also bury its more artistic or historical value, such as some Western Zhou heavy ware with long inscriptions, which has been handed down to discover its true value only after rusting and repair; similarly, if you do not derust the surface of Shang and Zhou bronzes, you will not be able to appreciate the wonderful Cheng dù of its patterns. If a piece of fine porcelain or jade, a Buddha statue with high ornamental value, is not treated with rust or surface protection, then what is the significance of viewing and collecting? The reason is the same.

Or is it the simple truth, do you like a woman with dirt on her face or a beautiful woman who likes to wash cleanly?

Naturally, it's the latter.

As long as it does not affect the artistic value of the bronze itself, the cooked pit is definitely better than the raw pit.

"Boss, I'm not dreaming, you said that the 200,000-square-meter museum base has become your private museum?"

The old shopkeeper was really dumbfounded this time, he never imagined that he would hear such a shocking thing. (To be continued......)