Chapter 1620 Chinese Box
"Eh?" Old John looked at a large frame delivered from the conveyor belt. There was a light-colored box in the frame, and there were several shabby cloth bags beside the box: " This is so weird, George, is it something from your East?”
"Yes, that is a rattan box. It is made of wicker or rattan and brushed with a special vegetable oil. It is quite tough."
"Do you want it? It's only twenty dollars now."< br>
“Don’t worry, wait until it comes over to take a closer look.”
"George, your mentality is not like that of a young man."
"John, maybe young people in the East are different from young people in the West..."
While speaking, the box has been passed around When we arrived in front of us, it was indeed as Zhou Zhi said. This was a wicker box. Because it had been stored for too long, a lot of dust had been caught between the wicker boxes. Although the airport had roughly wiped it, it was not visible to the naked eye, but instead Looks dirtier.
However, although the box is quite old, in Zhou Zhi's eyes it is of quite good workmanship. It is a time-honored brand in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas of the Republic of China and the craftsmanship of Yixing, Zhejiang.
Such boxes later declined in the country, but because all the resources of the island country were used to support the war, they became popular in the island country.
This kind of box usually has a base of fir or camphor wood and an oilcloth lining. As long as it doesn't get wet, it's pretty good to store things.
The lock of the box is very fine. Although it has been patinated, it can still be seen that it is a high-end product, and it is also a customized model.
Because there are several regular script characters on the copper leaf, maybe for the convenience of searching, but it can be seen clearly at a glance - Yuhang Li Fo Qing.
After going through it in my mind, it seems that there is no such person, but the Yuhang Li family are generally descendants of Li E, a great literati, poet, and historian in the Qing Dynasty. They have a son who is Li Liangyu, who founded the Xiling Seal Society, and his family became a prominent family in the late Qing Dynasty. There were many famous people, and it was not unusual for one or two to come to study in the United States.
When Zhou Zhi turned his attention to the "cloth tube" inserted diagonally on the side of the wicker box beside the big blue basket, Zhou Zhi's heart suddenly started beating violently.
They were several tubular items wrapped in cloth covers. Although the cloth covers were ordinary linen, Zhou Zhi was keenly aware that the way they were wrapped was the work of an expert.
The things inside must be something like a vertical scroll of calligraphy and painting. After putting it away, untie the hanging tape, then put the vertical scroll into a brocade bag, then put the brocade bag into a sack, and seal it layer by layer. .
Many scholars have many collections of calligraphy and painting works. How to tell which calligraphy and painting is in the bag? This tape is not only a tool for sealing, but also a "label" that represents the contents of the bag.
This kind of ribbon is generally made of very high-grade materials. The materials used are damask and brocade that have been repeatedly used in ancient crafts. The patterns are complex and special, making them easy for the owner to identify.
Some also use skillful craftsmanship to splice a variety of designs and colors, and add unique embroidery to the tapestry. The more expensive ones are even decorated with gold, beads, and jade, making one thing multi-purpose.
However, the ribbon Zhou Zhi saw now did not contain gold, beads, or jade. If there were, no matter how stupid the New York City Customs officers were, they would realize the value of these items.
The current ribbons have probably been exposed to the outside for decades, and the dust is so thick that their original color is almost invisible. However, the color of some of the newly folded parts still reveals their quality.
"What are those?" Old John asked.
“I don’t know, maybe it’s an oil-paper umbrella.” Of course Zhou Zhi would not be stupid enough to tell the answer directly: “It is a must-have item for Chinese people to travel at home.”
“Do you want to add more?”< br>
"No one seems to like it?" Zhou Zhi was still unhurried: "Not a single bid?"
"Well, if no one bids after three rounds, the thing will be taken back." Old John said.
"Then wait until the third round and give it a try." Zhou Zhi said calmly: "It is probably the luggage of ordinary passengers. The Chinese who came across the ocean decades ago are not There is a name called 'Pig Tail'?" "OH, that's too early." Old John shook his head: "Your history doesn't seem to be very good. This is an airport, and it can only be traced back to before World War II, when travelers carried things."
"If it was a traveler who took a plane here at that time. ..." Zhou Zhi smiled and said: "Old John, you have successfully aroused my interest, please raise your sign."
Old John quickly erased the 28 on his board, replaced it with the number 7 where the Chinese box was, and raised his card.
However, just when Zhou Zhi thought there must be no competition for this thing, two more people raised the sign and raised the Chinese box to forty dollars.
"Huh?" Zhou Zhi was a little surprised: "What's going on? Isn't it that no one wants it?"
"No one is optimistic about it, but it's not that no one wants it. "Old John said unconcernedly: "You If you take action, someone will usually try to follow you. We call this behavior 'chasing the rabbit.' "
"Add it." Zhou Zhi said: "If they want to follow, let them follow. ”
"For items priced under one hundred dollars, ten dollars per lot, and over one hundred dollars, each lot is 10% of the initial price." Old John continued to explain: "If no one continues to bid after three rounds, the item will go to the last lot. Of course, Red Hat Bonnie will sometimes call the transaction in advance to speed up and show his authority. Are the rules very simple and crude? "
"Yes, but I quite like it." Zhou Zhi nodded in interest.
"Then you can control the timing of our bidding. I will continue to chase my number 28." Old John said.
"No need, as long as someone makes a bid when they come to us, we will hold up a sign to push him away." Zhou Zhi said: "Let's be simple and rough."
"No. Talk about tactics?”
"I am a newcomer, and no tactics are the best tactics." Zhou Zhi said calmly: "Old John, please take charge of this No. 7, I will look at other things."
"Okay. ”
Sure enough, as soon as this move was performed, the people who had been blindly following him were a little confused. Everyone was familiar with each other, and some people shrugged at Old John, wanting to test his meaning.
Old John also shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands, tilting his head towards the old god who was looking at other luggage, which meant that it was all this person’s idea, and even I didn’t know what it meant.
A few more buyers tentatively followed a few moves, and all followed suit when they saw this, but the real buyers' attention seemed not to be focused on it at all, and they finally stopped.
"Box No. 7, eighty dollars, old John takes it!" Bonnie in the red hat shouted, and then buckled a white pom-pom key ring on the handle of the rattan box: "Congratulations!"
"What is that?" Zhou Zhi carefully noticed the movements of Bonnie in the red hat. Writer: "Why didn't I see this when the other boxes were picked up?"
"That's Curlyball." Old John laughed wildly: "Exclusive souvenir for the newlyweds."
"Damn! "Zhou Zhi couldn't help but cursed.
This is a pun. Since the original CurlyCoat means sheep, this Curlyball is actually a pun on sheep eggs.
Once the ram's eggs are removed, it enters the stage of being formally trained into a big sheep, avoiding the fate of being slaughtered as a lamb.
It is really humorous that this auction house gives this keychain to the person who makes the first auction sale.