Accidentally found a dilapidated painting
In 1976, in an ordinary rural village in Gaoyou, Jiangsu, a poor farmer named Lao Zhang inadvertently uncovered a dusty history.
This year, the old house of the old Zhang family was dilapidated, and he decided to renovate this old house that had been with him for several generations. So, Lao Zhang and a few helpers began to demolish the house.
They carefully dismantled the walls for fear of hurting themselves. At this moment, Lao Zhang noticed that something seemed to be hidden in the crack in the wall. Curious, he reached in and touched a hard object.
After some hard work, Lao Zhang finally took out a wooden box from the crack in the wall. The wooden box looks old, and the surface is already covered with dust and cobwebs. Lao Zhang carefully opened the wooden box, and inside it turned out to be a dilapidated painting!
At first, Lao Zhang didn't think there was anything special about this dilapidated painting. In his opinion, this is nothing more than an old piece of waste paper, and he even considers burning it directly.
After all, in the countryside at that time, the people's awareness of cultural relics was still relatively limited, and they paid more attention to practical value. However, Lao Zhang's wife has a different opinion.
Although she didn't understand art, she felt that this painting might not be simple because of her unique intuition for women. She advised her husband that instead of disposing of it hastily, it would be better to find someone to identify it first. This proposal of the wife is undoubtedly a wise move.
After some deliberation, the couple decided to take his wife's advice. But the problem is that in the small village where they live, there is no one who knows how to do it.
So, they thought of Yangzhou City, which is not far away. Yangzhou has been a famous cultural city since ancient times, known as "fireworks in March down to Yangzhou", there should be people who know how to do it.
Early the next morning, Lao Zhang and his wife packed up the painting and took a long-distance bus to Yangzhou. Their destination was a cultural relics shop in Yangzhou, where they hoped to find professionals to authenticate the paintings, and also with the idea of selling them.
After arriving in Yangzhou, they quickly found the famous cultural relics shop. The moment they opened the store, Lao Zhang and his wife couldn't help but be stunned by the dazzling array of antique cultural relics in the store. All kinds of bronzes, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, etc., opened their eyes.
With apprehension, Lao Zhang handed over the painting to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper, an elderly man wearing a pair of reading glasses, carefully opened the scroll. As the scroll unfolded, the shopkeeper's expression gradually became serious.
He carefully examined the painting with a magnifying glass, sometimes frowning, sometimes nodding, all of which made the old Zhang couple nervous, both expecting and afraid to hear the results. Eventually, the shopkeeper raised his head and looked at Lao Zhang and his wife with a complicated look.
The first trade in an antique painting
After some careful observation, he said to Lao Zhang and his wife: "The age of this painting should not be short, judging from the brushwork and ink, it is likely to be a work of the Ming Dynasty." However, due to the poor state of preservation, it is difficult to determine its true value. ”
When Lao Zhang and his wife heard this preliminary judgment, they were both surprised and apprehensive. Although they did not understand art, they also knew that paintings from the Ming Dynasty could be worth a lot of money. So, Lao Zhang boldly asked, "So, boss, how much can you pay to buy this painting?" ”
The boss pondered for a moment and said, "Considering the age and preservation of the painting, I can pay three yuan." This price made Lao Zhang and his wife a little disappointed, after all, they originally imagined that they could sell it for a good price. Lao Zhang's wife whispered to her husband, "Why don't we ask for more?" ”
So, Lao Zhang plucked up his courage and said to the boss: "Boss, this painting is our family's ancestral treasure, can you give ten yuan?" The boss smiled and shook his head, "Ten dollars is too much, at most five will be given to you." ”
After some haggling, the two sides finally settled for five dollars. For rural families at that time, five yuan was a lot of income. Although Lao Zhang and his wife felt a little pity, they also thought that it was better than burning, at least in exchange for some actual gains.
In this way, this ancient painting, which may contain great value, changed hands for five yuan and entered the cultural relics store. Surprisingly, however, the painting's fate did not change as a result.
Although the owner of the antiquities shop saw some value in the paintings, he could not determine the true identity and specific age, and the state of preservation was not good, so he haphazardly stored them in the warehouse.
It wasn't until 1986 that a delegation of China's top art experts came to Yangzhou, tasked with conducting a systematic investigation and study of the local cultural relics. This expedition brought back to light that long-forgotten ancient painting.
The discovery of the value of ancient paintings
When the experts found the painting in the warehouses of the antiquities store, they were immediately attracted by its unique style. After careful identification, the experts were pleasantly surprised to find that this was the authentic work of the famous painter Ni Zan of the Yuan Dynasty!
Ni Zan is one of the "Four Great Masters" of the Yuan Dynasty, and his works have an important place in the history of art. The experts carefully unfolded the scroll, only to see the elegant brush and ink outline a quiet landscape scene.
The moss-covered rocks and the shadows of the trees all show Ni Zhan's unique artistic style. Experts agree that the painting should be named "Moss Tree Shadow Picture" to highlight its artistic characteristics.
The discovery caused a sensation in the art world. The news soon spread to the nearby city of Wuxi, where it attracted the attention of the local government. Realizing the important historical and cultural value of this painting, the leaders of Wuxi decided to collect it in the Wuxi Museum.
After some negotiation, the Wuxi Museum purchased this "moss scar tree shadow map" from the cultural relics store at a price of 100,000 yuan. This price is 20,000 times higher than the 5 yuan sold by Lao Zhang and his wife, which can be called a legend in the cultural relics industry.
However, due to long-term neglect and improper preservation, this precious ancient painting has shown some damage. In order to better protect this national treasure, the Wuxi Museum decided to send it to Beijing for professional restoration by national cultural relics restoration experts.
Restoration experts have taken great care to detail to restore the damaged parts of the original while maintaining its original appearance. It's a long process, but it's worth it.
The treasure of the town
After professional restoration, the "Moss Tree Shadow Map" finally returned to the Wuxi Museum and quickly became the treasure of the museum. This authentic painting from the Yuan Dynasty master Ni Zan is not only an art treasure, but also an important part of China's cultural heritage.
The museum has specially designed a constant temperature and humidity exhibition space for the "Moss Tree Shadow Map", equipped with advanced protection equipment to ensure the long-term preservation of this precious painting.
Whenever it is exhibited, it always attracts a large number of visitors. People stopped in front of the painting for a long time, savoring the quiet and elegant artistic conception of the landscape in Ni Zhan's brush. With the increasing reputation of the "Moss Tree Shadow Picture", its artistic value has also risen.
According to industry experts, if the painting appears at auction, it could be worth as much as 500 million yuan. The great value of this painting is not only reflected in its rarity and artistry, but also in its great significance to the study of the art and culture of Yuan Dynasty painting.
The legendary experience of "Moss Tree Shadow Map" has also attracted the attention of many collectors. Although it is impossible for this painting to enter a private collection as a state-owned cultural relic, its existence has greatly stimulated the market's enthusiasm for Yuan Dynasty calligraphy and painting.
Every year, the Wuxi Museum receives a large number of applications to visit, including art lovers, collectors and researchers at home and abroad. In order to meet the needs of the public, but also to preserve the paintings, the museum has adopted a reservation system and limited the number of visitors per day.
The story of "Moss Tree Shadow Map" is not only a legend of the rediscovery of the value of cultural relics, but also a microcosm of the progress of China's cultural relics protection. It reminds us that there may be priceless cultural treasures hidden in our daily lives, and calls on us to raise awareness of the protection of cultural relics.