Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 1320: Chapter 1316: Criteria for Judgment

The back of this bronze mirror does not feature traditional relief art but rather a shell inlay technique. Countless small, thin shell ornaments are embedded on the back of the mirror, forming a delicate and lifelike depiction of birds, flowers, and a graceful lady.

The lady wears her hair in a high bun and holds a round fan in her hand.

The lines of this lady are quite rounded, her figure is full, exuding a lively aura.

Above the beauty’s head, flowers and branches spread out, arranged along the edges of the back of the bronze mirror. Four larger flowers are lined at the four corners of the bronze mirror, slightly tilting to either side, with a phoenix spreading its wings below each flower.

Running her fingers over the textured birds and flowers, although the shell carving’s textures are difficult to distinguish by touch, Huo Sining still managed to feel subtle differences at the junction between the carving and the bronze mirror.

The heat and aura of the two items were indistinguishable, but at this junction, a noticeable discontinuity in heat proved that the protruding birds and flowers were not part of the bronze mirror.

Huo Sining carefully examined the smooth side of the mirror. At the edge of this non-heated mirror, rust marks could be seen.

Bronze rusts to produce green rust, but since this mirror is a fake, it obviously couldn’t rust naturally in a short period. It’s likely that the forgers used special techniques to apply fake rust to the mirror to mislead the viewer.

She lightly scratched the rust marks on the mirror with her fingernail, and as she wiped it, some powdery substances fell off.

Seeing this situation, Huo Sining immediately understood.

This method of deliberately faking rust is commonplace in antique forgery.

Some attempts at aging are crude, and experts can distinguish them with the naked eye; others are extremely realistic, making them harder to discern.

If Huo Sining didn’t have her Heavenly Eye, relying only on touch, she might not be able to determine that the rust on this mirror was fake.

Huo Sining’s pace in examining the items was not quick. Though she had insight with her right hand, her foundational knowledge was not solid.

Coupled with her usual cautious approach, she was careful not to make hasty conclusions without certainty, thus paying attention to many details.

Only when the proctor rang the bell, reminding her time was up, did she confirm no errors were made and withdrew her hand from the platform.

After finishing their examinations, the appraisers returned to their seats; some secretly observed the expressions of other appraisers, while others closed their eyes in contemplation, seemingly mulling over the answers in their minds.

Huo Sining looked at Ma Liwen briefly, then withdrew her gaze, returning to her place in the corner.

This mid-term assessment would decide the final ten appraisers for the ultimate contest. Many appraisers were eager and promised to excel against their peers in the trial.

Everyone felt wary and defensive toward competitors, so from entering to examining the items, they maintained neutral expressions, afraid that others might deduce any clues from them.

As the last person finished examining the item and left the platform, the staff quickly distributed a sheet of white paper to each person.

At this moment, the chief examiner Shi Qingyun stood and announced, “The answer sheets have been distributed to you. You have half an hour to answer, after which our staff will collect the sheets uniformly.”

After receiving the answer sheet, Huo Sining did not immediately write down her answer but silently began to think.

As for the phonograph, it’s relatively straightforward; it could be confirmed that the entire device is a 1905 Columbia classic. Because the speaker box was damaged, the owner found a replacement speaker box made of mahogany to match.

Compared to the phonograph, the bronze mirror is harder to judge.

The back of it depicts a lady amidst birds and flowers, and the carving is likely the shell inlay technique.

Shell inlay, also known as “inlay or mother-of-pearl,” is referred to as “shell carving” in the antique world, a unique carving art from the Tang Dynasty.

“Shell inlay” refers to using shell and sea shell to create thin sheets of figures, birds, flowers, geometric patterns, or text, embedding them onto the surface of items as needed for decoration.

This natural work is inherently beautiful, with a strong visual impact, making it a common traditional decorative art, widely used in Tang Dynasty musical instruments, screens, boxes, trays, wooden carvings, and other crafts.

Based on the decorative style and painting on the back of the bronze mirror, it can be confirmed it originated from the Tang Dynasty.

But what about the front? What grounds are there for judgment? This is a blindfolded assessment, only sensing without seeing. Her answer sheet naturally couldn’t include what she saw with the Heavenly Eye, only approaching it from a blindfolded examiner’s perspective.

The fundamental method for judging antiques is similar to diagnostics in traditional Chinese medicine: sight, hearing, questioning, and touch.

Besides visually seeing and touching, one can also listen and smell.

With these thoughts, Huo Sining suddenly recalled the copper rust she scraped from the front of the mirror earlier and couldn’t help looking at her fingers.

She extracted a bit of unnoticeable powder from the crevice of her nail, rubbed it lightly between her thumb and little finger, then brought her fingertips to her nose, where she faintly smelled a touch of copper tang.

A smile appeared on Huo Sining’s face; actual ancient bronze items typically have an earthy smell from the excavation, not copper tang.

Copper tang, this should be the most direct evidence.

The few appraisers near Huo Sining were quite close; with a glance, they could see her answer sheet.

However, they all believed Huo Sining was too young and didn’t trust that the answers she wrote were correct.

In their view, it was better to trust their own hands than a young girl.

In ten minutes, Huo Sining smoothly wrote down the answer in her mind, without lingering at her seat, directly handing the answer sheet to the attendant, who delivered it to the chief examiner. She then sat calmly and quietly awaited.

Half an hour, neither long nor short, many people felt troubled, holding a pen but unable to write, though there was much in their minds, once writing, they found many parts inexplicable.

This assessment was indeed interesting; the organizers laid traps for the appraisers within two boxes holding items, neither could wholly be deemed genuine or fake, so unless one truly discovered issues, it was difficult to guess the right answers blindly.

That’s why the respondents were so conflicted.