Da Vinci Imitation?

Nan Nancai had said that because he wanted to take the blame upon himself, so his grandfather's reputation would not be ruined in his later years. Chu Chen also understood what Nan Nancai meant. At a time like this, he naturally couldn't pour cold water on him. He wasn't the sort of person who would expose someone else's wounds and hurt others without benefiting himself.

But honestly, if that was Nan Nancai's explanation, and his grandfather really did possess a high level of expertise in appraising porcelain, Chu Chen still couldn't understand how the other man could have appraised this pomegranate zun—something that shouldn't have been difficult for him—as genuine.

"Who knows what really happened?" Chu Chen didn't want to waste any more brainpower on the matter.

After blaming himself for a while, Nan Nancai forced himself to perk up again and asked, "Mr. Chu, I wonder if you can determine where this imitation was made?"

Chu Chen replied, "Actually, strictly speaking, calling it an imitation isn't quite right. It should be called a high-quality reproduction."

Upon hearing that, Nan Nancai hurriedly asked, "What do you mean?"

Chu Chen said, "If you have a deep understanding of the Longquan kiln, you should know that reproducing Longquan kiln products was a worldwide phenomenon. If my judgment is correct, this pomegranate zun should have been made during the late Qing and early Republic."

Because Longquan porcelain was famous throughout the world, collectors both at home and abroad had flocked to obtain it. During the late Qing and early Republic, people from the island nation, Germany, the United States, and other countries went to Longquan to collect celadon. After that, large numbers of antique dealers from China followed, giving rise to the excavation of ancient kiln sites and the looting of ancient tombs.