Chapter 481: Hard to Estimate

A group of people gathered around the coffee table, listening to Zhao Xiuneng and Peng Yanzhi discuss, their expressions growing increasingly strange.

Hearing "Official Kiln," Ye Xingchi's spirit jolted.

No matter how much of an armchair theorist he was, he at least knew the difference between Folk Kiln and Official Kiln porcelain: the former cost hundreds or thousands, reaching at most tens of thousands.

But the latter was at least hundreds of thousands, or even millions.

Afterwards, hearing "Lang Kiln," a look of disbelief appeared in Ye Xingchi's eyes.

The so-called Lang Kiln, if used as a general term, refers to the Official Kiln porcelain fired in Jingdezhen under the supervision of Jiangxi Governor Lang Tingji during the Kangxi era.

But Zhao Xiuneng and Peng Yanzhi had already mentioned Official Kiln, so there was no need to mention it again. Therefore, the Lang Kiln here must specifically refer to: porcelain produced exclusively for imperial use during Lang Tingji's tenure as the official in charge of ceramics.

Both are Official Kilns, but the gap between porcelain for palace use and porcelain for ministry use is like a mountain...

The more Ye Xingchi thought about it, the more wrong it felt: "Old Peng, Yao Qiming has at least some discernment; with such a big difference, can he not see it?"

Peng Yanzhi opened his mouth, not knowing how to explain.

It wasn't that it couldn't be said, but that it couldn't be explained in a few words.

If one were to ask, is there a difference between Official Kiln polychrome and Folk Kiln polychrome?

The answer is yes, and the difference is significant.

The main reason is the craftsmanship and technology, followed by cost: the clay, glaze, and pigments used by the Official Kiln are better, the technology is more comprehensive, and the workmanship is more meticulous. When these factors are combined, the advantages and disadvantages are magnified infinitely. As long as one is a seasoned Appraiser, one can distinguish them with a little care.

But there is one exception: Export Porcelain.

In the early Qing Dynasty, the imperial court strictly implemented a policy of closing the country, and it was not until the twenty-third year of Kangxi that the sea ban was reopened.

In order to expand export trade, Kangxi issued an edict requiring the ceramic supervisor to strictly oversee the production quality of Export Porcelain, which was roughly "official supervision, folk firing." He also specifically emphasized that porcelain customized for European nobles must be produced according to the requirements of the Official Kiln, including raw materials and craftsmanship:

Whatever clay the Official Kiln uses, the customized porcelain must use the same clay. Whatever glaze the Official Kiln uses, the customized porcelain must use the same glaze. Whatever craftsmanship the Official Kiln uses, the customized porcelain must use the same craftsmanship.

This resulted in the difference between the two types of porcelain being extremely small: identical bodies, identical bases, and identical glazes.

But the difference was only small, not non-existent: the customized porcelain used the kilns of the Folk Kiln, and the potters were Folk Kiln workers.

Just take one point: if the Official Kiln fired poorly, the punishment was exile at best, and execution at worst. If the customized porcelain was fired poorly, the punishment was a few lashes at best, or at most a few years in prison. The sunk costs were different, which led to the customized porcelain being inferior to the Official Kiln in terms of temperature and fire control precision, as well as the meticulousness of body shaping, painting, and Glazing. Not to mention anything else, just looking at the painting: the same few flowers, painted by a common worker versus a master Craftsman, are two completely different concepts.

Therefore, if this plate had just come out of the kiln, with Yao Qiming's discernment and foundation, he should have been able to identify it.

But the problem is, from the time this plate was fired until now, it has been at least three hundred years.

Although it was stored in a sealed environment for part of that time, it was only for a portion of it. At least half of the time, it was stored in a normal environment. And this time period was at least a hundred years. After a hundred years of oxidation, the external differences have become so small that they are almost impossible to distinguish with the naked eye. At this point, discernment is no longer possible through eyesight alone, but relies on experience and knowledge reserves: over time, what can be assimilated and what cannot.

Zhao Xiuneng's experience is rich enough, and Peng Yanzhi's knowledge reserve is broad and deep enough; even so, the two of them are only suspicious. As for how much certainty they have: at most ten percent.

The key is that from the time Kangxi opened the sea ban until the fall of the Qing Dynasty, there has never been a history of Official Kilns firing Export Porcelain, let alone the Imperial Kiln? In this way, the original ten percent certainty might be less than one percent.