This price is a bit high, and Zhou Leyuan's crystal snuff bottle was auctioned for about this price.
It stands to reason that there is no price like this in the ghost market. The boss obviously took Xie Baokun as his scapegoat.
However, Xie Baokun was very wealthy. With a wave of his hand, the bodyguard behind opened the suitcase and took out one hundred thousand yuan in cash.
When the boss saw the dense cash in the suitcase, his eyes widened and he hated himself for not offering a price that was harsh enough...
But one hundred thousand yuan is not bad. He bought this snuff bottle from his old house two years ago. It only cost one thousand yuan. It has increased a hundred times in two years. What else is he dissatisfied with?
At this time, He Ren also took out a snuff bottle with a painting on it from a pile of snuff bottles, "Boss, how much does this cost?"
Xie Baokun saw that there were paintings on it, took a closer look, and then lost interest.
This snuff bottle is slightly smaller than Zhou Leyuan's. Although it is also painted inside, the painter is also good. It can be seen that he has deep skills in fine brushwork, but the painting is Western painting.
On one side is an old Western man with a high nose, deep eyes, heavy curly beard, and a kind face. On the other side was a blond woman with fair features and half-toned hair. She looked more like an imitation of a Western oil painting, which Xie Baokun didn't like very much.
Moreover, this snuff bottle is made of copper with a glass middle, so the material is inferior...
The street stall owner obviously thought so too. He collected this when he bought out his old house. He couldn't remember the exact amount, but he thought it was only one hundred and eighty yuan.
"This is just a gift, just take it with you."
"Then thank you boss."
He Ren immediately stood up, put the snuff bottle into his backpack, and pulled a few people away quickly.
The boss was still a little regretful. He really wanted these people to stay a little longer. He still had a few things that he hadn't tricked out.
Zhang Nuo and Liu Fei already knew He Ren very well. They knew from his look that the snuff bottle was not simple. Zhang Nuo asked, "Is it valuable?"
He Ren nodded solemnly, "It's very valuable, it's a big mistake."
Zhang Nuo curled his lips, "How big can it be? Is it more valuable than Hongxian porcelain and underglaze red?"
He Ren flipped up his hair and pretended to be cool, "It's only seven or eight hundred thousand..."
"ah?"
Even Xie Baokun was surprised this time. Seven or eight hundred thousand is nothing to him. The question is, is the gift worth so much?
"Brother He, tell us the secrets inside."
There happened to be a simple rest area in front, which was used by the organizer for guests to rest. The black market had just started not long ago, and there was no one there except an old man selling tea.
He Ren pointed, "Just in time, let's go over and have some tea."
The four of them ordered a pot of Biluochun. As soon as He Ren took out the snuff bottle, Xie Baokun asked first, "Brother He, isn't this a Western oil painting?"
"It's a Western oil painting, but there's also Chinese gongbi painting. If you look at the lines and the outline of the characters, it's obviously based on gongbi painting, and it's very accomplished. It may have been painted by a palace painter, and the paste seems to be from the Qianlong period."
Xie Baokun was shocked, "The court painter during the Qianlong period? Ding Guanpeng, Lang Shining or Zhang Yannian?"
Xie Baokun was talking about famous court painters during the Qianlong period, but He Ren couldn't tell whose hand it was because there was no signature.
He judged that the years of Qianlong's reign were also given by the treasure-appraisal eye, but there was no author on the treasure-appraisal eye.
"I don't know either. It should have been done in private...eh?"
He Ren originally took a flashlight to shine on the inner wall of the snuff bottle to see if there was any hidden signature. Unexpectedly, he actually discovered something after taking a photo.
Just at the bottom of the snuff bottle, there is a mark.
He Ren quickly lifted up the snuff bottle and said, "Xiao Nuo, look at what's written underneath?"
"Qianlong... made in the year, it is really a work from the Qianlong period."
He Ren was a little disappointed. There was a huge difference in price between court painters and court painters with specific names. If it had been painted by Castiglione, this snuff bottle would have fetched at least over one million.
Then He Ren shook his head again. It is true that Lang Shining was a court painter, but he was not good at interior painting. It should be said that it was not a profession at all.
"Young man, can you let me see this snuff bottle?"
At this moment, a slightly older voice came. He Ren looked back and found that it was an old man in a suit.
Before he could speak, Xie Baokun suddenly stood up and cupped his hands, "It turns out to be Mr. Fang, disrespectful."
Seeing this, He Ren also stood up. Xie Baokun introduced, "This is Mr. Fang Mingxuan, the president of the Jiangsu Provincial Antiques Association, director of the National Antiques Association, and a famous collector. Mr. Fang, this is He Ren."
He Ren quickly saluted and said hello, while Fang Mingxuan was a little surprised, "Do you know me?"
Xie Baokun smiled and said, "I was lucky enough to have a meal with Mr. Fang the year before last."
Fang Mingxuan still didn't think of it, but he didn't ask. There were too many people who had dinner with him every year. Instead, he focused on the snuff bottle in He Ren's hand.
"Little friend He, can you allow me to have a look?"
He Ren put the snuff bottle on the table and made a gesture of invitation. Fang Mingxuan immediately stepped forward and picked up the snuff bottle. A young man next to him turned on a flashlight and handed over a pair of magnifying glasses, very professionally.
Xie Baokun introduced in a low voice in He Ren's ear, "Mr. Fang likes snuff bottles very much. He has a lot of them at home. He must be very happy to see them."
Sure enough, after Fang Mingxuan read it, he took the initiative and said, "Sure enough, it is a snuff bottle with interior painting from the Qianlong period. It is also a painting by a palace painter. It is a pity that it is not from the palace."
He Ren was sweating. His fantasy that it was a painting by Castiglione just now was already very unreliable. In the end, Fang Mingxuan actually imagined that it was something from the palace. Why didn't he imagine that it was something used by Qianlong?
Xie Baokun asked, "Mr. Fang, can you tell which palace painter painted the interior painting?"
Mr. Fang put the snuff bottle on the table and said, "Lang Shining."
"ah?"
He Ren was confused, was it really Lang Shining? How did you get it?
Fang Mingxuan saw He Ren's doubts, "The original painting was painted by Lang Shining. I saw it twenty years ago. Unfortunately, it was bought by a foreign collector... The inner painting was copied by a craftsman based on Lang Shining's painting, and the value is not very high." Low."
I see.
He Ren and Xie Baokun suddenly realized that the only Qing Dynasty court painter who was good at both Western oil painting, Chinese fine brushwork, and figure painting was probably Lang Shining.
"I wonder if you, little friend He, are willing to give up your love? Give me the snuff bottles? I am willing to pay one million."
He Ren couldn't wait to give Fang Mingxuan free shipping. He originally thought that it would be enough to sell it for 7 or 8 million. Even if he copied Lang Shining's works, he would not get more than 100. He didn't expect that Fang Mingxuan liked it so much. How could he not sell it?
Fang Mingxuan didn't talk nonsense. He waved his hand and the young man behind him handed over a suitcase. When he opened it, it was filled with a box full of cash.
After receiving the money and goods, Fang Mingxuan handed over his hand again, turned around and left calmly, very coolly.
Of course, if anyone can make a million dollars without blinking an eye, he must be very cool...
Under He Ren's shocked eyes, Xie Baokun said, "Mr. Fang's father is a well-known businessman in Su Province, and he is a serious second-generation rich man..."
