Chapter 84

Chapter 82: The Great Ming Xuande Incense Burner

"Brother Wang, can I take a closer look?" Liu Dong had long memorized the rules of the antique trade. Even though he knew Wang Haitao wouldn't refuse now, he still asked. Of course, he didn't have white gloves, as he had just entered the trade. However, he thought Wang Haitao wouldn't mind.

"Hehe, no problem, brother, take your time!" Wang Haitao said indifferently.

Most of the so-called antiques displayed here were either damaged or not very valuable. Even if Liu Dong accidentally broke one, it wouldn't matter much. After all, they weren't worth much.

After getting permission, Liu Dong's face showed a mix of joy and caution as he picked up a red porcelain piece from the second shelf of the steel rack. Among all the antiques, he liked porcelain the most, aside from jade. Not only because of its beautiful appearance and long history, but also because many jade and wood carvings were modeled after traditional porcelain shapes. The most representative of these were the Chai, Ru, Jun, Guan, Ge, and Ding kilns, which were famous in ancient times.

For example, the famous Xuande incense burner was modeled after the standard shapes of these ancient kilns during its production.

Of course, Liu Dong's first choice was this red bottle because it was one of the few undamaged pieces on the steel rack.

The name of the porcelain piece in Liu Dong's hand was "Carmine Red Track Famille Rose Vase." He knew this thanks to the notes left by Old Li, which provided a detailed description of such carmine red porcelain, including its origin and appraisal characteristics, which Liu Dong remembered clearly.

This vase, about fifteen centimeters tall, had a slender neck and a beautiful body. On the outwardly bulging sides, there was a "Magpie on a Branch" pattern, with red flowers, green leaves, twisted branches, and a black-feathered magpie about to take flight. The lines were smooth, and the entire scene was very vivid.

The carmine red body of the vase was adorned with flowing lotus patterns, and the white glaze on the mouth and base, though aged, remained as smooth and clean as new, with no roughness to the touch. In ancient times, such exquisite pieces were rarely produced by civilian kilns. The "Da Qing Daoguang Nian Zhi" (Made in the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty) inscription on the base seemed to confirm Liu Dong's judgment.

"Brother Liu, what do you think of this porcelain piece?" Wang Haitao asked.

"Good stuff, it looks like a fine piece from the Daoguang period's imperial kiln!" Liu Dong said, admiring the vase in his hand.

"Hehe, Brother Liu has a keen eye indeed. However, although it's a fine piece from the imperial kiln, it's not very valuable! If it were from the Kangxi or Qianlong periods, it would be much more valuable!"

"It seems Brother Wang is also well-versed in antique appraisal!" Liu Dong looked at the head of the local gang in Quancheng with surprise. Most people wouldn't know the intricacies of Qing dynasty porcelain.

Currently, in China, especially for Qing dynasty imperial kiln porcelain, the pieces from the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong periods are in a different league in terms of value compared to those from other Qing periods.

For example, this carmine red track famille rose porcelain, if it were from the Qianlong period, would fetch several million, but if it were from the Daoguang period, it would only be worth a few hundred thousand at most. That's the difference.

Of course, this is inevitable. After all, during the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods, the Qing Dynasty's economy and overall national strength began to decline. The quality of porcelain production naturally couldn't match that of the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, leading to a decrease in the number of true masterpieces and a drop in value.

"Hehe, Brother Liu is too kind! My knowledge is just hearsay, not as profound as yours!" Wang Haitao waved his hand modestly.

Liu Dong smiled but didn't say anything more. He thought it better to look at more antiques than to argue.

After admiring the vase for a while, Liu Dong reluctantly put it back in its place.

"If Brother Liu likes it, I'll give you this vase!" Wang Haitao said.

After hearing this, Liu Dong, though he indeed liked the carmine red vase, firmly shook his head. "No, I can't accept a gift without doing anything in return. This piece is worth over ten thousand, which is not a small amount. Thank you for your generosity, Brother Wang!"

Seeing Liu Dong's determined expression, Wang Haitao didn't press further. This vase had been pawned at the casino yesterday and was placed here because it wasn't very valuable.

Of course, if he could use this vase to strengthen his relationship with Liu Dong, Wang Haitao would be very willing. After today's interaction, he increasingly felt that this young man was not ordinary. Despite his youth, he showed no signs of impatience, instead appearing as steady and intelligent as someone who had been in society for many years.

Liu Dong's performance in the gambling session earlier had further confirmed Wang Haitao's judgment. As a result, he valued Liu Dong even more and was thinking of ways to make their relationship even closer.

After putting down the vase, Liu Dong scanned the numerous antiques on the steel rack and picked up a bronze incense burner from the third shelf. It had a wide mouth, a short and slender neck, a flat and bulging belly, three blunt conical feet, and a bridge-shaped handle on the rim. It was about twenty centimeters tall and had a brown surface.

Turning it over, as expected, the classic "Da Ming Xuande Nian Zhi" (Made in the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty) inscription, with the character "德" (de) missing a stroke, appeared before his eyes.

In fact, the term "Xuande incense burner" generally refers to the bronze incense burners produced during the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, also known as "Xuande furnaces." It was the first time in Chinese history that yellow bronze was used to cast such items.

Although the history is unclear and there are no standard pieces from the third year of the Xuande period, people generally believe the second legend: During the reign of the Xuande Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, to satisfy his interest in incense burners, he ordered the import of 39,000 pounds of red copper from Siam. He then tasked the court craftsman Lu Zhen and the Minister of Works Wu Bangzuo to design and supervise the production of incense burners based on the styles of famous kilns like Chai, Ru, Guan, Ge, Jun, and Ding, as well as historical records like the "Xuanhe Bogu Tulu" and "Kaogu Tu."

To ensure the quality of the incense burners, the copper used was refined twelve times. In the past, even imperial incense burners were only refined six times. Additionally, the Xuande Emperor, being wealthy, added gold, silver, and other precious metals to the copper. After great effort, the finest incense burners were successfully cast in the third year of the Xuande period. A total of 3,000 (or 5,000) incense burners were made, but no further production records exist after that.

When the Xuande Emperor saw these incense burners, each one was grand and radiant, giving him a great sense of accomplishment. Most of these incense burners were displayed in various parts of the palace, while a few were given as rewards to royal relatives, distinguished officials, and prominent temples. Ordinary people only knew of their names but had never seen them. After hundreds of years, true Xuande incense burners from the third year of the Xuande period are extremely rare.

The Great Ming Xuande incense burner is a treasure among Ming dynasty crafts. The success of the Xuande incense burner opened the way for the production of bronze incense burners in later generations. For a long time, "Xuande incense burner" became a general term for bronze incense burners.

Moreover, the special status of the Xuande incense burner, its beautiful appearance, and exquisite craftsmanship made it a top-tier treasure that emperors and high officials desired but could not obtain. To make huge profits, from the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty to the Republican era, antique dealers never stopped producing imitations of Xuande incense burners.

Even after the production of Xuande incense burners ceased, some officials in charge of casting continued to gather the original craftsmen to produce imitations based on the original designs and processes. These carefully crafted imitations were almost indistinguishable from the originals, and even experts could not tell the difference. To this day, none of the many Xuande incense burners in the collections of major museums in China have been unanimously identified as genuine by appraisers. Identifying genuine Xuande incense burners has become one of the unsolved mysteries in Chinese archaeology.

It is precisely because of these reasons that Xuande incense burners with the Xuande inscription are extremely cheap in the international art market, far less valuable than other types of ancient Chinese bronze artifacts.

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