Redwood Collection Story

?Redwood fever? has set off wave after wave of craze in the collection world, and more and more people have joined the field of investment and collection of redwood. What are the stories about collecting mahogany? Here are the mahogany collection stories I compiled for you. I hope it will be useful to you. Redwood Collection Story 1

I regretted selling the desk for 150,000 yuan

The actual store only allowed us to consider it for one day, and the next day there was a buyer who knew the product, and we left without saying a word. 150,000 to move the desk. It's better now, my intestines almost turned green with regret.

When I was very young, my family hired two carpenters to build several pieces of furniture. I remember that a knowledgeable neighbor uncle came to my house and solemnly recommended a kind of wood called ash to my parents. According to his general meaning: for making furniture, ash is the best wood, bar none. This idea of ??the neighbor's uncle reached the ears of my knowledgeable uncle. I saw him shake his head first, and then said slowly: "The furniture made from ash trees is pretty good." But when it comes to the best wood, it’s not ash anyway, it should be red sandalwood,? One tael of red sandalwood, three taels of silver? Well! But red sandalwood is not a wood that ordinary people (603883, stock bar) can use!?

I remember that when my uncle said: "One tael of red sandalwood, three taels of silver", his expression was so serious and certain that there was no doubt about it. In our relatively small family, my uncle rarely expresses his opinion on anything because he is a right-winger. But if he makes a statement once in a century, usually it will be the conclusion recognized by the whole family.

This conclusion made me know that there is a very precious wood in the world called red sandalwood before I was in school. But I really saw Rosewood when I was in junior high school. There is a text "Forbidden City" in junior high school. In order to enhance the teaching effect, the school took our first grade students to the Forbidden City as part of a spring outing. I can’t remember exactly which palace it was in at that time. I only remember that on the left hand side of the palace gate, there was a moon door with intricate carvings. The tour guide told us that the wood used to make this moon door was very, very precious. small leaf rosewood.

It turns out that this dark wood is rosewood. I couldn't help being curious and touched it a few times with my hands. The rosewood is smooth and cool, like stone. Yes, the Forbidden City at that time was different from what it is now. Most of the palaces were still open to tourists. Just as the commentator was different from now, the commentator said: "It takes three to five years to transport red sandalwood to Beijing from distant India, traveling across mountains and rivers, spending a lot of manpower and financial resources." Transportation alone consumes countless people's fat and money. Therefore, rosewood reflects the truth that when the ruling class's extravagant desires reach its peak, it will also be the time when its building will collapse. The reason why I can remember the commentator's words so clearly is because after I went back, I put them in my mind. It was moved to the composition unchanged, and the teacher specially put a red circle on this passage as an encouragement. The teacher will definitely not know that when I copied this sentence, I kept calculating it over and over in my mind: My uncle said one tael of red sandalwood and three taels of silver. How many RMB can three taels of silver be converted into?

One day about forty years after I first heard about red sandalwood, I accidentally opened an expired auction album. In the album, there are photos and detailed explanations of a red sandalwood noodle cabinet from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Among them, on the inner partition of the noodle cabinet, there is an inscription by the original owner. The inscription roughly records the hardships and setbacks in collecting the materials for the noodle cabinet. In the end, he did not forget to record: every tael of red sandalwood and three taels of silver.

This detailed first-hand information shocked me extremely. Nowadays, many articles about red sandalwood use "one tael of red sandalwood, one tael of gold" as rhetoric to highlight the value of red sandalwood. But forty years ago, what my uncle said: "One tael of red sandalwood, three taels of silver" was an objective statement. It's really remarkable that the casual remarks of older scholars are so rigorous.

The first time I saw how expensive the real price of red sandalwood was was in Haiwang Village, Liulichang. I don’t know which auction company collected a valuable item and temporarily stored it here. The most important thing is a screen that is much larger than the screen wall of a medium-sized courtyard.

The screen has three openings and is surprisingly thick. In the middle is a coiled dragon sculpture, and the rest are auspicious clouds. Someone told me that the dragon on this screen has four claws, which means that it belongs to the home of at least a prince. As for the specific person, it is being verified.

So I simply followed a bunch of experts present to help. Suddenly a very old expert blurted out: What a rare good thing! I think the starting price is 1 million. ?Everyone present agreed. Next to me, I almost lost my breath because of the price of 1 million. In the 1990s when households with ten thousand yuan were still considered wealthy, one million was an appalling number. However, if the price of 1 million is set today, I can sell the pot and give it a try. But once I win, where will I put this big guy? This is another question.

The idea of ??buying a piece of rosewood furniture really came to me in 2004. That summer, my wife and I visited Gaobeidian. A Minzuo double-sided writing table caught our eyes. Due to the high price tag, it looked like it had been on hold for a long time. The reason why this writing desk makes me so excited is that besides the exquisite workmanship, the rosewood material used is really purple. The shopkeeper sensed my sincerity and kept opening drawers and knocking on the table. It further shows us how practical the materials used in this desk are. Finally, we simply pulled our husband and wife to put our faces on the table and observe the world-famous ox hair pattern of red sandalwood.

At that time, a ray of sunset happened to shine on the table. The cow hair patterns in the eyes are meticulous and vivid, with dots of gold stars in between. Because he was close to the table, he began to smell a faint fragrance in his breath. My heart started to beat faster, and my lover even bluntly said that this was it. At the critical moment, I calmed down. This desk cost 120,000 yuan, and it had already been reduced to the point where even one cent less would not be enough. As a man, when you really want to sell something, you can't help but be vague. I pulled my lover aside and expressed my opinion to her in a very critical manner. I thought: This writing desk is so good that I have no fault with it, except that the cow hair pattern and the gold star are too obvious. At first glance, it is easy for people to have the illusion that there is a layer of soil on the table. My lover totally thinks I’m talking nonsense. In the end, the two of us reached a consensus after going home and thinking about it for two days.

The actual store only allowed us to consider it for one day, and the next day there was a knowledgeable buyer who paid 150,000 yuan without saying a word and moved the desk. It's better now, my intestines almost turned green. My lover didn't ridicule me too much, he just punished me by asking her to sing. That night, I sang "Reliance" by Ren Xianqi several times, just because of that line? What's yours is yours, and if it's not yours, let it go. ?

Probably this lyric came to life. Within a month, my good friend, Brother Sun, who knew the joke, happened to be on business in Fujian and brought me a red sandalwood carving. This red sandalwood piece is really not small. The carvings are about the three stars of fortune, wealth and longevity. Surrounded by fairy boys and fairies, they are living their fairy lives leisurely. The entire carving is an old piece of red sandalwood that has not been patched or repaired. The gold stars and ox hair on it are laid out to the extreme, and the materials used are truly the only ones I have seen in my life. Not only that, the carving is said to be by a master who has carved Shoushan stone. The mixture of wood carving and stone carving techniques makes the carving work more extraordinary. Of course I couldn't just lick my face and accept it carelessly. After a while of admiration, I quickly asked Brother Sun for the price. Brother Sun waved his hand: "This is your birthday gift! Just don't ask the price.

To be precise, my birthday is in winter, but my birthday gift is given in summer. This is ridiculous. It's not that I'm being pretentious. Unless it's a god, no matter who receives such a gift, he or she will wake up happily dreaming in the middle of the night. I am not a fairy, so my husband and I woke up several times in the middle of the night for this gift. I finally have my own rosewood, but still don’t know its value.

Oddly enough, since this red sandalwood carving, the market price of red sandalwood has skyrocketed. But my rosewood collection bucked the trend and grew in size. What needs to be stated is that red sandalwood furniture, which is easily worth the price of a luxury car, will definitely never be available to me in this life. But it doesn’t stop me from collecting all kinds of small red sandalwood carvings, red sandalwood bracelets and accessories. It should be said that the current red sandalwood has completely changed from the red sandalwood I know.

In the past, the emphasis was on stylish furniture and materials, but now the emphasis is on the details of the bracelets, such as fish scales, glass bottoms, or the exploding or full stars of Venus. A certain characteristic of rosewood in the past has now become a standard for estimation.

To this end, you can make a ridiculous analogy: There are many different opinions about red sandalwood toys now, just like a pig in a butcher shop. If the meat of each part cannot be sold at the same price, then there must be Rhetoric. If this scolding metaphor can be one-sidedly true, then red sandalwood, which is originally very expensive, can be very deep and divine in addition to being very expensive. It has become a favorite of more and more people.

In order to write this article, I did some calculations. Now a red sandalwood bracelet with a diameter of two centimeters has a net weight of more than 60 grams and costs seven to eight hundred yuan if it is of average quality. According to the international price of silver, it is almost one tael of red sandalwood and three taels of silver. (According to ancient weights and measures and the purchasing power of silver, this is definitely not the calculation.) The reason why I have to make such a far-fetched calculation is because the uncle who first told me about one tael of red sandalwood and three taels of silver has passed away almost two years ago. If he were alive and knew that I was writing about red sandalwood, I guess he would have asked me to add such a comment about red sandalwood at the end of the article.

In the past, the king of Xietang, the former swallow, flew into the homes of ordinary people? The story of redwood collection 2

Celebrities and redwood collectors of redwood? - Jackie Chan Chapter

What is Jackie Chan's collection of wood? Influenced by Chua Lam and Ho Guanchang, Chua Lam worked as a producer at Hong Kong Golden Harvest Film Company, and Jackie Chan often came to his office. Chua Lam sat on a wooden chair, and on his desk were a huanghuali pen holder, a red sandalwood paperweight, and water from the Qing Dynasty. Cheng. At that time, Jackie Chan not only loved buying sports cars and playing with luxury watches, but also worked. Chua Lam suggested that Jackie Chan collect red sandalwood furniture.

Jackie Chan bought a lot of old wood to build a yard. Each pile of old wood is a beautiful old house. The longest one is more than 400 years old, and the shortest one is more than 200 years old. On September 28, 2009, at the 2009 Harper's Bazaar Charity Night held in Beijing, a red sandalwood palace model donated by Jackie Chan was photographed by Wang Shuo, one of the four youngest children in Beijing, and donated to the actress for a high price of 3.88 million yuan. Zhou Xun.

In April 2013, Jackie Chan donated 4 old houses in his collection to the Singapore University of Science and Technology, and established a collection of Jackie Chan ancient buildings and movie props. Jackie Chan also donated an ancient building to Longyan Chang Ting County. On April 7, 2014, Jackie Chan held a 60th birthday party at the JW Marriott Hotel in Beijing. Many friends in the industry came to congratulate him. Many guests and friends, including well-known directors, movie stars and business tycoons, all showed up. Eric Tsang from the crew He rushed to the scene and served as the special guest host for the entire dinner. The last auction of the small-leaf red sandalwood dragon throne was sold by Emperor Entertainment's Yang Shoucheng for 6.5 million yuan.

Jackie Chan said: Don’t look at me and collect everything. Domestic, cricket jars, bracelets and clothing worn by women in the Qing Dynasty, foreign, cups, plates, spoons, spoons, bracelets, handcuffs, locks, There are so many things, but the only thing I really understand is wood. ? Mahogany collection story 3

?Queen of Huanghuali? Wu Jiaen’s ancient furniture collection story

In the autumn of 1989, Wu Jiaen met Giuseppe Eskenazi, a Chinese antiques dealer living in London. ***Have Italian dinner. Ai suddenly mentioned that when passing through Los Angeles this time, a Korean porcelain collector got a batch of Chinese Ming-style furniture from Southern California. It was moved and sold by a Belarusian lady who had lived in China, but he didn't understand furniture and didn't look at it. In his mind, Wu Jiaen clearly saw his knife and fork in his hand, paused in the air in front of him, and stammered: "Is the thing still there? Can I see it?" When Ai Shi saw this, he laughed and promised to eat. Call to inquire. Wu Jia'en didn't know how to taste the whole meal. When he returned home, he kept pacing. He couldn't bear it anymore. He called to inquire. It turned out that he had been contacted and the things were still there. Wu Jia'en was welcome to come to Los Angeles for appraisal. Wu Jiaen woke up early in the morning and immediately booked a flight. He set off that day and headed straight to Los Angeles.

There are many fine pieces of furniture that I came across by chance, some of which even today, 20 years later, cannot be surpassed, including this pair of large four-piece huanghuali cabinets. After being transported back to Hong Kong, it was stored in a secret room. Jiamutang was established in 1987 and a maintenance workshop was established at the same time. Wu Jiaen and the craftsmen faced Ming-style furniture every day. After two or three years of continuous study and practice, they have reached a certain level of repair technology. However, the four-piece cabinet is large and very expensive, and we have never done it on such a large surface. After polishing the experience of pushing wax, I decided to ask Christopher Cooke, the owner of a furniture restoration factory in London, to come to Hong Kong to handle it. The Cook Factory specializes in repairing European antique furniture. The staff are all with professional backgrounds and have practical experience in Chinese furniture.

The huanghuali-top cabinet was magnificent after restoration. After taking pictures, it was sent directly to the Chinese Classical Furniture Museum in California. The curator, Robert Burton, called to place an order without seeing the actual object. Another came from California. Went to California.

Why did Ming-style furniture spread overseas from its origin in the south of the Yangtze River? Wu Jiaen said that in ancient times, ordinary people used furniture produced in local villages and towns, using local materials, such as firewood and lacquer, to create regional furniture. High-end luxury consumer goods originated from the prosperous period of the 16th century, and a free market has been established in China. This means that wealthy people in various provinces and cities who pursue exquisite lifestyles will drink Fujian tea, use Nanjing silk, and Anhui paper, pens, and ink. , Jingdezhen porcelain and Yixing purple clay pots, etc. Rich households in important towns all over the country will naturally order huanghuali wood furniture with good materials and beautiful shapes from the main origins in the south of the Yangtze River. The rich and noble people in the palace and the capital Beijing were even more able to take advantage of the canal to transport it northward.

Therefore, it is not surprising that in addition to the Jiangnan region of origin, there are examples of Ming-style furniture preserved in major cities and towns along the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. From areas that are far away from the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal and do not have favorable geographical conditions, such as Huizhou, the hometown of Huizhou merchants, the mansions of Shanxi merchants in central and southern Shanxi, and there are also a large number of examples in historical and cultural cities in many provinces, we can quite understand the non-commissioned officers of that time. Merchants all made Ming-style furniture made of huanghuali wood fashionable. Some of the furniture handed down from ancient times are made in regional styles. Although they are a minority, it also shows that at that time, nobles and wealthy businessmen from various places directly purchased wood and hired local skilled craftsmen to make Ming-style furniture made of huanghuali wood.

Wu Jiaen revealed that for more than 20 years, she has heard about the towns and regions with traces of Ming-style furniture. Although it is not comprehensive, she can indeed get some information about the origin of Ming-style furniture and their distribution from the Ming Dynasty to the last century. information. Mr. Wang Shixiang, the father of furniture in the 20th century, based on ancient books and on-the-spot investigations, believed that the main producing areas of Ming-style huanghuali wood furniture were Suzhou and Dongshan areas in the south of the Yangtze River. In the current distribution map of Chinese furniture, we can indeed see that Ming-style furniture is concentrated in the south of the Yangtze River, centered on Suzhou, Dongshan, and Songjiang.

Finally, Wu Jiaen believes that from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, in addition to the Suzhou area, Ming-style furniture was also scattered in other places, including towns along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River such as Jiangyin and Nantong, and the cities on both sides of the Hangzhou Bay River in Jiaxing, Haining, and Hangzhou. , Shaoxing and Ningbo. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs from Zhejiang, through Jiangsu and Shandong, into Hebei, through Tongzhou, and finally to Beijing. A large number of Ming-style furniture have been found in many towns along the river. At the beginning of the end of """, a large number of Ming-style furniture began to enter the fate of being displaced and traveling across the ocean.