Chapter 417: Foreign Imitation

Lin Sicheng sat down behind the table and gestured, "The two of you, please sit!"

The two were trembling with fear; their buttocks barely touched the edges of the chairs. They sat even more gingerly than when they had seen Yan Wenjing earlier, their entire bodies tense, just like someone in a horse stance.

Lin Sicheng smiled, "Don't be nervous, I don't eat people!"

You might not eat people, but you take lives, don't you?

Believe it or not, in the line of work they were in, if any of those people who had just left nodded their heads, they would have to eat government-provided meals.

And it might even be the kind where they are locked up until they die.

The more they thought about it, the more terrified they became. Pangzi squeezed out a smile that looked worse than crying and pointed at the brush washer: "Lin Shifu, this is the piece you mentioned. Please take a look... Our Manager said: if it catches your eye, just keep it to play with..."

The woman didn't speak, just nodded incessantly.

Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment: the Manager Pangzi spoke of must be the man in the cotton coat. But how could he not remember that man saying such a thing?

Looking at the expressions of Pangzi and the woman again, he finally understood: these two had misunderstood.

It was also bad timing: he had originally agreed with the man in the cotton coat to meet within three days, but hadn't specified which day. And since the other party was a figure from the underworld, it wasn't appropriate to bring him to his teacher's house, so he had arranged to meet here at General Manager Zhao's place.

That same evening, Yu Guang called again, saying that Sun Liancheng wanted to find him to understand the situation, and that he and Detachment Leader Han Xin would also be coming.

With several leaders coming at once, it was definitely an official visit. It couldn't be at Wang Qizhi's house, and arranging a hotel or something similar wasn't appropriate either. After thinking it over, Lin Sicheng decided this place was the most suitable.

But he hadn't expected the two groups to run into each other.

It was no wonder they were scared like this: given the scene just now, and the line of work they were in, the fact that they could still sit there without shaking like a sieve meant their psychological fortitude was already quite impressive.

Lin Sicheng sighed, "The two of you, I am not involved in the underworld!"

The two nodded vigorously: wasn't that obvious?

With connections like these, only someone with a hole in their brain would burrow into a gutter to act like a rat.

Lin Sicheng pointed at the Red Wood Box again: "I am really just curious, I just want to take a look!"

The two nodded again: looking is fine, taking it for free is fine, you call the shots!

Knowing that the more he tried to reassure them, the more nervous they became, Lin Sicheng shook his head helplessly: "Fine, you two have some tea first, I'll take a look!" They had already drunk several pots; with the slightest movement, their stomachs made "sloshing" sounds, but did they dare say they wouldn't drink?

The two hurriedly smiled and picked up their tea cups to take a sip.

Lin Sicheng opened the box; Zhao Da took out a Magnifying Glass, and Zhao Er took out a Flashlight.

Zhao Xiuneng leaned over: "Junior Brother, I just took a look, it looks like a Chenghua Imitation, but it is indeed very well imitated."

The "very well" here referred to the Ru Porcelain.

Of course, if it weren't well imitated, these three couldn't have fooled so many large auction houses and so many large companies... Secretly sighing, Lin Sicheng held the brush washer in his hands, picked up the Magnifying Glass, and turned over the base.

But at just one glance, he couldn't help but pause: why did this feeling seem a bit strange?

At first glance, the body was milky white and free of impurities, the texture firm as steel, and the touch as delicate as fat. Viewed slightly from the side, the body was faintly translucent and lustrous, and when illuminated with the Magnifying Glass, the layers of the body revealed the unique texture of a Sticky Rice Body.

Looking at the base: the area where the body met the glaze showed a faint Firestone Red halo, as moist as rouge. The base was cut at an angle, with a few traces of burnt-rice-spot sand-adhesion firing marks remaining. It was indeed as Senior Brother Zhao said; looking only at the body texture, it was extremely like a Chenghua Imitation: refined Kaolin Clay body, rouge-colored Firestone Red, a deep slanted cut, and sand-adhered burnt-rice spots.

But there was one point: the body texture felt too "sticky," a bit too "glutinous."

To give an example: the Chenghua Sticky Rice Body was like steamed sticky rice, with extremely distinct grains. But the one in his hand was like extremely thick sticky rice porridge. Although you could still see the rice grains, the rice was sticky and clinging to each other, as if wrapped in countless threads.

Lin Sicheng could roughly guess the reason: first, the Porcelain Stone added to the Kaolin was different, leading to slightly different elemental content: the aluminum oxide in this type of body clay was slightly lower, while the calcium and silicon content were slightly higher.

Second, the mud-refining and aging process was slightly different: the former was air-dried in a cellar with plenty of oxygen, while the latter was aged in a semi-oxygen-deprived environment.

But a body like this had a disadvantage: it was slightly hard and brittle. If it were in the Chenghua period, it wouldn't be considered a defective product, but it certainly wouldn't have entered the palace; at most, it would be considered utility porcelain.

Lin Sicheng had indeed seen Ming Porcelain with this kind of body, but what was strange was that this was his first time seeing a Ru Porcelain imitation with such a body.

Of course, it was also possible that not many Ming Imitation Ru Porcelain pieces survived, and he simply hadn't encountered this type before.

Secretly changing his train of thought, Lin Sicheng turned the brush washer over. But after turning on the Flashlight, he paused again.

The glaze color was green with a hint of blue, gray with a hint of green, yet it faintly radiated a warm tone. Touching it again, it felt delicate and as glutinous as congealed fat.

Looking at it through the light, the Glaze Layer was slightly thick, giving one a sense of "slight turbidity." Looking at the bubbles with the Magnifying Glass: they were shaped like snowflakes.

The feeling was even stranger?

The Chenghua Imitations Lin Sicheng had seen were, without exception, all in a cold white tone. This one, however, faintly radiated a warm tone, and the glaze color was deeper. If one had to make a comparison: this one was more like a duck egg shell, rather than Duck Egg Blue.

The difference was subtle, but the impact was comprehensive. First, the touch: precisely because it had an extra hint of a cold white tone, the Chenghua Imitations felt icy and smooth to the touch, and possessed a rigidity, just like touching frozen jade.

This one felt like touching rice cake.

Secondly, the light transmission: precisely because it had an extra hint of a warm tone, the glaze color of this brush washer was so "turbid," rather than the "translucent glaze revealing the bone" unique to Chenghua porcelain.

And compared to that, these were all secondary; the key was the bubbles: the reason this type was snowflake-shaped was simply because the bubbles had burst and collapsed into pieces. But for any Chenghua Imitation Ru Porcelain, the bubbles were inevitably in a star-point pattern as dense as a honeycomb.

There were many reasons for this phenomenon, but no matter how Lin Sicheng looked at it, it seemed like a different crystallization phenomenon caused by different crystals under different kiln temperatures.

He suspected that the ones that burst into snowflake shapes were calcium feldspar crystals, while the star-point shapes as dense as a honeycomb were Quartz crystals.

To put it more bluntly: the former had ordinary Porcelain Stone added to the glaze, while the latter had Agate added.

Ru Porcelain uses Agate in the glaze; if you are imitating Ru, if you don't add Agate, what kind of Ru imitation do you call yourself?

Of course, this was just a suspicion; to verify it, one would have to take samples for testing.

But there was something even stranger: the crackle.

Both being Crab Claw Pattern, the Chenghua Imitation would inevitably reveal a cold blue light, but this one was the opposite: although blue, it was warm. More importantly: under strong light, the gaps in the crackle faintly radiated blood-tooth red with orange-toned highlights, appearing like colored gold.

It was somewhat similar to the "pink with gold" coloration of Ru Porcelain crackles; what Zhao Xiuneng called "very well imitated Ru Porcelain" referred to this. But the former was naturally formed, while this one seemed more like it was artificially created.

It was as if before applying the green glaze, a layer of extremely thin Colored Gold Glaze was applied, but because the gold glaze was too thin and the green glaze was too turbid, it could only be seen through the gaps in the crackle after firing.

And it wasn't necessarily visible every time: one had to shine a strong light on it, and it had to be from the side.

Lin Sicheng could be certain that among all the Chenghua Imitations he had ever seen, there was absolutely no such type. In fact, among all the Ru Porcelain imitations he had ever seen, there had never been such a type.

How strange?

It couldn't be that he was ignorant and inexperienced, making a fuss over nothing?

Looking further down, it was still the same. Lin Sicheng straightened his back and tilted his head, trying hard to recall.

Immediately, his brows twisted into a knot again.

It was rare to see Lin Sicheng look so troubled; Zhao Xiuneng wore a bewildered expression as he picked up the flashlight and magnifying glass.

But it was to no avail; what he saw before was exactly what he saw now.

After a long while, seeing Lin Sicheng lower his head again, Zhao Xiuneng simply stopped looking.

In any case, he couldn't make sense of it either.

"Senior Brother, is something not quite right?"

Lin Sicheng did not speak: "Not quite right" was an understatement.

If his guess was correct, this thing didn't use agate but ordinary feldspar, so it couldn't be considered an imitation Ru Porcelain at all. To be precise, it was more like an imitation "Ming Dynasty Chenghua Sky Blue Glaze."

But since those two were still sitting there, he certainly couldn't say it outright, so Lin Sicheng just shook his head.

After looking for a long time, he cupped his chin: "Senior Brother, you date this!"

Did this even need dating?

Zhao Xiuneng looked suspicious for a moment: "Looking at the soil erosion, it's been buried for about four hundred, maybe five hundred years. Looking at the surface crust and patina, it's been dug up for at least fifty or sixty years..."

Right?

Four hundred years ago was the Wanli era, five hundred years ago was the Chenghua era; looking at this interval, it was indeed Ming Porcelain.

But as he had said before, if this was an imitation of the Ming Dynasty Chenghua Sky Blue Glaze, then wouldn't this thing be a Ming Dynasty imitation of Ming Porcelain? For example: Wanli imitating Chenghua.

It wasn't impossible, but it was extremely unlikely: no matter how poor the Wanli court was, it hadn't reached the point of being unable to afford agate. If they were to imitate, they would only simulate Ru Porcelain, not this "neither fish nor fowl" thing.

While pondering, Lin Sicheng raised his head: "You two, may I ask, where did this item come from?"

Pangzi replied without hesitation: "I acquired it in Malaysia a few years ago. The seller was a Malaysian Chinese, and according to him, it was dug up locally."

Lin Sicheng looked suspicious: It didn't look like it?

"Senior Brother, take another look, where was it dug up?"

This was Zhao Xiuneng's specialty, so he was exceptionally certain: "The south, near the sea!"

The glaze surface was turbid and diffused like mist, with a slight greenish-gray tint, the body was slightly light, and the cracks were filled with white crystals... This was typical of the warm climate south of the Yangtze River along the Pacific coast, caused by mild erosion from sea salt in the soil.

Although Malaysia is near the sea, that place has a typical tropical rainforest climate. The rain is heavy and the acidity is high; if it had been dug up in Malaysia, the glaze surface would have long since become a honeycomb. Lin Sicheng pondered for a moment: "Senior Brother, help me think again: after the mid-Ming Dynasty, which kilns used the techniques of double-color glaze and double-layer glaze?" Zhao Xiuneng was stunned: Don't you know more about this than I do?

Lin Sicheng certainly knew, but he felt as if a layer of window paper was covering his eyes, and he couldn't poke through it no matter what.

He needed to find a breakthrough.

Seeing his serious expression, Zhao Xiuneng honestly began counting on his fingers: "Quite a few, any larger folk kiln could do it: the folk kilns in Jingdezhen go without saying, every household could do it, plus the Ding Kiln and Cizhou Kiln in Hebei, the Bayi Kiln and Changzhi Kiln in Shanxi... the Pinghe Kiln and Zhangzhou Kiln in Fujian..." Lin Sicheng picked up the magnifying glass again: "Then what if it's gold painted on the base glaze?"

"Oh, you mean Brocade Hand, Junior Brother?" Zhao Xiuneng thought for a moment, "Also quite a few, the major kilns could basically all do it."

Just after saying this, Zhao Xiuneng suddenly froze: No... Junior Brother, what do you mean?

Lin Sicheng didn't speak, just pointed, and Zhao Xiuneng stretched his neck forward.

With the flashlight angled and the magnifying glass, it was exceptionally clear: beneath the cracks of the crazing, a few faint, reddish golden stars were visible.

It looked exactly like a layer of Gold Powder Glaze that had been brushed on very thinly but mixed with too much copper.

Double-layer glaze, blue on top and gold on the bottom—isn't this double-layer glaze?

No... this thing... was it fired in a folk kiln?

Official Kiln porcelain rarely used double-layer glaze; even if the base glaze used gold glaze, it was one hundred percent pure gold, and it would only be painted on top.

And it would absolutely not be this thin—so thin that the gold glaze couldn't even penetrate the surface glaze, to the point where you needed a magnifying glass and a high-intensity flashlight at an angle, and even then, you might not see it.

It also wouldn't be this stingy, looking like someone trying to act like a nouveau riche but being too poor to use much.

But a folk kiln was even more impossible.

It wasn't that they lacked the craftsmanship or the technology, but that they couldn't sell what they fired: since the gold used by the Official Kiln was pure enough and the gold glaze thick enough, why would I buy yours mixed with copper?

But that was secondary; the key was: he had never heard of any dynasty's imitation Ru Porcelain having gold powder mixed into the glaze material.

Nor had he ever heard of any dynasty's imitation Ru Ware using the techniques of double-color glaze or double-layer glaze.

A miss is as good as a mile. If it were a double-layer glaze: regardless of whether the base glaze was mixed with gold or copper, the color scheme of the surface glaze would inevitably have to be readjusted, otherwise, it would be impossible to fire this sky-blue color.

If the color scheme is different, the formula for the glaze material must be different; when it comes to the composition ratio, the two are worlds apart.

In that case, how could this thing still be called an imitation Ru?

But the hell of it was, why was it imitated so well?

Having played with porcelain for half his life, and repaired it for half his life, Zhao Xiuneng could definitely be considered an expert, but if it weren't for Lin Sicheng's repeated reminders, he wouldn't have been able to see it at all.

Even more, in all his life, this was the first time Zhao Xiuneng had seen porcelain that used the blue and gold double-layer glaze technique, yet the surface glaze color was Sky Blue Glaze. Lin Sicheng had a sudden thought: "Senior Brother, is there such a possibility: precisely because they couldn't imitate that sky-blue color of Ru Porcelain, they took a different path and used the double-layer glaze?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, even Lin Sicheng laughed at himself: stumbling upon success is possible, like with Kiln-transmutation Porcelain, but taking a different path... are you bored out of your mind? The reason is simple: after the mid-Ming Dynasty, the imperial court implemented the policy of Official Kiln Supporting Folk Firing. That is, the Official Kiln provided the technology and sent ceramic supervisors, while the folk kilns provided the capital and labor.

It can be said: whatever technology the Official Kiln had, the folk kilns basically had; you'd have to be kicked in the head by a donkey to ignore what was readily available and think about innovating. Zhao Xiuneng shook his head decisively: "Junior Brother, it's impossible, at least absolutely not in this country."

That's true too.

If it really were a formula uniquely created by some kiln, it wouldn't be without any historical records, and certainly not without any surviving artifacts.

Unless it was imitated abroad: for example, due to a technological blockade, they couldn't learn it even if they wanted to, so they had to resort to crooked methods...

Eh, wait... abroad?

A flash of light crossed his mind, and Lin Sicheng seemed stunned.

Afterward, he slapped his forehead.

This thing was too strange, and he had been pondering it too seriously, leading himself into a dead end: he had only been thinking about it being a Ming imitation, why hadn't he thought about why it couldn't be a foreign imitation?