For safety reasons, Chu Chen wanted to find a suitable portable safe, so everyone did not go back to the hotel, but came to Cuiyu Zhai, which is not far from Baxian Temple. In the reception room, Wen Yuting placed the Bodhisattva statue in front of her and asked impatiently: "Brother Chu, please show me, what is so special about this Bodhisattva statue?" Chu Chen joked: "What's so special about a Bodhisattva statue? It's just the original one from this dynasty." "The original one from this dynasty? Where is that one?" Wen Yuting asked impatiently. "I said Xiaowen, don't be so anxious, this thing won't run away on its own." After Chu Chen finished speaking with a smile, he pointed to a place on the rosette and said: "Here, the money is here." "Brother Chu, are you saying this was made in the Xuande year of the Ming Dynasty? It should be very expensive, right? Did you miss it again?" Wen Yuting read the inscription word for word, with an excited face. asked one after another. "What?! Is this a Bodhisattva statue made in the Xuande year of the Ming Dynasty?!" The three men present couldn't help but exclaimed after hearing this. Wen Yuting asked with some surprise: "Why, are the Buddha statues made by Xuandenian very precious?" "How could they not be precious?" Li Guodong said excitedly: "Although I don't play with antiques very much, but I looked up information about Xuande furnaces before. At that time, I also saw information about this. Among the bronze Buddha statues made in ancient times, the bronze Buddha statues from the Yongle and Xuande periods are the most famous, and there are only about three to four hundred of them in the world. You can say they are precious. "Precious." Zhou Wenping admired this statue of Bodhisattva and nodded in agreement: "Yes, starting from the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, a special statue-making institution "Buddha Work" was established in the palace, which was subordinate to the "Queen Supervisor" and specialized in making Tibetan-style statues. Buddha statues. These statues are mainly concentrated in the Yongle and Xuande dynasties, so they are also called "Yongxuan palace statues" or "Yongxuan statues." "However, it is found that nine out of ten existing Ming Dynasty palace statues belong to the Yongle period, and Xuande statues are insufficient. One-tenth of them; at the same time, it was also found that most of the statues in the Yongle period were exquisite in workmanship, reflecting a very high artistic level, while the statues in the Xuande period were generally rough in workmanship and had an average artistic level. " "But Xiaowen, look at this Bodhisattva. The workmanship is so exquisite and the artistic level is very high. It can be said that its craftsmanship and artistic level have broken through the conventions of Buddha statue production in the Xuande period, and it has excellent performance comparable to the Yongle statues. This is very precious. "Brother Zhou, how much is this Bodhisattva statue worth?" Wen Yuting asked with curiosity. Zhou Wenping thought for a while and then said: "This statue is in such good condition, and the gilding on the surface has not peeled off much after so many years. So I think the value of this statue should be at least three million." , if you go to the auction and meet someone you like, you can get it for more than five million. "Wow, it's so expensive. Brother Chu, you are rich again!" Wen Yuting said with envy. Chu Chen waved his hand and said with a smile: "I have never thought about changing hands of this statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva. If such a beautiful and precious statue changes hands, if you want to buy another one, you may not be able to find it at all. " Zhou Wenping and others also nodded in agreement after hearing this. There are only three to four hundred statues of Yongxuan Buddha in the world, and there are only a handful of such exquisite Buddha statues from the Xuande period. For those who really like to collect Buddha statues, if they get such a statue, they will cover it tightly, and they will definitely not take it out and change hands without any accident. "Brother Chu, can you tell us about the characteristics of Buddhist statues in the Yongxuan period?" Chu Yulan asked with a hint of longing. Chu Chen smiled and said: "Xiaolan, you are really eager to learn. What Brother Zhou said just now is very good. Let's listen to Brother Zhou. It's not good to listen to me all the time. Let's talk to someone else, and your horizons will be different." It can be a little more open, and Brother Zhou is still focusing on bronzes.¡± He mainly has knowledge about bronzes, and gilt bronze statues like this are not new at all, so it makes sense for Chu Chen to ask him to explain them to everyone. Zhou Wenping was still confident in this aspect, so he did not shirk and said with a smile: "Okay, since Xiao Chen has given me this task, I will give you a brief explanation. However, my level is limited. If I¡¯m wrong, please forgive me!¡± ¡°After seeing this statue, you should know that it is different from our traditional Buddha statues, and has obvious characteristics of Tibetan Buddhism. This is also because it was the During the important period of the Ming Dynasty's management of Tubo, in order to win over the upper class of Tubo, rewards were given to??A large number of precious gifts, palace statues are a very important part. " " Therefore, a new model of Buddha statues was produced at that time, which perfectly integrated the arts of the two places into one. Only in this way did the world-famous Yongxuan Buddha statues come into being. " "This statue of Xiao Chen can be said to fully express this artistic feature. You see, the characteristics of Yongxuan Buddha statues are plump and upright faces, broad shoulders and thin waists. This statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva shows just that. It has a square face, a solemn expression, broad shoulders, and a tucked-in waist. The body is vividly carved by craftsmen. " "Looking at the decoration, the characteristic of Yongxuan's statue is that the clothing has a strong texture, and the expression is particularly vivid and natural, and this statue shows exactly this. You see, its upper body is decorated with a necklace and a long chain, and its chest and waist are decorated with U-shaped beaded necklaces that were very common at that time. The shoulders are draped with large silk fabrics, and the hands and feet are decorated with bows. In particular, the skirts and silk fabrics are expressed realistically, with smooth and graceful patterns, vividly showing the natural texture of silk fabrics. " "Yongxuan Buddha statues generally use a double-layered waist lotus seat. The lotus seat has a standardized shape and obvious features. The lotus petals are full and the three-dimensional effect is strong. The tip is rolled up into the shape of three beads, and the upper and lower edges are decorated with a circle of round beads of the same size. " Zhou Wenping took a sip of water and continued: "Having said this, I have to say that there is a little difference between the statues of the Yongle period and the Xuande period. Generally, the statues of the Xuande period are fatter than those of the Yongle period, and the lotus petals are also smaller. It is fatter and fuller, and the curly grass pattern on the head of the lotus petals is more complicated and decorative. " "Let's talk about the inscriptions. Generally, Yongxuan statues are inscribed with six characters in soft fonts, engraved in front of the lotus base, and the shape is just like this statue. However, in the Yongle period, the inscription is "Yongle Year of the Ming Dynasty." Give". " Next, Zhou Wenping turned the statue over, pointed to the bottom cover and said: "This is called concealment. This is the best thing about this statue. It is well concealed. Look, there is a beautiful cross engraved in the center of the bottom cover. The vajra, sealing wax, cinnabar and the chop to fix the bottom cover can be seen on the edge of the back cover. These are the basic features of Yongxuan's statue. " "Finally, let's talk about the production process. Yongxuan statues are generally cast in brass. The casting method is the traditional lost wax method of the Central Plains. The statues are all cast together as a whole, without separate casting or welding. Some of the imitations currently on the market are made of red copper and have welding marks. " "Okay, I'll just stop here. Xiaochen, do you have anything else to add? "After saying that, Zhou Wenping breathed a sigh of relief. "Brother Zhou, you gave a very good lecture. I have nothing to add. Let us give the warmest applause to Brother Zhou for this wonderful lecture. " As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Chen started to applaud, and the others also applauded enthusiastically, all appreciating what Zhou Wenping said. "Thank you, thank you, it's all because of Xiao Chen's textbook. A standard statue, otherwise I would just be talking on paper. "Zhou Wenping was humble again and again, with a happy and a little embarrassed look on his face. Wen Yuting smiled and said: "Brother Zhou, please stop being modest. As long as you talk well, I can go to Taobao based on the characteristics you mentioned. And I find it¡¯s pretty easy to pick up leaks. " Zhou Wenping said quickly: "This is not possible. Do you think that every Buddha statue in the Yongxuan period will behave like this statue? Let me tell you, there are many statues among them, either the gilding on them has fallen off, or they are damaged. There are very few of them that are truly similar in appearance to this one. " "As usual, when we see a statue of this kind, we will definitely think it is a fake, let alone one from a stall. Even if we see it, we will choose to turn a blind eye. "After Wen Yuting heard this, she asked in surprise: "In that case, wouldn't there be a lot of good things missed? " Zhou Wenping smiled and said: "Only Xiao Chen is a freak who is surprisingly lucky and can always pick up the slack. Normally, how could there be so much left out for you to pick up? Xiaowen, you have to remember that what you buy is not as good as what you sell. There are hawkers who leak eye drops, but the number is very small. If you hope to catch the leaks through this, be prepared to use eye drops frequently. " Seeing Wen Yuting's longing to pick up leaks, Li Guodong also advised: "Yu Ting, think about it, if you weren't with Xiao Chen, who have you ever heard of who could often pick up leaks? Moreover, we have listened to Xiaochen's advice these few times when we have picked up the leaks. You must not jump in when you are hot-headed. "After Li Guodong finished speaking, Chu Chen and Chu Yulan also advised her to be cautious. Seeing this, Wen Yuting thought about it and could only give up this unrealistic plan, and said a little dejectedly: "Oh, I'm fine. I want to pick up the slack. After I go back this time, I don¡¯t know when I will have such an opportunity. " When Chu Chen saw her like this, he smiled and said, "Xiao Wen, let's go again?We can't meet each other anymore. If you have time, you can go to Panjiayuan to find me with Brother Li or Xiaolan. Then I can also take you to visit several antique markets in the capital. It's not impossible to find something missing. "