Since Wang Ding wanted to see the snuff bottles to help her, the woman was particularly enthusiastic. Putting down the travel bag on her shoulder, the woman took out the items she had brought to sell one by one for Wang Ding and Wang Lingling to see.
When women came to the antique city, they just wanted to do some business and sell some things. Now that the porcelain scandal has passed, women naturally still want to put all their belongings on display. At the same time, they took out a lot of various materials from their bags. Different snuff bottles were handed to the two of them to look at while explaining with a smile.
"What I have collected here are just some snuff bottles. As you all know, Gancheng has been an ancient city since ancient times. It has produced quite a lot of dignitaries over the years. Almost all of these people had set up their own businesses in the countryside at that time. Although after so many years, After baptism, the remote rural areas have not suffered the heavy damage of all ages. Occasionally, you will find some good objects left over from the past. From mahogany furniture, tables, chairs and screens to small antiques, jade pendants, pearls and agate, there have been traces of them.
I am a farmer living in the outer suburbs of Gancheng City. I opened a small shop with my husband at home. Nowadays, folk antique collection is very popular, and people in the city often go to their shop to hunt for goods. My brothers take advantage of the slack time of farming. I followed some smart people in the village to tinker with antiques. The income was quite considerable. So I was tempted. I followed some of my brothers to the countryside for a while and collected some snuff that looked pretty good. Hu came to the antique city to set up a stall."
As the woman spoke, she had already placed all the snuff bottles on the stall. Wang Ding and his sister saw that these snuff bottles were quite beautiful, so they squatted on the ground and enthusiastically took the snuff bottles the woman handed them and placed them on the stall. Studying it in the palm of your hand.
Don't tell me, this woman has collected quite a lot of snuff bottles. They are made of various materials, including glass, metal, stone, imitation jade, imitation agate, and even walnut.
Most of them are made of glass and are exquisitely made. The patterns of various flowers, birds, insects, fish, melons, fruits, pears and peaches painted on the pots look lifelike and full of beauty. The "material" quality of snuff bottles in ancient times refers to the current Glass material. Glass itself is not expensive, so the quality of the snuff bottle lies in its workmanship. The best workmanship is "Guyue Xuancai", which is commonly known as enamel color, followed by the five-color glass made in the West. And I want to discover a kind of glass among the people. It is extremely difficult to make "Guyue Xuancai", so Wang Ding basically focuses on other materials.
At this moment, what Wang Ding took in his hand was a porcelain snuff bottle. On the bottle was a picture of a shepherd boy herding cows. On the pot, there was a clever shepherd boy riding on the back of a naive big buffalo. The whole picture was lifelike. , the artistic conception of the picture is full of interest. Although it is not an old item, the porcelain feels good, smooth and delicate to the touch. So I asked about buying one to play with.
"Sister, how much does this snuff bottle cost?"
"Little brother, if you like this snuff bottle, I will give it to you. You just helped me so much, I can't charge you for it."
"Then how can it be done? It's one thing and another. I helped you just now because you couldn't stand the behavior of those people. Now we are doing business. If I buy and you sell, I will definitely give you money."
"That's it... Let me tell you the truth, I paid two hundred yuan for this pot. If you want it, I'll charge you two hundred and thirty yuan, okay?"
"Two hundred and thirty?"
Wang Ding thought to himself, for a woman to come here from the countryside, she has to pay for the toll, and the street stall fee is more than thirty yuan, so how can she make any profit by charging herself two hundred and thirty yuan.
"Haha! Then sister, don't you suffer a loss? After spending the capital, plus the round trip expenses and the stall fee, it only adds 30 yuan. Isn't it enough? Otherwise, I will take a look and see if there is anything I like.
I’ll buy you a few more, and finally, sister, just give us a cheaper price based on your usual selling price.”
"Okay, then look. I'll give you a little discount in the end."
As Wang Ding spoke, his eyes had already passed over the snuff bottle in the picture of a shepherd boy herding cows, and looked at the next snuff bottle.
The appearance of this snuff bottle was simple, and it looked very similar to those amber snuff bottles. However, after looking at it up close, Wang Ding discovered that it was not. I don’t know where this woman got this snuff bottle from, but the body had a lot of buildup.
The dirt almost completely covered the pot itself with a light earthy color.
The reason why Wang Ding fixed his focus on this snuff bottle was because when Wang Ding concentrated on looking at the snuff bottle, spiritual energy would flow out unconsciously.
After so many experiences of picking up antiques, Wang Ding came to some conclusions, that is, every time he picks up antiques, his pupils will always have more or less this reaction. Although he still doesn’t know what this rule is,
But this phenomenon told Wang Ding to a certain extent that this snuff bottle was not ordinary, and
Moreover, when the light emitted from the pupils reaches the snuff bottle, there is also a faint golden light that reflects out. The color of this golden light seems to be a symbol of age. The darker it is, the older it is. The degree at this time is based on past experience.
Wang Ding felt that this snuff bottle was from the Qing Dynasty, but Wang Ding could not confirm it at the moment.
In antique appreciation books, Wang Ding also saw information about miscellaneous gadgets such as snuff bottles. He remembered that the book specifically recorded that snuff bottles made of porcelain and "material" were most popular on the market.
In the Qing Dynasty, the blue and white underglaze red official kiln snuff bottles of the Yongzheng period had thin bodies, and the fired blue and white snuff bottles with paste bodies were more creative and had thin bodies. During the Qianlong period, they focused on the enamel-colored snuff bottles with a strong three-dimensional effect, and achieved great success.
Overshadowing the blue and white. The output of blue and white snuff bottles from Jiaqing official kiln is not large, so
The odd-glazed blue and white is expensive, but it is not as outstanding as the carved porcelain snuff bottles of that time. During the Daoguang period, most of the porcelain snuff bottles were fired in private kilns, with a large number, focusing on pastels. Many blue and white colors have floating colors and uneven thickness.
The glaze and carcass are not tightly combined. Most snuff bottles from folk kilns have no value-preserving function.
Now, if this snuff bottle is from a folk kiln during the Daoguang period, then it may be an ordinary snuff bottle, but it is also possible that it is from other eras, so there is a possibility of leakage.
Thinking of this, Wang Ding took the snuff bottle, which looked like jade, in his hand and looked at it carefully.
The texture of this bottle is moist after you buy it, and it feels warm and delicate. What makes it different from other snuff bottles is that unlike other snuff bottles, which mostly use hand-painted landscapes or patterns of ladies, its body is made of openwork carving techniques, making the whole body exquisite and clear.
.According to Wang Ding’s understanding of the snuff bottle carving techniques, in addition to the relief and openwork techniques used for bamboo carving, wood carving, or root carving, the only remaining ones are ivory carving.
The craft of ivory carving was at its peak during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and gradually developed from large-scale ivory carvings to "small carvings", among which snuff bottles were included.