Chapter 1595: One Unhappiness, Another Happy
Zhou Zhi said that moving around like this is very risky for jade, and the first batch of jade is now stored in several places in Shudu and the capital. It's very troublesome to reunite.
But for the batch that has been completed in the factory, you will have no problem sending it to Hong Kong Island for display.
Yao Chong was about to cry. He said that including the batch saved by his ancestor, there were only forty or fifty items in total, and most of them were small items like chicken heart pendants and chilong rings. Overall it's still a bit unsatisfactory.
Zhou Zhi smiled and said, let me give you an idea. You can bring the unfinished batch with you and the carving tools. When you get there, you can give a live demonstration to the people of Hong Kong Island. I think it will be better than Pure exhibition works are even more popular.
"Still... can it still be like this?" Yao Chong was a little doubtful.
“Believe me, this is called jade carving craft, a proper intangible cultural heritage. People in Hong Kong have never seen this before, and they will definitely be surprised. If you don’t believe me, call the organizers and ask them if they are happy with it. . ”
Yao Chong called over anxiously, and heard wow, there is still such a thing? Of course this is good! We will arrange a quota of twenty people for you and bring all the masters here!
This exhibition was very successful, especially when Zhu Qinghong used a piece of semi-finished blank with skin and used the "hairspring double hook" method on the grinder in just a few simple steps at the exhibition site. Using the materials, he carved a Han Dynasty-style "Eight-Sword Jade Cicada", which was even more astonishing.
Although the grinding machine is modern and the precision is much improved compared to that used by ancient jade workers, the craftsmanship has not changed much. You still hold the jade material to touch the grinding wheel that spins quickly to carve. , and then adjust the contact part to create the cutting trajectory you want on the jade material.
Zhu Qinghong did whatever he wanted, with skillful techniques. The double hook line was as thin as a gossamer, and the distance between the two was absolutely the same. When the completed Eight-Dao Cicada was displayed side by side with a Han Dynasty Eight-Dao Cicada from Yangyue Hall under a magnifying glass At that time, countless visitors who came to visit were fascinated by it and couldn't extricate themselves from it.
The other two masters and their apprentices displayed the ultimate craftsmanship, which also amazed everyone. After viewing the exhibits, everyone realized a question. The craftsmanship of the founder Lu Zigang was not the ultimate. It turned out that Su Gong carved Craftsmanship, with the support of modern precision processing tools, can actually achieve such perfection!
Before this, only Guangdong Province had restored the Guanggong ivory ghost ball and displayed it once at the Canton Fair, which had a certain impact. This time, Suzhou Carving has once again shocked Hong Kong Island with domestic handicrafts. .
There are not so many rich people on Hong Kong Island. After visiting the exhibition, many people made a request - to buy these handicrafts brought by the jade carving factory.
A few with unique aesthetics even proposed to buy unfinished semi-finished products, feeling that there is an alternative aesthetic.
Then I realized that someone had already arrived at this batch of exhibits, and it was not even appropriate to say that. These exhibits were originally provided by the mysterious guest himself. , brought here after getting permission.
Obviously, this explanation did not satisfy the fans of the island country. Fortunately, Mr. Li was proud enough. After consultation with this mysterious collector, the collector agreed to transfer the twelve finished products from this exhibition to Take it out for auction, and you must not take any more.
At the same time, the other three collectors who provided ancient jades also agreed to distribute six pieces of ancient jades each. In this way, a total of 30 pieces of jade were collected, which can hold a lively special auction. .
Nowadays, the domestic ban is not qualified to suppress the market of ancient jade. The market price of high-quality ancient jade in Hong Kong is actually similar to that of the official kiln porcelain of the third generation of the Qing Dynasty, with a price tag of millions.
However, what is even more surprising is the market price of the twelve new jade carvings. The imitation Han jade cicada made and displayed on the spot by Guang Zhuqinghong was sought after by many big shots. In the end At a high price of HK$200,000, which would never be seen in China, it was finally collected by Yang Yuetang.
The remaining ones also fetched high prices at the auction. Among them, an antique rhinoceros cup jointly sculpted by Lu Man and Zhang Mingyu was distinguished by its larger shape, ultimate jade quality, and extremely beautiful and ancient style. The shape of Chu bronzes and their intricate, mysterious and delicate patterns triggered the fiercest competition at the auction. This antique rhinoceros was finally sold for an "absolutely high price" of 1.4 million, which suddenly opened up the price space of modern Hotan jade.
It is said that after the auction, Lu Man and Zhang Mingyu cried together. They could never have imagined that their craftsmanship could be so valuable.
When the news reached Shu University, Zhou Zhi, who was reviewing for the exam, also wanted to cry. Although this antique rhinoceros was sold on Hong Kong Island for ten times the normal price in China, if it were kept for another twenty years, it would be I can't stop it even if it goes up ten times.
So the current auction price can only be regarded as a fraction at best!
The twelve pieces of jade made Zhou Zhi a total of more than 5 million Hong Kong dollars, but based on the price twenty years later, Zhou Zhi lost a little less than 100 million Hong Kong dollars.
Of course, it cannot be calculated completely like this, because if Zhou Zhi relies on his own ability to hype Hetian jade to the price it will be twenty years from now, he will not be able to do it even if he spends one billion more.
So the wealth that should be given up must be given up.
If this exhibition did not make Zhou Zhiduo happy, another exhibition held in the capital this month was different.
Exhibition of cultural relics returned from overseas for 45 years.
Since the Opium War in 1840, a large number of cultural relics have been lost overseas, totaling no less than ten million. Among them, at least the vast majority were lost through illegal means such as robbery, robbery, theft, and smuggling.
Due to the extreme difficulty in proving evidence, the possibility of returning the cultural relics lost before the founding of the People's Republic of China is extremely slim except for repurchasing them like Zhou Zhi did.
However, there is one category that is completely recourse, and that is after the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially when my country joined the United Nations and formulated the "54-year Convention" and the "70-year Convention" on the protection of cultural property, and our country and many countries After signing a cooperation agreement on culture, cultural relics, and tourism, as well as an intergovernmental agreement to prevent the illegal entry and exit of cultural relics, there will be a legal mechanism to follow for such recourse.
Originally, this method of recourse is the most difficult of all ways to return cultural relics. However, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially after 1983, there were too many cultural relics smuggled out of the country by illegal means. Therefore, now The pursuit has yielded considerable results.
Recently, China’s initiative on the classification of world cultural heritage and the research and protection of intangible cultural heritage was adopted by UNESCO. The world has a formally recognized classification standard for world cultural heritage. Taking this as an opportunity, in order to Demonstrating the emphasis on cultural heritage, relevant ministries and national museums, including the Palace Museum, took the lead in organizing a major exhibition.
The exhibits in this exhibition come from several sources.
First, active donations from overseas people. There are both overseas Chinese and foreigners. For example, Goro Sakamoto, who Zhou Zhi had dealt with, once donated Song Kui lacquer plates and other cultural relics to the National History Museum.
There is another kind of repurchase by Chinese people. There are two categories here. One is to collect it by oneself after purchase, such as Zhou Zhi's six-hand scroll, and the other is to donate to museums in various places after purchase, including the Forbidden City and the National Museum. , such as the Yuanmingyuan animal head purchased by the Li family.
There is another category, that is, legal recourse. There are still two categories: one is criminal cases solved in cooperation with Interpol, and the other is criminal cases jointly solved by the two countries within the framework of the agreement.
The stolen goods involved in the case returned to the embrace of the motherland after going through difficult legal procedures.