Chapter Seventy-Five Explanation

  For safety's sake, Chuyan wanted to find a suitable portable safe deposit box, so everyone didn't go back to the hotel, but came to Cuixu Zhai, which is not far from Baxian An.

  In the living room, Wen Yuting put the Buddha statue in front of her and asked eagerly: "Chu Ge, show me, what's so special about this Buddha statue?"

  Chu Chen joked: "What's so special about a Bodhisattva statue? It's just the style of our dynasty."

  "What's going on today? Which one is it?" Wen Yuting asked impatiently.

  "I told Xiaowen, don't be so anxious, this thing won't grow legs and run away by itself."

  Chu Chen smiled and said, pointing to a position on the lotus seat: "Here, it's here."

  "Great Ming Xuan De year's product, Brother Chu, are you saying this was made in the Great Ming Xuan De year? That should be very valuable, right? Did you pick up another bargain?" Wen Yuting read the inscription word by word and asked excitedly.

  "What?! This is a Bodhisattva statue made in the Xuande period of the Ming dynasty?!"

  The three men present couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

  Wen Yuting asked in surprise: "What's going on? Are Buddha statues made by Xuan De Nian very valuable?"

  "How can it be worthless!"

  Li Guodong excitedly said: "Although I don't play with antiques, when I was looking up information on Xuande furnaces before, I also saw information about this. The copper Buddha statues made in our ancient times are most famous during the Yongle and Xuande periods, and there are only about 300-400 existing in the world, you say how precious they are."

  While admiring the Bodhisattva statue, Zhou Wenping nodded in agreement: "Yes, from the Yongle period of the Ming dynasty, a special image-making institution 'Buddha work' was established in the palace, belonging to the 'Imperial Supervision', specializing in the production of Tibetan-style Buddha statues. These images are mainly concentrated in the Yongle and Xuande dynasties, so they are also called 'Yongxuan Palace Image' or 'Yongxuan Image'."

  However, it was found that more than 80% of the existing Ming dynasty court sculptures belong to the Yongle period, and the Xuande sculptures account for less than one tenth; at the same time, it was also found that most of the Yongle period sculptures were exquisitely crafted, reflecting a very high artistic level, while the Xuande period sculptures were generally rough in workmanship and average in artistic level.

  "But Xiaowen, look at this Bodhisattva statue, the craftsmanship is so exquisite, and the artistic level is extremely high. It can be said that its craftsmanship and artistic level have both broken through the conventional Buddhist image production of Xuande period, and have a superb performance comparable to Yongle's Buddha statues. This point is truly precious."

  "Zhou Ge, then how much is this Bodhisattva statue worth?" Wen Yuting asked with a curious face.

  "After some thought, Zhou Wenping said: 'This statue is in such good condition, the gilding on its surface has not fallen off after so many years, so I think this statue's value should be at least 3 million. If it were to be auctioned and met with someone who likes it, it could fetch over 5 million.'"

  "Wow, it's so expensive! Brother Chu, you've made a fortune again!" Wen Yuting said with envy.

  Chu Chen waved his hand and smiled: "This Manjusri Bodhisattva statue, I never thought of passing it on. Such a delicate and precious statue, if passed on, it's likely that you won't be able to find another one even if you want to."

  Zhou Wenping and others nodded in agreement after listening. The Buddha statue of Yongxuan is one of the few in the world, with only three to four hundred existing. Such a fine Buddha statue from the Xuanhe period is even more rare. For those who truly like collecting Buddha statues, if they get their hands on one like this, wouldn't they treasure it and not let it go easily?

  "Brother Chu, can you tell us about the characteristics of Buddhist statues during the Yongzheng period?" Chu Yulan asked with a hint of eagerness.

  Chu Chen smiled and said, "Xiao Lan, you really are a quick learner. What Brother Zhou just said was excellent. Let's let Brother Zhou do the talking for now. It's not good to always listen to me alone. Changing speakers can broaden our horizons a bit. Besides, Brother Zhou is mainly focused on bronze, after all."

  Xijing has been the capital of Zhou, Qin, Han and Tang dynasties, and a large number of bronze artifacts have been unearthed over the years. Zhou Wenping has been exposed to this knowledge since childhood, so his expertise in antiques is mainly focused on bronze artifacts. Therefore, it's reasonable for Chu Chen to ask him to explain the bronze gilt statue, which doesn't seem strange at all.

  Zhou Wenping was still confident in this regard, so he didn't make excuses and smiled as he said:

  "Alright, since Xiao Chuan has assigned this task to me, I'll just say a few simple words. However, my level is limited, so if I make any mistakes, please forgive me!"

  "After everyone has seen this statue, they should know that it is different from our traditional Buddhist statues, with obvious characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism. This is also because at that time, during the Ming Dynasty's rule over Tibet, in order to win over the upper class of Tibet, a large number of precious gifts were bestowed, and court-made statues were an important part of this."

  Thus at that time a new type of Buddha image pattern was produced, perfectly combining the art of both places, and thus the famous Yongxuan Buddha statues were created.

  "This statue of Xiaochen can be said to have fully demonstrated this artistic feature. You see, the characteristics of Yongxuan Buddha statues are plump and dignified faces, broad shoulders and narrow waists. And this statue of Manjusri Bodhisattva is exactly that, with a square face, solemn expression, thick shoulders, and a slender waist, its body vividly carved by craftsmen."

  "Looking at the decoration, the characteristic of Yongxuan's sculpture is that the texture of the clothing is very strong, and it is particularly vivid and natural. This sculpture is just like this. You see, on its upper body, there are decorative collars and long chains, and on the chest and waist, there are U-shaped pearl pendants that were especially common at that time. The shoulders are draped with large ribbons, and the hands and feet have ring decorations. Especially, the skirt and ribbons are depicted in a realistic style, with smooth and beautiful folds, vividly expressing the natural texture of silk fabrics."

  "The usual base used for the Yongxuan Buddha statue is a double-layered lotus seat with a bundled waist. The lotus seat has a standardized shape, distinct characteristics, full petals, and a strong three-dimensional effect. The tip of the seat is curled up into three round bead-like shapes, and the upper and lower edges are each decorated with a row of consistent-sized round beads."

  Zhou Wenping took a sip of water and continued: "When it comes to this, I want to mention that there is another difference between the images of Yongle period and Xuande period. Generally speaking, the images of Xuande period are slightly fatter than those of Yongle period, with fuller and more plump lotus petals, and the scroll grass patterns on the top of the lotus petals are more intricate and decorative."

  "Let's talk about the inscriptions again. Generally, the Yongzheng period Buddha statues have six-character font with soft and beautiful strokes, carved on the front of the lotus seat, just like this statue. While those from the Yongle period are carved with 'Da Ming Yong Le Nian Shi'."

  Next, Zhou Wenping turned the statue over and pointed at the seal on the bottom:

  "This is called mounting, and the good thing about this statue is that it has been mounted well. You see, on the bottom cover in the center, there are beautifully carved vajras, and along the edges of the sealed bottom cover, you can see sealing wax, cinnabar, and the cut mouth for fixing the bottom cover. These are all basic characteristics of Yong Xuan's statues."

  "Finally, let's talk about the manufacturing process. Yongxuan Buddha statues are generally made of brass casting using the traditional lost-wax method from Central Plains. The statues are cast as a whole without any welding or assembly marks. However, some counterfeit products on the market are made of red copper and have welding scars."

  "Alright, I'll just stop here. Do you have anything else to add, Xiao Chuan?" After finishing speaking, Zhou Wenping let out a sigh of relief.

  "Brother Zhou, you've spoken extremely well. What can I possibly add to that? Let's give Brother Zhou a round of the warmest applause for this brilliant lecture."

  As soon as the words fell, Chu Chen led the applause, and others followed with warm applause, praising Zhou Wenping's wonderful words.

  "It's too kind, too kind. It's all because of Xiaochun's standard-setting teaching book-like image. Otherwise, I'm just talking on paper." Zhou Wenping repeatedly showed humility, with a happy and somewhat embarrassed expression on his face.

  Wen Yuting smiled and said, "Don't be modest, Zhou Ge. What you said is good, I can even go to Taobao based on the characteristics you mentioned, and I found that picking up bargains is also quite easy."

  "This won't do, you think every Buddha statue from the Yongzheng period is as well-preserved as this one? I'm telling you, many of them have lost their gilding or are damaged themselves. Ones that are truly similar to this one in quality are extremely rare."

  "As we usually see this kind of goods, we will definitely think it's a fake product in our heart, let alone it's on a small stall, even if we saw it, we would choose to ignore it."

  Wen Yuting heard this and asked in surprise: "But then, won't we miss out on a lot of good things?"

  Zhou Wenping laughed and said, "Only Xiao Chuan, this freak, has incredibly good luck and always manages to pick up bargains. Normally, how could there be so many bargains for you to pick up? Little Wen, remember that buying is not as precise as selling, and the number of small vendors with loopholes is very small. If you rely on picking up bargains like this, then prepare to use eye drops frequently."

  Li Guodong saw Wen Yuting's eager expression to pick up leaks, and advised: "Yuting, think about it, if you weren't with Xiaochun, have you ever heard of anyone who can often pick up leaks? Moreover, our several times picking up leaks were all listened to Xiaochun's opinions, you must not rush into it impulsively."

  Li Guodong finished speaking, Chu Chen and Chu Yulan also advised her to be cautious. Seeing this, Wen Yuting thought for a moment and could only give up on this unrealistic plan, saying somewhat dejectedly:

  "Woe is me, I really want to take advantage of this opportunity. After going back, who knows when I'll have another chance like this."

  Chu Chen saw her like this, and smiled: "Xiao Wen, we're not unable to meet now. When you have time, you can also come with Li Ge or Xiao Lan to Panjia Garden to find me. At that time, I can take you to stroll around several antique markets in Beijing. It's possible to pick up some bargains."