Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 913: Chapter 909: Flaws

In fact, when Huo Sining first saw this jade set, she almost mistook it for Khotan jade, but she quickly discovered the flaws in this jade tea set.

The jade set before her eyes is indeed made of Khotan jade and uses a design from the Qianlong Era, but it is not an antique; rather, it is a modern replica.

On the spout of this teapot, around the edge of the spout, some carvings resembling plum blossoms are depicted.

This teapot is engraved with orchids and chrysanthemums, yet plum blossoms are carved at the spout, which is odd in itself. Moreover, no jade carver would ever carve patterns on a spout; it simply defies common reasoning.

With sharp eyes, Huo Sining noticed something amiss with the spout after a mere glance.

In the cluster of those plum blossoms, a very fine crack is subtly hidden.

The creator of this teapot was clever; the crack is in an unusual location, and with the added cover of the floral patterns, an average person would never notice the crack.

However, it was precisely these few plum blossoms that revealed the secret of the teapot, embellishing unnecessarily, which allowed Huo Sining to spot the deception at once.

This kind of crack at the rim is also called a ”collision mouth” in the antiquities circle. There is an old saying, ”A person fears losing their head, a stove or pot fears a collision mouth.”

During the carving process of jade artifacts, to maintain the integrity of the jade, drilling through the jade often requires drilling and hollowing. The friction between the tool and the workpiece generates a lot of heat, and if water is not added promptly to cool it, it will expand and inadvertently cause the jade to crack, resulting in what is called a collision mouth, or a fracture appearing in the jade.

The production process of stove pots is cumbersome, but the drilling and hollowing process is indispensable. Once a collision mouth occurs, the entire piece of jade is ruined, requiring a new piece of jade to be selected and the process restarted.

A teapot is considered a type of stove pot, and a collision mouth at the rim is a fatal flaw. Even if the carver tried to disguise it with patterns, at first it might not be apparent, but over time, the crack would get larger and eventually cause the entire teapot to shatter.

This is one of the reasons why Huo Sining considered the teapot to be a modern product made not long ago. If it were truly a product of the Qianlong Era, this teapot would have shattered long ago and could never have been preserved for such a long time.

More importantly, Khotan jade genuine articles were made within the Imperial Court, where master artisans gathered, and the imperial crafts emphasized meticulousness. If a gaffe like a collision mouth were found, keeping such a teapot would cost one’s head; no one could afford such a risk.

Thus, many imperial artifacts were crafted without sparing any expense. In a hundred productions, creating one perfect masterpiece was considered an accomplishment, which is also why Khotan jade has such a low survival rate. The success rate for such jade artifacts was too low, and civilian workshops simply couldn’t afford such expenses and couldn’t produce such masterpieces.

Aside from the collision mouth, this tea set has an even more fatal problem—the patterns.

This is also why Huo Sining recognized the tea set as a fake at first glance.

Artifacts need embellishment to be considered attractive. Any antique or artifact from any era bears the cultural characteristics of that period, and one of the most significant expressions of culture is the object’s patterns.

The patterns on this tea set are intricately carved, which is indeed a feature of Khotan jade, but the biggest problem lies in these patterns.

The maker of this tea set obviously never considered that orchids and chrysanthemums are things only found in the Central Plains; the western regions do not produce them. Since Khotan jade was introduced from the western regions because the Emperor and the consorts liked it, the court artisans would naturally maintain the jade’s original western charm. To carve orchids and chrysanthemums on Khotan jade results in something out of place, entirely incongruous.

While orchids and chrysanthemums might now be planted in the ancient Khotan area of Kashmir, during the Qianlong period when planting technology was underdeveloped, they certainly weren’t, so how could they be carved onto jade artifacts?

To verify her guess, Huo Sining casually ran her fingers over the tea set and found, as she had suspected, that the tea set had no patina, indicating that it was made no more than five years ago.

Saddened by this result, Huo Sining couldn’t help but shake her head inwardly.

Because the owner of Yidao Pavilion is not a Huaxia person, his understanding of Huaxia culture merely skims the surface. Even though he claimed to have done his research and preparation, Huaxia civilization spans thousands of years, especially the vast and deep jade culture. The owner wasn’t a jade artifact expert; swayed by his love for Huaxia artifacts and misled easily, he fell into a trap.

Thinking of this, Huo Sining could only sigh once more. As an appraiser, due to professional ethics, she couldn’t simply claim a fake as real, but the tea set was the owner’s not-for-sale item, and she found it difficult to directly reveal the truth.

Despite feeling stifled without voicing it, there was an unparalleled sense of discomfort inside her.

This thought rendered Huo Sining’s expression somewhat peculiar; her gaze at the jade artifact revealed a most complex emotion.

Discovering that the owner kept a modern replica as a genuine piece, Huo Sining felt perturbed. Under these circumstances, she felt awkward staying longer in the store, so she quickly turned and left.

Nara Nigawa followed her out, seeing the displeasure on Huo Sining’s face. He thought it was because she had asked to buy the tea set, only to be refused by the owner, so he explained:

”Ms. Huo, it wasn’t that Mr. Yehara deliberately didn’t sell it to you. It’s because he plans to use this tea set in an upcoming festival. He has already signed a contract with the organizers, and selling it to you would breach the contract, costing him a significant amount in compensation.”

Upon hearing Nara Nigawa’s words, Huo Sining paused and turned back, looking at Nara Nigawa with a stunned expression: ”A festival? Which festival?”

Nara Nigawa smiled and said, ”It’s the Dongdu New Year Festival. Yehara’s tea set was selected to be part of the New Year celebrations. It will be used at a shrine ceremony to serve tea to the main deity during the ritual. It’s a tremendous honor, and when the tea set is brought to the shrine for the celebration during New Year, it will certainly shine brightly. At that time, its value will undoubtedly soar, so I understand Mr. Yehara’s point of view. If I were him, I wouldn’t want to miss such an opportunity either.”