Chapter 411: The Valuable 'Ukiyo-e'

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A super huge painting that has only been seen in Wang Zheng's life!

This painting, which must be laid on the ground to fully unfold, is 68.5 centimeters wide and 1590.7 centimeters long! Both length and width are almost three times the length and width of China's top ten famous paintings, "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival"!

"This is a Japanese painting?"

Looking at the unique clothes of the men and women in the picture, Wang Zheng was stunned. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Wang Fu nodded, "This is the most famous painting method in the Edo period in Japan, 'ukiyo-e'!"

Wang Zheng doesn't know much about ukiyo-e. Even just knowing that there is such a name. However, in the history of world art, Japanese ukiyo-e has had a considerable influence.

In the nineteenth century, European masters from classicism to impressionism, such as Monet, Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Gogh, were all inspired by this style of painting, especially the French, who were particularly obsessed with Japanese ukiyo-e.

In the winter of 2014, the Grand Palais on the Champs-Élysées hung a massive, more recognizable work than the author's name, "Surfing in Kanagawa".

And this work of Katsushika Hokusai, one of Japan's six great ukiyo-e masters, is also the treasure of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States.

However, although Japanese ukiyo-e sounds lofty, it has also had a great impact on the history of art in the world. But its origins are indeed from the Chinese 'spring/palace painting'. Judging from the materials of his paintings, more than 70% of the content is prostitutes/paintings and tricks/paintings. In other words, the protagonists of the work are prostitutes/prostitutes and geishas, women, nudity/body, sexuality/sensuality, and eroticism/eroticism are its signature characteristics.

In particular, the Japanese ukiyo-e master 'Katsushika Hokusai's masterpiece "Pearl Diver and Octopus" is so bold in content and rich in imagination that modern erotic/erotic painters are ashamed to death. What ***** Momo/Taro is weak compared to it!

Of course, ukiyo-e is not all spring paintings, but there are still 30% genre paintings based on people and landscapes!

Similar to the one Wang Zheng sees now, it is a ukiyo-e with content similar to China's "Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival", which also shows a street scene of a prosperous city.

Judging from the obvious traditional Chinese characters on the side (many of the descriptions on Japanese calligraphy and painting are traditional Chinese characters, and the calligraphy written in Japanese and Korean is completely ghost-drawn.) During the Meiji Restoration, and even earlier in the Edo period, many of Japan's high-ranking officials and dignitaries were Chinese fans), this amazingly long ukiyo-e is called "Edo Customs Picture Scroll", and its author is called 'Hishikawa Shinobu'!

Who is Lingchuan Shixuan, Wang Zheng doesn't know, and he has never heard of it. However, he had Wang Fu by his side, an expert who was several times more powerful than Baidu Encyclopedia in terms of antique appraisal knowledge reserves, and naturally quickly got the answer he wanted.

"Hishikawa Shixuan is a painter of the Edo period in Japan, who existed for about the same time as the late Ming and early Qing dynasties in China, and was the 'founder of ukiyo-e' that was popular in Japan for more than 200 years before the Meiji Restoration!"

"Founder?"

"Yes!"

"Hello founder!" Wang Zheng nodded happily. Generally speaking, masterpieces that have created a genre like this are undoubtedly works of art of high value.

"Is this painting worth much? can it compare to the Metropolitan Museum's 'Kanagawa Surfing'?" Wang Zheng said with interest.

"It's not too easy to compare. However, it should be a little higher than "In the Surf of Kanagawa", after all, this "Edo Customs Picture Scroll" is the only one that may have survived among the twelve hand scrolls of Hishikawa Shinobu. Not only is it huge, but it's also a masterpiece. In contrast, Katsushika Hokusai's "Surfing in Kanagawa" is not very long, and it is only one of the "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji". ”

Hearing this, Wang Zheng showed a smile on his face, "If I let the Japanese know that their national treasure is in my hands, I'm afraid that with the narrow-mindedness of these little people, they will burst beans collectively!"

"By the way, how did this ukiyo-e Wang Jiu get it?"

After being happy, Wang Zheng asked in surprise. This kind of ancient painting, even if you don't know how to authenticate antiques, you can know that it is not an ordinary thing at a glance. No one will sell it when they don't know what it's worth.

"I found it from a warehouse in Brooklyn, New York!" said Uncle Zhong quickly.

"Warehouses, antiques of this value can still be found in warehouses?"

"The owner probably doesn't understand. The United States is different from our country, because of the small population and vast land, so almost every family has its own warehouse. In addition, there are some company warehouses and dock storage warehouses that have been abandoned for various reasons. Over time, tens of thousands of warehouses in the United States are now auctioned off almost every day. There are many kinds of things in the warehouse, including classic wine, antique cars, ancient coins, oil paintings and other priceless works of art. In this way, a professional treasure hunter who focuses on 'warehousing and treasure hunting' was born. ”

“… These treasure hunters are like antique appraisers, they are experienced, they know the prices of various items, and they are experienced in participating in auctions. It is often possible to obtain high profits. And the United States also has this kind of TV program that introduces 'warehousing and treasure hunting'!"

"I see!" Wang Zheng nodded clearly, "I didn't expect there to be such an interesting profession in the United States, if you have the opportunity, you should see it!"

After admiring the ukiyo-e of the "Edo Customs Picture Scroll" spread on the ground, Wang Zheng cooperated with the two of them to put it away.

"In addition to this ukiyo-e, are there any other first-class cultural relics?"

"It's gone!"

Uncle Zhong shook his head.

"Gone?" Wang Zheng continued to ask in disappointment, "Haven't Wang Sen and Xie Zhen gained anything?"

"Yes, there is, but Wang Sen only sent back 17 antiques this month, the most valuable of which is a rosewood pen holder from the late Ming Dynasty. Xie Zhen has provided 23 pieces of Indian artwork this month, but the highest value is a 32-centimeter-tall early Mughal bronze gilt 'statue of Vishnu, the patron god of India'!"

The two things that can be regarded as third-level antiques at most made Wang Zheng completely lose any sense of expectation in his heart.

But think about it, if the first-class artwork is so easy to find, I am afraid it will not be called the first-class! In the two months of July and August, I also found two priceless first-class artworks, which can be regarded as a lot of gain.

After comforting himself, Wang Zheng briefly looked at the antiques around him, "Wang Fu, Uncle Zhong, these things will be handed over to you to deal with! After the inventory, they will be sorted into categories and put in the museum for exhibition!"

These artworks have complete formalities and clear origins, so naturally there is no need to hide them.

"Yes, boss!"

……

At the end of August, although there was no longer the heat, humidity and stuffiness of the dog days, at three or four o'clock in the afternoon, it was still uncomfortable to roast.

Fortunately, Taoyuan Resort is located in the depths of the Qinling Mountains, surrounded by lush vegetation, streams, springs, lakes and marshes, which absorb a large amount of heat projected by the sun on the earth. Let the people in the depths also feel useful.

Occasionally, a cool breeze from the mountains blew, and the surrounding heat also disappeared a lot, and even the cicadas on the trees became a little louder for a while.

"General!"

Under a tall birch tree, an old man wearing a white shoulder, in good spirits, with joy on his face, moved his chess pieces and said loudly.

Opposite it, an old man with the same gray hair, wearing a half-cut short sleeve, with a hint of wisdom in his eyes, smiled and examined the chess game for a while, and then jumped to separate the opponent's 'head cannon' and solve his own crisis.

"Hey, hey!"

The old man on the opposite side chuckled and pushed the other cannon on the left to the end.

"Again!"

"Brother Wang, you won this game!" The short-sleeved old man looked at it for a while, threw away the chess pieces in his hand, and shook his head with a smile.

"Haha! In the end, I was the best!"

"I don't know what you have to be proud of winning such a set after ten sets!" said an old lady in a lilac short-sleeved T-shirt next to her.

Hearing this, the old man Wang's face stiffened, and then he glared at the old lady angrily, "Are you here to be angry with me?"

"I'm just telling the truth!"

"Brother Wang, sister, don't quarrel! Come, Brother Wang, let's have another game!"

Grandpa Yu, who was sitting opposite, hurriedly made a round.

"Hmph, I'm too lazy to pay attention to you!"

After Old Man Wang snorted angrily, he stopped arguing with his wife and began to clean up his chessboard.

The old lady Yu next to her also hurriedly pulled the old sister with her willow eyebrows upturned to comfort her.

"Grandpa Wang and Grandma Li, they are really a happy couple! At such an old age, they still like to be noisy!" Yu Yixue, who was watching everything in his eyes, whispered in Wang Zheng's ear.

"Hmm!" Wang Zheng nodded, "Maybe this is the unique embodiment of the love between them!"

Since Wang Ying took his grandmother to the villa three days ago, Wang Zheng has seen this scene no less than ten times. At the beginning, he was afraid that the two of them would have an unpleasant quarrel, so he hurriedly went up to persuade peace, but now he has become numb to the side.

Just like Shi Guangrong and Chu Qin in an old TV series "The Years of Burning Passion" that Wang Zheng watched before, although they have been noisy for a lifetime because of each other's different values and lifestyles, but when they get old, they still find that this kind of noise is the embodiment of their love for each other, and it has become an indispensable habit in their lives.

Yu Yixue nodded, a trace of worry appeared on her pretty face, "But I see them quarreling like this every day, what if something happens?"

"People have been here for decades, don't worry, it's okay! Besides, isn't there still grandma and grandpa in the middle to make a concoctant!"

"Hmm!"

Yu Yixue nodded in agreement.

"By the way, Wang Ying, you sent it away!"

In the past few days of sending the old lady here, Wang Ying and Yu Yixue have also known each other.

"Uh-huh!

Thinking of the 4 pieces of Mao porcelain and 2 pieces of 'First Official Kiln' porcelain that the other party brought to him, Wang Zheng was happy. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was finally no shortage of top-quality porcelain in his exhibition hall.

However, thinking of Wang Yingqing's dark face when he left, Wang Zheng secretly wondered in his heart whether he would compensate this guy from somewhere else.

"Young Master?"

Just when Wang Zheng was thinking about it, Uncle Zhong quietly walked over from behind.

"Uncle Zhong!"

Yu Yixue said hello.

"Young Grandma!"

Listening to Uncle Zhong's respectful voice, Yu Yixue still felt a little uncomfortable even though she had listened to it many times. But I've been with Wang Zheng for a long time. She also knew that she couldn't make the old man in front of her change her words, so she also nodded his head playfully.

"Uncle Zhong, what's the matter?"

"Wang Lei called just now, and he asked you to go to the reception room of the Chen Palace Hotel!"

Hearing this, Wang Zheng's heart moved, thinking of the things he had dealt with with Wang Cheng these days, and immediately nodded.

"I see, you tell him, I'll go over immediately!"

"Yes!"

After Uncle Zhong nodded and left, Wang Zheng immediately turned his head to look at the beautiful woman beside him, "You are here to accompany Grandma, Grandpa and Grandpa Wang, and I will go to the villa to deal with some things!"

"Well, come back early in the evening!"

After Yu Yixue finished speaking softly, she pulled her jade hand out of Wang Zheng's palm, like a dutiful wife, and tidied up her clothes for him.

"Don't worry, I'll be back right after the matter is settled!"

After Yu Yixue's smooth forehead kissed lightly, Wang Zheng didn't bother the second old man who was playing chess seriously under the birch tree, and the two old ladies watching the game next to him. A man walked away lightly.

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