After a while, Anthony returned to the gallery with gasoline and towels.
The gallery owner who sobered up also asked his employees to get alcohol and iodine.
In this special period, every store has these things for disinfection.
After getting these things, Xiao Ran did not take action immediately, but pretended to study the ukiyo-e again seriously.
After a moment, he raised his head and looked at Qian Guzhenmei and the others.
"Gentlemen, before I reveal the secret behind this ukiyo-e, I would like to hear your opinions."
"If I'm not wrong, there should be some unreasonable places in this ukiyo-e, or flaws."
"Otherwise, the painting techniques shown in this ukiyo-e should not be ignored."
"You are all Japanese antique dealers. Let's talk about it. I would like to hear your opinions and learn from them."
Qian Guzhenmei and the others couldn't help but blush a little, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
Originally, they wanted to see Xiao Ran's joke, but they didn't expect it, but they themselves became the joke!
After adjusting their emotions a little, they quickly looked at each other, and then Mami Zenitani explained.
"Mr. Sean, you are right. The reason why no one cares about this ukiyo-e is because it has several flaws."
"Those who have studied Japanese culture and history can easily find these flaws, so they will not buy this ukiyo-e."
"The imitation of this ukiyo-e is Master Katsushika Hokusai's masterpiece, Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, and the level is very high."
"But the artist neglected several details, leaving these flaws and greatly reducing the value of this ukiyo-e."
Before he finished speaking, Xiao Ran chuckled.
But he just nodded and continued to listen without making a sound.
After a pause, Zenitani Mami continued to explain.
"The first flaw is the hairstyle of the two samurai in the painting. They have Western-style hairstyles, not the Tsukiyo hairstyle worn by the samurai class in the Edo period."
"The era when Master Katsushika Hokusai lived was the Edo period. The samurai class of that era all had Tsukiyotou, almost without exception."
"In the late 19th century, during the reign of Emperor Meiji, the Emperor issued an order to distribute swords, and the Japanese samurai class gradually stopped leaving their Tsukidai."
"The second flaw is the headdresses of these geishas. Several of them are imported. This is not reasonable at all. It is not difficult to find..."
Next, Zenitani Mami pointed out several flaws.
It is precisely because of these obvious flaws that no one cares about this ukiyo-e.
The gallery owner hung this ukiyo-e here because he obviously wanted to sell it to foreign tourists who didn’t understand.
But who would have thought that this ukiyo-e would actually fall into Xiao Ran's hands.
What surprised the Japanese people at the scene was that there was an unknown secret hidden behind this ukiyo-e.
After listening to Qian Guzhenmei's explanation, Xiao Ran looked at the ukiyo-e, then smiled and nodded.
"I see. I didn't expect that there are so many flaws in this ukiyo-e. No wonder no one cares about it!"
At this point, he suddenly changed the subject.
"But have you ever thought about whether these seemingly obvious flaws could have been done intentionally?"
"Did someone create a second creation on the original painting and did it deliberately? The purpose was to hide some unknown secrets."
"Director Qiangu, in addition to the flaws you mentioned, I also discovered something, or it could be called a flaw."
"The cornice in the upper right corner of this Ukiyo-e is also a flaw, probably covering up the author's signature."
As he spoke, Xiao Ran pointed to the cornice in the upper right corner of the painting.
The corner cornice looks quite natural and blends perfectly with the painting.
If Xiao Ran hadn't pointed it out, no one would have suspected that it was a secondary creation.
Not surprisingly, everyone present was shocked by his words.
"ah!"
Qian Guzhenmei and the others all exclaimed, their eyes widening so wide that they almost flew out.
"How is that possible? All the flaws in this ukiyo-e were done intentionally by someone. Did I hear you right?"
"Is the author's signature really hidden under the eaves? This is incredible and ingenious!"
After waking up, Qiangu Zhenmei and the others said hurriedly, they couldn't believe their eyes and ears.
Especially the gallery owner, whose voice and body were trembling slightly.
He couldn't believe what he just heard.
While exclaiming, Zenitani Mami and the others looked at this ukiyo-e again, and suddenly felt that there were doubts everywhere.
If this is not a fake, but a masterpiece that has been cleverly hidden, is it the work of Katsushika Hokusai?
Thinking of this, Qian Guzhenmei and the others were so excited that they trembled all over!
Who is Katsushika Hokusai?
In the Japanese painting world and the entire Japanese art world, that is a god-like existence!
Every piece of work he left behind is now a national treasure of Japan.
The next moment, Zenitani Mami and the others stepped forward together, preparing to re-appraise the ukiyo-e.
However, Xiao Ran stopped them with a smile.
"Gentlemen, don't get too excited. What I just said is just my speculation after observation."
"Whether these speculations are accurate still needs to be verified one by one. Please be patient and wait for a while. The answers will be released soon."
As he said that, he put on his gloves, picked up the towel and gasoline placed aside, and was ready to take action.
Seeing this scene, Japan's Vice Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and Mami Zenitani said in unison:
"Mr. Sean, please be careful!"
"If this ukiyo-e is the work of Katsushika Hokusai, it is a national treasure of Japan and must not be damaged in any way."
Xiao Ran looked at them, then smiled and nodded.
"Don't worry, gentlemen, I will be careful."
"This is a very special Tibetan painting technique that is rarely seen, but it is not difficult to clean."
"Although the paint covering the original painting looks the same as the paint in the original painting, the composition is different."
"This special paint has a special smell. You can still find it if you smell it carefully. It can be wiped off with gasoline."
As he spoke, he poured a little gasoline on the towel and began to gently wipe the ukiyo-e.
The target he chose was the hair of a samurai in the painting.
At this moment, the gallery owner suddenly trembled and said:
"Yes, there is indeed a faint smell on this painting. I can't tell what it is, and I didn't care."
"But I never expected that this smell is actually emitted by special pigments. It's so amazing and incredible."
While talking, Hasegawa suddenly interrupted.
"Sean, is the special paint you're talking about the same as the paint you found in Philadelphia that was used by McCann to cover up those stolen paintings?"
Xiao Ran shook his head gently.
"These two pigments have similar functions but different formulas"
As soon as he said this, he suddenly stopped talking.
At the same time, most of the hair of the Japanese samurai under his hand had magically disappeared.
Looking at the hairstyle of the Japanese samurai, it turned out to be the extremely ugly Tsukiyo head.
There was no damage to the samurai's head or surrounding areas after it was cleared.
It was obvious that Xiao Ran protected the original work very well during the cleaning process.
Seeing this scene, Qian Guzhenmei and the others were all stunned for an instant.
The next moment, there was a burst of excited exclamations.
"Ah! It's true. This samurai's hairstyle is Tsukiyo. The previous Western-style hairstyle was really painted on later!"
"Oh my God! It's amazing! I've never heard of anything like this. It's incredible!"
"Is it possible that this Ukiyo-e is really the work of Katsushika Hokusai? If so, then this Ukiyo-e is definitely a Japanese national treasure."
While exclaiming, Qiangu Mami and the others were all trembling with excitement and couldn't help themselves.
Xiao Ran just smiled, then changed his target and started cleaning the cornice in the upper right corner of the painting.
Following his movements, Qian Guzhenmei and the others' hearts instantly rose to their throats, staring closely at his every move, not even daring to blink.
Xiao Ran took his time and gently wiped the cornice in the upper right corner of the painting.
In just a moment, part of the corner cornice had disappeared.
What appeared next were two Chinese characters, one, and a small red seal.
Seeing this scene, the Japanese people at the scene went crazy for it.
"Oh my God! This ukiyo-e is actually the work of Master Katsushika Hokusai, and it is his pinnacle work, using the painting number of Ichi!"
"What a blessing! I was actually allowed to see this painting by Katsushika Hokusai come to light again. This is incredible!"
"Without a doubt, this is definitely a Japanese national treasure!"
Qiangu Zhenmei and the others all cheered excitedly, and they all looked like crazy.
Looking at Xiao Ran again, he was still cleaning up.
In a moment, the cornice in the upper right corner of the painting had completely disappeared.
The name of this ukiyo-e also appeared, which is a combination of Chinese and Japanese characters.
The moment they saw the title of the painting, Qian Guzhenmei and the others were stunned on the spot.
The next moment, Hasegawa suddenly trembled and said:
"This is a painting in "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji", but it disappeared as early as the mid-19th century. Not many people have seen it. It only exists in legends."
""Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji" has a total of forty-six paintings. Several of them disappeared long ago, but who would have thought that this painting would actually appear here."
Before she finished speaking, Qian Guzhenmei immediately gave her affirmation.
"Yes, this is one of the famous "Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji", a Japanese national treasure of art!"
"After cleaning off these special pigments on the surface of the painting, the painting suddenly became perfect and mesmerizing!"
While he was talking, the Japanese Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology suddenly took a step forward and bowed ninety degrees to Xiao Ran.
"Mr. Sean, thank you so much for discovering this painting by Katsushika Hokusai, which is a national treasure of our country!"
"As the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, I implore you to keep this national treasure painting in Japan, please!"
"For the transaction between us tomorrow morning, I kindly ask you to add this painting to the transaction list."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran immediately stopped what he was doing.
He turned to look at the senior Japanese official, smiled and said:
"Then it depends on your sincerity. If you can accept my conditions, I will be very happy to trade this painting by Master Katsushika Hokusai to you."
Before the words fell, Qian Gu Zhenmei and the others' hearts trembled.
They knew very well that they were going to be slaughtered again!
This greedy bastard!
One of Katsushika Hokusai's "Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji"
