Today's intelligence, a Shell Storage Vessel from the Ancient Dian Kingdom: In front of stall No. 43 in the antique market of Lin'an City, a Shell Storage Vessel from the Ancient Dian Kingdom is for sale, you can successfully bargain if you buy it for less than 5000 yuan.

Photos and locations of the relevant items are attached on page two.

Shell Storage Vessel?

What kind of thing is this?

Chen Yiyang, who was waiting to negotiate with the people on Ali's side, saw today's intelligence on antique bargains.

This is the first time he's seen a name like the Shell Storage Vessel.

So he simply searched for it on the computer.

About more than two thousand years ago, there was an ancient kingdom where Yunnan Province is located, generally referred to in historical records as the Ancient Dian Kingdom.

The Ancient Dian Kingdom used shells on a large scale as currency, and indeed, a large number of shells were unearthed later in its location.

Because shell currency was quite large, the nobility cast bronze to create Shell Storage Vessels to store the shells.

These Shell Storage Vessels generally have high artistic and aesthetic value, with many patterns carved on them.

They can be said to be very collectible items.

So, Chen Yiyang gave a few instructions to the accountant and hopped into a taxi alone.

Arrived at the antique market.

Today's antique market in Lin'an was a bit more lively than usual.

It's probably because more people come here to stroll and set up stalls on weekends compared to normal days.

Compared to the antique market in Jin City, the antique market in Lin'an has a large quantity of porcelain.

And these porcelains look very exquisite and are crafted meticulously.

Many porcelains are difficult to distinguish between real and fake. If the buyer is not an expert in the field or a seasoned collector, it's difficult to tell if they are genuine antiques.

Because some porcelains are forged using ancient craftsmanship, it's very hard to discern their authenticity simply by looking at the appearance and material.

Therefore, most ordinary people tend to buy porcelain antiques in large antique shops with seals and endorsements from professional organizations, while this place becomes the favorite spot for various speculators and treasure hunters.

Chen Yiyang found the stall mentioned in the intel.

This stall was quite large, with many porcelains and bronzes.

But most of them were fake.

And they weren't new fakes, but old fakes.

In Huaxia, the issue of antique forgery was already rampant as early as the Song Dynasty when many scholars of the era complained about it.

Moreover, a rather famous stone drum forgery case occurred during the Song Dynasty.

Back then, Song Renzong sent Sima Chi, the father of Sima Guang who wrote Zizhi Tongjian, to find the renowned Chencang stone drums, which only appeared during prosperous times.

There were ten stone drums in total, but Sima Chi only found nine, and too lazy to find the last one, he simply made a fake one to submit to Song Renzong.

Eventually, the fake was spotted by Song Renzong, and Sima Chi was severely punished.

Of course, the last missing stone drum was eventually found by chance.

It turned out to be split into two halves and used by a farmer to pound rice.

Today, all ten stone drums are housed in the Imperial Palace Museum, with a dedicated exhibition hall.

And certainly, that forgery from the past has now ironically become a genuine antique.

For instance, the fake stone drum made by Sima Chi might even still attract collectors today.

And in the early days of the founding of the Republic, after the society became stable, a large number of fake porcelains and bronzes emerged in antique markets across the nation.

If these porcelains and bronzes have circulated until today, the craftsmanship is still the old techniques.

If these porcelains and bronzes show no major issues in style and form, they look identical to genuine antique porcelains and bronzes.

Plus, with the sedimentation of time over the last several decades.

Not to mention outsiders, even insiders with not-so-rich experience have a hard time determining the truth.

Chen Yiyang casually picked up a weighty cup from the stall.

It seemed indistinguishable in appearance from a genuine Ming Dynasty collectible cup.

"How much for this?" Chen Yiyang asked.

"Eighty thousand." The stall owner, an old man, gestured and spat out a price of eighty thousand immediately.

This reminded Chen Yiyang of the stall owner he frequented in Jin City.

It's been a long time since he visited, and he wondered if that stall owner had picked up any new treasures.

"So expensive." Chen Yiyang didn't rush to haggle.

He needed to probe the old man's temperament first, to buy the bronze mentioned in the intel later.

"Look at the style." The old man said unceremoniously, "I'm telling you, this weighty cup can go as early as the Song Dynasty, even if it's not from the Song, it can at least be early Ming."

"Oh, Yongle-era Song imitation weighty cup, right."

"Seems like you know quite a bit." The old man said proudly, "Since you've identified it, naturally you know that eighty thousand is not expensive at all."

"If it really is a Yongle-era Song imitation weighty cup, eighty thousand would be quite a bargain. But boss, are you sure it can reach early Ming?"

"In the antique market, everything is about mutual consent. I can only see Song or early Ming. My words were just offhand. If you too think it's early Ming, I might give you a slight discount."

"I see it at most as from the founding." Chen Yiyang said frankly.

Although the weighty cup really looks authentic.

And it seems to have been displayed for quite some time.

Through observing some subtle clues, Chen Yiyang found that this weighty cup was likely a forgery from just after the liberation.

Forget about antique prices, selling it for a couple thousand would be passable as a decoration.

"Then give me a price." The stall owner gave up arguing about which era the weighty cup originated from.

"Eight hundred." Chen Yiyang slashed the artery directly.

"Are you randomly pricing? I bought this thing for more than eight hundred." The stall owner pointed at the weighty cup, "A few months ago, an old collector here passed away, and his son sold his collection. This weighty cup was collected by me, and I spent thousands on it back then."

"You mean you spent thousands overall, right?" Chen Yiyang didn't believe the stall owner's words at all.

"I don't care, if you buy more items from me, I might sell you this weighty cup for eight hundred, but just for this one cup, eight hundred won't do."

Chen Yiyang and the stall owner haggled a few more times.

Chen Yiyang also figured out the stall owner's mentality.

The stall owner sold things he collected from other places. He didn't really want to fleece people but wanted to earn something.

So Chen Yiyang took the weighty cup and selected several decent porcelains and bronzes.

Finally, he focused on the Shell Storage Vessel mentioned in the intel.

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