Ancient wood has a fragrant collection and appreciation

Since ancient times, the words of incense have been mysterious and mysterious because of its rareness. Now it has become the new darling of the racquet. Experts believe that the current market price is not saturated and there is still ample room for appreciation.

Agarwood can be used for incense or carving, but it can never be enjoyed without being expensive. The legend of Chenxiang also has its own reasons. Since the Tang dynasty, there was a fragrant case in the dynasty. The Tang people made the incense into exquisite painting boxes, brushes, knife handles, etc., and these valuable palace relics can still be seen in today's Ben Zangcang. The emperor of the Tang Dynasty believed in Buddhism and naturally used Chen Xiang as precious treasure. In 1987, the Tang Dynasty imperial palace where the royal family of the Tang dynasty unearthed for the Buddha's finger was reliced. Although it has gone through a thousand years, it has retained the texture of the top grade Agarwood.

In the Song Dynasty, agarwood was commonly used in courts. All kinds of banquets and celebrations are shaken with incense. In Huizong's paintings, there is a depiction of the fragrant scene. History contains Song Shi's "one or two gold and two aloes," and it has become "an inch of incense." Such changes in weight to equal volumes indicate that the resources of Aquilaria are scarce.

In recent years, the major auction companies have shot on the incense carvings. This year's high price came from the auction of Jiang Chunbo's landscape figures in the ancient Tianyi auction, and sold 3.92 million transactions. In addition, during the Epoch Times, all major auction houses in Xiqiao had successful transactions. On the whole, shooting on the sculpture is a small part. Huang Yi, executive deputy curator of the Tianjin Agarwood Museum, explained to us in an interview: “Because of the characteristics of Chenxiang’s growth, it’s hard to have a large volume for the high-quality collection-grade agarwood. Therefore, the art of agarwood is also small and exquisite. Seeing that the types of techniques are mostly carvings, since ancient times, Aquilaria has been classified as a scarce **. To avoid the waste of materials, as a result of carving art, artists need to learn to use carving experiences similar to tooth carving and bamboo carving to complete In terms of use, the scope of use is wide, ranging from cleaning ornaments to pen holders, pen holders, pen holders, and tea sets; there are various kinds of religious statues, offerings, beads, knife handles, and pendants.

From the perspective of the times, the works were mainly concentrated in the four periods of the Ming, Qing, Qian, and the modern times. Huang Na, general manager of the Cosmopolitan International Auction Co., Ltd., said in an interview with us that the era is only a factor in the fragrance products. Whether they come from famous artists or judge their important values, the quality of raw materials is also very important, if it is rare. The earth aloes are even more precious.

Huang Yi believes that: “In recent years, the value of the incense has climbed ten times and has never gone down. Moreover, due to the increasing demand for incense and the non-renewability of resources, it will certainly continue to appreciate. In addition, compared to traditional art Products (such as porcelain, paintings, etc.), the identification of agarwood is easier to grasp, and the investment space is also larger.” The appreciation of agarwood is largely due to its rarity. “In 1995, the Washington Convention Organization included Aquilaria into the list of “endangered and endangered wild animals and plants”, and on the one hand, it also proved the rareness of the agarwood. At the same time, the agarwood is an indeterminate product, namely, a chance product. Needs climate, environment, process, time, opportunity and other factors can be formed.Quality of incense needs thousands of years of time, but in two or three thousand years, the work of human collecting and excavating incense has never stopped, which will inevitably cause almost no regeneration. The agarwood resources are increasingly scarce.In fact, as early as in the Song Dynasty, the price of “one or two gold or two aloes” was considered astronomical, and the price of “one inch of gold and one inch of incense” in the Ming Dynasty was ten times that of the Song Dynasty. When the resources of Aquilaria sinensis have been scarce, and after the collection and excavation of several hundred years ago, the degree of scarcity can be imagined.Furthermore, the work of sinking is very difficult.Aloes are not like minerals, and there are veins that can be followed to find buried in the earth. The incense of the layers depends on the experience of the ancestors, and the sinister environment has also caused the mining work to be full of many unknown dangers. In 2007, the output was less than 20 kg and the output in 2008 was less than 10 kg. In 2009, the output was less than a few kilograms. This group of data from the production areas of Vietnam is sufficient to explain the current situation of the scarcity of agarwood resources,” Huang Yi said.

Huang Yi, executive deputy director of the Tianjin Agarwood Museum, generally speaking, what is the difference between Chen Xiang who produces artworks and the incense material used to make incense?

It should be said that whether it is a work of art or a top grade of fragrant material, it should be a good incense. The more cherished the material, the better the value. There is a problem with the volume of artwork, which is too small for a knife to work.

What is the biggest factor in judging the value of an agarwood art, is it in grams and product phase? If the agarwood itself is the biggest factor, then how can we judge the pros and cons?

The evaluation of the merits and demerits of a piece of agarwood is not only based on weight, but on a variety of criteria such as aroma, texture, producing area, form, and color.

As a work of art, it cannot be simply measured by weight, but also added artistic factors such as author's popularity, craftsmanship, ingenuity and artistic conception. For example, when we evaluate a piece of porcelain, we do not look at it in multiple ways. It is from which kiln we look at, the appearance of the kiln, the glaze color, and the opening of the kiln.

Can I simply analyze the authenticity of the agarwood art for my collectors?

Due to interest-driven and material scarcity, in recent years, the incense in the city has been filled with shoddy and false positive phenomena. Generally speaking, it is necessary to start from the perspective of smell, oil line, etc.

In general, there are two kinds of ways in which counterfeit counterfeits are falsified. The first type of wood substitutes the wood that resembles the agarwood mechanism, and most of them occur in counterfeit submerged incense. In the Vietnamese arts and crafts market, as crafts were sold to tourists, while bad domestic businessmen were sold as real incense.

The second way is to “optimize” falsification by means of dyeing and oil-filling with inferior agarwood. The compressed agarwood that has emerged in recent years is the most harmful and inferior agarwood. Even with the incense-free agarwood, compressed into a submerged false incense. The degree of compression is high or low, so that people with primary knowledge are easily fooled, so be especially careful. It is recommended that friends who love Chen Xiang should not be eager to buy large quantities, and learn more about the incense and taste. When there is sufficient experience and knowledge, choose a seller with better reputation and professional quality.

What should be paid attention to in the preservation of agarwood artwork?

Appropriate temperature and humidity, the best temperature is 18-21 degrees, and the relative humidity is maintained between 65-75%. Pay attention to ventilation, moisture, and direct sunlight, and avoid contact with chemical-containing liquids such as detergents.