The first lesson in learning antiques is that I have two basic views:

1. Long-term preparation

In today's society, due to the vigorous publicity of various media, many People rush into the antique circle with the idea of ??making a fortune, which inevitably brings with them a mentality of eager for quick success. This is a big no-no when playing with antiques.

To play antiques, you must first have a theoretical foundation. Antiques come in many categories and range, involving ancient Chinese culture and artworks, and the knowledge involved is also very broad and profound. You must have basic historical knowledge; at least, in which era you play, you must understand the basic political, economic and cultural levels of this era, have a foundation in traditional Chinese calligraphy, painting, philology, and the history of arts and crafts, and have an understanding of history such as the Tang, Song, and Yuan Dynasties. If you are familiar with the background of the dynasties of Ming, Ming and Qing dynasties, and have a certain understanding of the relevant factors that were prevalent at that time, it will be of great help to learning antiques.

Learning antiques is definitely not like the appraisal classes offered in some places now. You will understand after reading a few books in class? Knowledge is gradually improved day by day through understanding and hard work. The old antique store emphasizes that "the master leads the door, and the practice depends on the individual". Antique shops have had thousands of apprentices for hundreds of years, but not many people can stand up in this industry. This shows that the knowledge here is by no means something that can be mastered in a short period of time. No one in the antique business dares to say: "I know antiques." This is not because they like to be modest, but they are telling the truth. The old antique shop divides the collection into four categories, namely epigraphy, calligraphy and painting, ceramics and miscellaneous items. Inscriptions and stones mainly refer to bronzes and inscriptions. In the lingo of collecting calligraphy and painting, it is called "eating soft pieces". In the lingo of collecting porcelain, it is called "eating hard pieces". In addition to these three items, they are included in miscellaneous items. Old antique people often just say that they have a good eye for a specific cultural relic and can tell the authenticity, such as calligraphy and painting. They can only say that they are good at seeing the calligraphy and painting of a certain dynasty or a certain person, but they cannot say that they can do anything with calligraphy and painting. See clearly. It is possible that a porcelain player is particularly good at a certain kiln in a certain era and can identify everything. In fact, he is a frog in the well who overestimates his abilities. In the antique market, there are countless things, large and small, mistaking false for true and false for false. Today, you feel that you have mastered a certain piece of knowledge and become a master in this field. Tomorrow, the master of imitation has broken through your so-called "impossible imitation" limitation. The truth is as high as the devil. The question of authenticity and counterfeit antiques has always challenged the eyesight of buyers. Many successful people are fighting in the business world, with successful careers and generous incomes. They have enough funds and courage to invest in high-risk industries, and enter the antiques circle based on their past experience. However, due to lack of basic skills, they are rejected by "friends" and "Merchant" acts like a monkey, "takes medicine" for hundreds of thousands or millions, and becomes a "cash machine" for scammers. True stories like this happen every day.

Antiques is a profound university, but it is not easy to graduate after entering it; even connoisseurs and experts will inevitably make mistakes. . It is said in the antique industry that antiques require vision, courage, and financial resources. Among these three abilities, vision is the most important. Knowledge must "advance with the times", and you must be a humble student for a long time so that you will be less "mistaken".

2. Understand both ends

I think that what the antiques industry calls "understand both ends" is the most important learning method.

The so-called two ends mean that one is true and the other is false. The real ones are the museum's collections before the 1980s, which are real unearthed artifacts (such as porcelain pieces, etc.). When you encounter real cultural relics, you must look carefully and repeatedly from all angles, look often, think after looking, and look again after thinking. "Learning without thinking will lead to confusion, thinking without learning will lead to laziness"; until you close your eyes, you will be clear. You can know all the characteristics and appearance of this genuine product. For fakes you buy in the market or the ones you own, you should carefully observe them with the same spirit as the genuine ones, and truly distinguish the absolute similarities and differences between the real ones and the fake ones. Special attention should be paid to the identification of high imitations. This type of product is the most lethal. Those who play with porcelain must go to Jingdezhen, the "Holy Land of Imitation and Counterfeiting", for an in-depth investigation. The author has been to Jingdezhen many times and was "surprised" every time. The prices of the high-end imitations I saw were more than 10,000 yuan, and some of the particularly realistic high-end Ming and Qing official kiln products even cost more than 100,000 yuan. Some imitators even boasted that "this product entered XX place. It can reach X times the price." The degree of imitation of these products is really difficult to distinguish without great skill. They are definitely not the low-quality imitations seen in the antique market, and they are definitely not the same as the imitations a few years ago.

I also encountered such a funny thing in Jingzhen. A master who imitated Yuan blue and white "didn't do it right" and broke the pieces and threw them at the door of his house. Every day, people picked up every piece. It is said that in the antique market, all standard porcelain pieces can be sold at a good price. At present, the most frightening thing is: high imitations are being sold in some authoritative institutions one after another. People's eyes are so deceived that they think this is the genuine product; on the contrary, they cannot understand the genuine product when it is placed in their hands; they really do not understand it. There is a saying in the Dream of Red Mansions, "What is fake is also fake when it is real." This strange phenomenon will seriously dampen the enthusiasm of collectors after repeated occurrences, and will eventually bring the same consequences to the antiques industry as stock speculation.

As the saying goes: A good teacher and helpful friend. In the process of antiques, you should talk and learn more from those who have good morals and good vision, but never do business with each other. "The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water". In an atmosphere of frankness and no money, both parties can communicate with each other. You will be in a happier mood and can easily share your thoughts. Often, when a person encounters a problem that he doesn’t know how to solve, the next sentence will suddenly make sense.

Also note that you must respect all experts but do not blindly worship them, but listen to anyone with a critical spirit. A misjudgment of one thing actually hides your own mistakes in the future. Possibility of taking medicine. The authenticity of something cannot be determined by whether someone is right or wrong in a certain sentence, but is based on ironclad evidence. Don’t just listen to the stories about where this thing went, but analyze it based on your own accumulated knowledge. Never buy if you don’t understand or are not sure about it. It is better to let it go than to be fooled. As long as you have a discerning eye, you are not afraid of not buying a good one. goods. The ancients said "be knowledgeable, interrogate, think carefully, discern clearly, and practice diligently", and modern antique collectors said "see more and buy less". These are all wise words for antiquities.