The elder son of the owner of Ancient Moon Pavilion was stunned.

The owner of Observing the Micro took a step forward and said urgently, "It's impossible, that brush pot, with its exquisite images, if genuine, would be immensely valuable; however, it was placed in a corner, and Kibapo didn't show enough respect for it, so it must be a fake!"

On hearing this, the elder son of the owner of Ancient Moon Pavilion's eyes lit up: "That makes sense, it must be fake, otherwise, with so many experts here, you wouldn't have taken so long to appraise it."

An appraiser from Observing the Micro, feeling somewhat regretful, said, "Actually, the reason it took us so long was not to verify its authenticity, but to determine which master the exquisite landscape painting on this ink-colored, wood-grain brush pot came from."

In an instant, both the elder son of the owner of Ancient Moon Pavilion and the owner of Observing the Micro were stunned, and then they looked at each other in astonishment.

Meanwhile, the patrons of the gallery, who had paid to enter, along with some seasoned guests, suddenly erupted into chaos.

"A master? My God, does he mean to say that the brush pot was made by a renowned artist? Wow, if it really was made by a renowned artist, the value would be even higher!"

"It should be, if the painting on that brush pot indeed came from a renowned artist, its value would be immeasurable!"

Amid their discussions,

Shen Qiang's eyes also brightened.

In fact, Shen Qiang did know that the ink-colored, wood-grain brush pot was genuine and also knew its dynasty, but he really didn't know who had painted it.

Bianyi didn't know either.

Because Shen Qiang wasn't a historian, he couldn't magically determine, based on scant impressions, whose hand the scrolls came from.

In this respect, he was truly helpless.

Because the essence of the Observation Skill was to determine how long an object had existed and what it was.

As for who had painted it.

And why it was painted that way.

Without being a historian or a professional in the field, it was impossible to determine.

Thus, the price of the ink-colored, wood-grain brush pot had always been set according to its pristine condition.

If the painting on it truly were by a renowned artist, its value would definitely not be reflected by its current price.

The owner of Observing the Micro frowned and said coldly, "Impossible, don't fool me, even if that brush pot is genuine, the style suggests it is an antique from the late Ming to early Qing Dynasty, and during that era, I haven't heard of any renowned artist who made porcelain."

Before Shen Qiang could speak, an elderly expert interjected with a frown: "This ink-colored, wood-grain brush pot is a Qing Dynasty Yong Zheng period imperial court commission, and a well-known court painter from that time was the foreign painter Lang Shining."

On hearing this, the elder son of the owner of Ancient Moon Pavilion sneered: "The paintings of Lang Shining are distinctive, meticulously done with gradient shading, plus the use of colors that cannot be replicated elsewhere are obvious at a glance. As for this ink-colored landscape wood-grain brush pot, neither the brushwork nor the depiction of the landscape and buildings show any characteristics of Western art. If you tell me it came from Lang Shining, I'd laugh my head off."

The owner of Observing the Micro nodded and said, "Correct, during the Yong Zheng period, there weren't many famous painters, even fewer who could be called masters, and even fewer renowned artists who were willing to paint for the Qing Court. Not only does Lang Shining's style not match with it, but others also don't have this brushstroke; his contemporaries who were masters, Leng Mei, skilled in characters, ladies, architectures, animals, he certainly couldn't produce such landscapes and buildings; moreover, after Yong Zheng took the throne, he was neglected."

"Besides, during the Yong Zheng period, who else could be called a master? Tang Dai, skilled in landscape but not in buildings, Chen Mei, skilled in landscape, birds, and buildings, but all his works were influenced by Western methods, Zhang Weibang, skilled in characters, buildings, and plants, he learned Western methods from Lang Shining."

"Ding Guanpeng, skilled in Daoist and Buddhist figures, skilled in portraits, Wang Youxue, studied oil painting, Jin Kun, Cheng Zhidao, Fu Long'an, Ding Yu, Zhan Xi, He Yongqing, Shen Yuan, none of their style characteristics match." The owner of Observing the Micro spoke fluently, "Now tell me, during the Yong Zheng period, which other renowned artist could have a style that matches the landscape and buildings on this brush pot and would be willing to paint for a Yong Zheng imperial commission?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall looked at the owner of Observing the Micro, their faces showing surprise.

"It's just that the owner of Observing the Micro really knows the Yong Zheng period's renowned artists inside out."

"Impressive. During the early Qing, there were indeed many famous painters, but most people had the so-called scholar's stance and were unwilling to paint for the Manchu Qing, so the actual people who would have painted for a Yong Zheng imperial brush pot are probably just these few."

"Amazing, having him explain it like that leaves me baffled; besides these people and those outright unwilling to paint for the Qing Court, I really can't think of any others who could be regarded as masters."

In amidst the buzz of discussions,

The owner of Observing the Micro raised his eyebrows proudly, "So now I suddenly feel that it's very likely you've colluded to deceive me."

"It must be so," the elder son of the owner of Ancient Moon Pavilion sneered, "So this ink-colored, wood-grain landscape brush pot must be a fake! I want you to severely punish Kibapo, otherwise I'm going to expose you on television."

Upon hearing the threats from the elder son of the owner of Ancient Moon Pavilion,

An appraising expert laughed; he clapped his hands and said, "Impressive, the owner of Observing the Micro, you really are not to be underestimated, truly deserving to be called an expert, but you have focused only on those court painters, so you are bound to overlook some other renowned artists."

This statement quieted everyone in the hall.

The team of appraising experts looked at each other and smiled.

Then an expert solemnly declared, "After multiple verifications, we can now assert that this ink-colored, wood-grain landscape brush pot was indeed a Yong Zheng imperial commission, and the landscape buildings on the brush pot were from the famous painter of the Yong Zheng period, Yuan Jiang!"

Upon hearing this name, the people present instantly erupted.

"Yuan Jiang! I know this person; his style name is Wentao, and his pseudonym is Xiuquan. He is a JS Yangzhou native. He was a very influential painter in the history of Chinese painting and also a court painter specializing in landscape and building paintings. During the Yong Zheng period, he was hailed as the foremost in landscape and buildings!"

"Damn, this is incredible, Yuan Jiang, the number one master of landscape paintings during the Qing Dynasty!"

"I'm going to faint, if it had been a painting, I would surely have thought of Yuan Jiang; the Cultural Management Office in TJ city has one of his 'Zhan Garden Scroll,' SH Museum houses a 'East Garden Scroll,' BJ Cultural Relics Bureau has 'Lishan Escape Map Scroll,' and Nanjing Museum holds 'Three Mountains Map Scroll'; who would have thought that such a master would paint on a brush pot!"

"This is absolutely a unique piece, and porcelain is better preserved; it is definitely a rare treasure!"

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