Zhang Jun looked calm. He stepped forward and observed carefully. With his X-ray vision, he found that the iron incense burner was hollow, enclosing a copper incense burner. The space between the two was filled with paraffin wax.
“It’s very difficult to make this thing. The maker must have spent a lot of time on it.” Zhang Jun thought, “Then, even if it’s not a Xuande incense burner, it’s worth a good price!”
Thinking of this, he pointed at the iron incense burner and asked, “Sir, how much is this for a pound?”
The boss almost vomited blood when he heard it, “Bro, are you buying cabbage? It’s an authentic antique!”
Zhang Jun pouted and said, “Don’t fool me. We all know whether it is authentic. I don’t have an incense burner at home. You can name a price first. Let me make this clear. I will leave if your price is too high. I can buy a stone incense burner, and it also works.”
Meeting someone like Zhang Jun, the boss secretly felt unfortunate. But this iron incense burner had been in his hand for more than half a year and couldn’t be sold out. He originally bought it for one hundred from the countryside.
After thinking for a while, the seller said, “Bro, could five hundred make a deal?”
Zhang Jun turned and left. The boss was anxious and shouted, “Bro, come back. Four hundred!”
Zhang Jun did not look back, saying: “Two hundred. I will go if you don’t take it.”
The boss gritted his teeth and thought that he had earned one hundred at least. The boss decided to sell it to him. He sighed and said, “Alright, Two hundred! I haven’t sold anything today. It’s really a bargain.”
Zhang Jun grinned and paid him 200 yuan at once. Then he picked up the iron incense burner and left. He went to Professor Guo with joy and said, “Professor Guo, I bought a treasure.”
Professor Guo was looking at something. He turned to look at the burner and asked with a smile, “How much did it cost you?”
Zhang Jun answered honestly, “Two hundred.”
Professor Guo nodded, “Good, steel prices are rising now. It can be sold at the same price in a few years.”
Everyone around laughed. Zhang Jun also laughed.
Professor Guo was obviously joking just now. At this time, he solemnly said, “Zhang Jun, it is normal to be fooled in this street. But a fall into the pit, a gain in your wit. you should know it. Only in this way can you gain more knowledge and won’t be fooled next time.”
Zhang Jun nodded and said, “Professor Guo, I want to ask a question. How much is a Xuande incense burner?”
Guo Lan also came at this time. Hearing his question, she shook her head and sighed. She said deliberately, “Hey, don’t be so vulgar. How could you ask an archeologist about the price?”
Professor Guo glared at his daughter and said to Zhang Jun, “The authentic Xuande incense burner is rare in the world. They are beautifully made. Emperor Xuande only had 3,000 burners made. Now, only a fewburners collected by the Palace Museum and two stored in the British Museum are considered real ones by some people. Others are missing.”
“Xuande incense burners were reproduced in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There were a lot of them. But even if they were counterfeits, many could be worth seven or eight hundred thousand yuan. Later, there were even more faked ones in modern times. If you go out and look around, you will find so many Xuande incense burners in almost every antique shop. But they are all fakes.”
“As for the real Xuande incense burners, they are invaluable treasures of the nation. No one will sell it.” Professor Guo said, “And even if someone brings out a real Xuande incense burner made in the third year of Xuande reign, no one in the world can confirm Its authenticity.”
Zhang Jun was anxious as soon as he heard it and said, “What? It is impossible to judge if it is the real Xuande incense burner?” He planned to make a fortune by the thing in his arms. Who knew the case would be like this?
Professor Guo looked at Zhang Jun with a faint smile and said, “What? Look at you. Is the Xuande incense burner in your hand a real one?”
Zhang Jung laughed. Naturally, he wouldn’t say it in such a public place.
Professor Guo carefully elaborated, “For making the incense burner, the Emperor Xuande of the Ming Dynasty commanded the imperial craftsmen to supervise the manufacture of the incense burner designed according to the collection of the Chai Kiln, Ru Kiln, Guan Kiln, Ge Kiln, Jun kiln, Ding Kiln in the imperial palace and historical records like Archaeological Map.”
“In order to ensure the quality of the incense burner, the craftsman selected dozens of precious metals, such as gold and silver. And then cast them with copper more than ten times. The color of the production was warm and crystal. It was the treasure among all the crafts. As for a long period of time, Xuande Incense Burner became the universal name of the copper incense burner.”
“However, there were only three thousand of Xuande incense burners made in the third year of Xuande reign. There was no more production. They were all hidden in the imperial palace. Normal people only knew the name of it but never saw one. Now after hundreds of years, the real Xuande incense burner is extremely rare.”
“In order to make huge profits, from the Xuande reign of the Ming Dynasty to the Republic of China, the counterfeiting of Xuande incense burners made by antique dealers never ceased. Even after Emperor Xuande stopped having them made, some officials responsible for making copper incense burners at that time summoned the original foundry craftsmen to counterfeit the incense burners according to the drawing of the Xuande incense burners and the craft making procedure. These carefully reproduced counterfeits are all most the same with the real ones. Even the authority of experts cannot tell whether they are counterfeits or not. Up to now, many of the Xuande incense burners collected in major museums are still not recognized by many appraisers. Identifying the authentic and fake Xuande incense burners has become one of the outstanding cases in the domestic archaeological community.”
After listening, Zhang Jun smiled bitterly, “In this way, even the real Xuande incense burners made in the third year of Xuande reign may not be sold for a high price.”
Professor Guo said, “That may not be true. Some imitations are exquisitely crafted. Occasionally, they can be sold at sky-high prices. Not long ago, a Xuande incense burner in Hong Kong was sold for 28 million yuan.”
Zhang Jun nodded and stopped talking. If it was only 28 million, there was no rush to sell the object in his arms. After all, it might be the real Xuande incense burner.
When Professor Guo finally bought a bronze mirror, Zhang Jun whispered, “Professor Guo, let’s go home. I have something to tell you.”
Seeing his mysteriousness, Professor Guo was curious. He resisted and didn’t ask. He nodded and said, “OK, let’s go home.”
Upon getting into the car, Guo Lan asked suspiciously, “Zhang Jun, we have just come for a while. Why are you so anxious to leave?”
Zhang Jun looked solemnly and said, “I can’t say for now. You will know when we arrive home.” His expression made Professor Guo dare not ask more but the doubts in his heart grew stronger.
After arriving home, Guo Lan hurriedly said, “Zhang Jun, can you tell us now? Did you find a treasure?”
Professor Guo also looked forward, staring at Zhang Jun, “Zhang Jun, look at you. You have found something valuable, right?”
Zhang Jun laughed, “In fact, it is not a valuable thing. Even if it is real, it may not be sold for a good price.”
Professor Guo was shocked, “You mean Xuande incense burner?” He was a smart man and immediately remembered that Zhang Jun had asked him about the Xuande incense burner before.
Zhang Jun nodded. He put the iron incense burner in his arms down and said solemnly, “That’s it.”
“Puff!”
Guo Lan almost squirted out the tea she just drank. Then she pointed at Zhang Jun and laughed, “Zhang Jun, I didn’t expect you to be so humorous. It’s so funny.”
Seeing this ugly iron incense burner, normal people would think that Zhang Jun was joking. Professor Guo shook his head and laughed, “Hey, you even mess with an old man like me.”
Zhang Jun laughed without arguing, saying, “Professor Guo, do you have tools for cutting steel at home?”
The father and daughter thought Zhang Jun was joking just now. Then they saw him asking seriously. Their curiosity was arouse again. Professor Guo led Zhang Jun into his studio and pointed at a cutting machine, “This machine is used for cutting ceramics. It can cut steel. Zhang Jun, what do you want to do?”
Zhang Jun walked over and tried the machine. He quickly became familiar with the operation. Then he put the iron incense burner on it and turned on the power to start cutting.
Seeing this, Guo Lan and her father opened their eyes wide. Something vaguely came to their hearts. Then a look of expectation gradually appeared on their faces. When Zhang Jun was about to cut off a piece of iron, the two were so nervous that they didn’t even dare to breathe.
“Ding!”
A hollow hearth fell to the ground. The paraffin filled in its hollow part was melted by the heat generated by cutting.
“Paraffin?” Professor Guo’s eyebrows were raised, and his face changed. He exclaimed, “There must be an incense burner inside. This is the owner’s treasure tactic. Zhang Jun, you may have found a treasure! ”
Zhang Jun smiled and continued cutting. With the help of his X-ray vision, he cut it precisely and did not hurt the copper incense burner inside. About half an hour later, a copper incense burner wrapped in paraffin appeared in front of them.
Professor Guo quickly took the incense burner. He scraped off most of the paraffin with a tool. Then he took a barrel of gasoline and put the copper incense burner into it to melt the paraffin. He then washed them with several solvents. Finally, he wiped them with soft cotton and filament.
Soon, a simplistic and atmospheric bronze incense burner appeared in front of them. It was cast with an exquisite pattern on the outside, without any trace of rust and its luster shines.
Seeing this bronze incense burner, Professor Guo was totally obsessed and murmured, “Even if it is not the one made in the third year of Xuande reign, it must be one of the reproduced ones in the Ming Dynasty. It is perfect.”
Guo Lan also stared at the incense burner and said, “I did not expect that an incense burner could be so beautiful.”
Professor Guo looked at Zhang Jun and said, “Zhang, you are willing to show us such a valuable thing. Thank you.”
Zhang Jun laughed, “Professor Guo, you’re so polite. I don’t know if it’s authentic or fake. I want to ask you to check it out.”
Professor Guo said, “To be honest, I haven’t seen a real Xuande incense burner. So, I have no way to confirm its authenticity. So, if you trust me, I will invite some people who have profound knowledge in the identification of bronzes. We can evaluate it together.”
He was nervous when he spoke. He was afraid Zhang Jun would not agree. For an old archeologist, being able to see and study the treasures passed down is the happiest moment in their lives.
Zhang Jun did not hesitate and nodded, “Of course, I can leave it here and wait for the results.”