Chapter 38 of 100

Chapter 38

18 min read4,484 words

Yang Kang knew that Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain was very valuable, but he really didn’t know that a Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain jar with figures was so precious. After some thought, he said, "Professor Qin, mine is already broken, and it’s not very big."

"I can restore it for you; it won’t be noticeable on the surface," Professor Qin said, quite confident in his skills. "Although its value will be affected because it was once broken, it’s still a national treasure."

Yang Kang thought for a moment and then asked, "If I were to sell it, what would the market price be?" He was genuinely curious.

"Following international market trends, it should be around 30 million euros," Professor Qin said. "What, are you planning to sell it? If you’re interested in selling, you can send it to the Langyuan Auction House."

"Let’s restore it first and see," Yang Kang said. After calculating the exchange rate between euros and RMB, his heart started to race.

But what made him even more speechless was that yesterday, this Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain jar with the story of Mozi saving the Song people was thrown in the corner by Fat Guo, who was full of complaints and even planned to throw it away.

"Right, I’ll restore it for you first," Professor Qin said.

"Professor, how much will it cost to restore it?" Yang Kang asked. If the price was too high, he might not be able to afford it. After all, he only had about 100,000 RMB to his name. If the price was too high, he couldn’t afford the restoration.

"Xiao Yang, if it were something else, I’d charge you the market price, but for this— I’ll restore it for free," Professor Qin said with a serious face.

"Why?" Yang Kang asked, puzzled. Could there be such a good thing? Free?

"Being able to restore a broken Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain jar with figures in my lifetime is a great achievement. I’ve decided that this will be my last restoration of ancient porcelain; I won’t do it anymore," Professor Qin said seriously. He wasn’t exaggerating. It wasn’t easy for ordinary people to even touch Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain, let alone restore it.

"Do you really believe it’s genuine?" Yang Kang asked, stunned. He had the Taiyin Baojian, which could easily identify the authenticity of antiques, but did Professor Qin believe him so easily?

"Xiao Yang, I’m the antique appraiser at Langyuan," Professor Qin said. "You should have some faith in me. Honestly, for paintings and calligraphy, there are too many copies, and I might make a mistake, but for ancient porcelain, I’m quite specialized. I don’t think I’ll be wrong."

"Sorry!" Yang Kang hurried to apologize. "Professor, please forgive me."

"It’s fine, would I really argue with you, an old man?" Professor Qin laughed. "If you trust me, we can sign a restoration agreement. I’ll sign it, how about that?"

"Okay!" Yang Kang nodded. If it were something ordinary, he wouldn’t mind, but this Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain jar with figures was so precious, as Professor Qin had said. He printed out a restoration agreement, had Professor Qin sign it, and pressed his fingerprint.

Professor Qin was about to leave with the brocade box when Yang Kang called out, "Professor, I have one more question."

"Oh?" Professor Qin carefully placed the box aside and asked, "What is it?"

Yang Kang thought for a moment and then asked, "Apart from blue-and-white and cobalt blue glaze, did the Yuan dynasty have any other red glaze?" This was a very important question. He realized he couldn’t determine the exact age of the coral red glaze vase with the lotus pattern.

"The red glaze of the Yuan dynasty is also famous," Professor Qin said. "Red glaze is mostly in the form of white ground with red glaze, but there are also red glaze with white patterns. Xiao Yang, if you have a Yuan dynasty red glaze porcelain, show it to me? It’s a rare treasure, not easily seen."

"I don’t have any red glaze," Yang Kang shook his head. "Professor, did the Yuan dynasty ever have coral red glaze?"

"Uh?" Professor Qin was stunned and shook his head. "I don’t think so. I’ve never heard of coral red glaze in the Yuan dynasty. Coral red glaze appeared in the Qing dynasty, starting in the Kangxi period, but the best was in the Qianlong period. Coral red glaze is very beautiful, looking like fine jade. The color, tsk tsk... Not to boast, but some people who have played with porcelain all their lives haven’t seen coral red glaze, and they’ve lived in vain."

"Haha..." Yang Kang laughed, nodding. "I admit coral red glaze is very beautiful, but it’s not as exaggerated as you say."

"Compared to blue-and-white, which is simple and understated, coral red glaze is much more vibrant," Professor Qin said. "Another outstanding red glaze is the Xuande sacrificial red glaze. That red is like fresh blood, bright and vivid, with a clear and bright color."

Yang Kang nodded in agreement. He had been to the Jingdezhen Ceramic Museum and seen the Xuande sacrificial red glaze, which was indeed as Professor Qin described, bright and vivid. He smiled and said, "Yes, what you say is true, Professor— if you were given a piece of porcelain, could you accurately determine its age?"

"If I can handle it, I have a 70% chance of being accurate," Professor Qin said. This was why he was confident that Yang Kang’s Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain was genuine.

He always believed that he was average in paintings, calligraphy, and gold and silverware, but he had a natural talent for porcelain from a young age. With the guidance of a master, and with his extensive experience and broad horizons, his appraisal skills naturally became more refined.

"Xiao Yang, do you have something you want me to appraise? Red glaze?" Professor Qin, being a shrewd person, couldn’t help but ask. "Coral red glaze?"

"No, I’m just curious," Yang Kang hurried to say. He didn’t want to show the coral red glaze vase with the gold-painted lotus pattern unless necessary.

He had probably been brainwashed by Fat Guo and didn’t take ancient porcelain seriously, but he had to admit that his original view was correct: ancient porcelain was indeed rare and extremely valuable.

Professor Qin didn’t mind and asked with a smile, "What else are you curious about?"

"For example—Yuan dynasty cobalt blue glaze?" Yang Kang smiled and asked. "What’s the market price?"

"Why are you asking this?" Professor Qin was clearly taken aback. "If it’s Ming dynasty peacock blue glaze or cobalt blue glaze, it’s fine, but if it’s Yuan dynasty cobalt blue glaze... That’s not something money can measure. I can’t guarantee that there’s none on the market, but a Yuan dynasty cobalt blue glaze— if it’s in perfect condition, without any damage, it’s worth a fortune. You can’t ask for a price."

"So expensive?" Yang Kang was completely surprised. This thing... so expensive? And yesterday, Fat Guo had used a broken cardboard box to bring him those two vases.

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