The Chengni tile-end inkstones here were pretty good too, but most of them had been made in modern times. Only a few were from the Republic of China or the Qing Dynasty, and none were masterpieces. Naturally, Chu Chen had no interest in them, so after browsing through them briefly, he moved on to the other side.
But by the time Chu Chen arrived, Wen Yuting and the others had each carefully selected a blue-and-white porcelain inkstone. When they saw him approach, they wanted to ask for his opinion.
Chu Chen picked up the two inkstones and examined them. At a glance, he thought they were both quite good. Wen Yuting's was from the Republic of China period, while Chu Yulan's was unexpectedly from the Ming Dynasty.
The inkstone's grinding surface was unglazed and slightly concave to facilitate grinding ink. The rest of it was glazed, with a dense, white body and rich, thick glaze. The blue-and-white decoration was a mellow blue tinged with purple, likely made from a mixture of huiqing and Shiziqing. The brushwork was free and natural. On the bottom was a double-lined, double-row six-character mark in vigorous regular script: "Made during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty."
The entire piece had a distinctive, charming shape, with its belly slightly tapering inward. It was decorated with lingzhi, ruyi, and scrolling-grass patterns, one of the common motifs on blue-and-white porcelain from this period. Though small, the inkstone was extremely refined. It was probably an imperial-kiln piece and held considerable collectible value for anyone who loved scholars' objects.
After examining both inkstones, Chu Chen smiled and said, "Both of these are pretty good. If the price isn't too high, you can buy them." As he spoke, he gestured a price to the two women.
The two women immediately