50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 453 Three Flaws
Sun Zhiwei's words were like a thunderbolt, stunning everyone present. Even Old Quinn thought he had only discovered one flaw.

"The first flaw is in the dye."

"In this painting, a small amount of blue-violet dye was used in the shadows of the cloak worn by the Virgin Mary."

"As is well known, there was only one type of purple dye in the Middle Ages, and that was 'Tyle purple'."

“Typal purple comes from the secretions of the Mediterranean dye snail, and because it is difficult to extract, it has always been a symbol of power and wealth.”

"As far as I know, in the Middle Ages, it took 1.2 Mediterranean dye snails to extract 1.4 grams of 'Tyr Violet,' making it more precious than gold."

"'Tyr purple' should smell like garlic. However, I didn't smell anything in the purple of the painting."

"The artist of this painting was clearly not a chemist. He did not know that blue-violet is rarer than purple in natural colors, and there was no blue-violet pigment at all in the Middle Ages."

"I guess it should be aniline purple, which was synthesized by the British chemist William Henry Parkin in 1856. Aniline purple dissolves in water to turn blue-purple and has no odor."

"I think this is easy to verify. Just take a little purple pigment from the painting and test it. We should be able to draw a conclusion quickly."

“There is clearly a problem with the use of 19th-century purple dye in medieval paintings.”

Everyone was surprised to hear this, because no one had paid attention to that inconspicuous little bit of purple in the painting.

Sun Zhiwei's ability to observe this point is enough to demonstrate his unique insight and meticulous observation, and his subsequent explanation also shows that he is scientifically literate.

The association's president, Fernando Harris, was thrilled after hearing his explanation.

Although he came up with a solution to break the deadlock at the meeting that day, he wasn't as determined in his heart as his tone suggested.

Now that Sun Zhiwei's assessment result is out, all obstacles to his joining the association have been removed. From now on, he has gained a powerful ally within the association.

He almost wanted to announce immediately that Sun Zhiwei had officially become a registered member of the M Country Appraisers Association. But before he could even speak, Sun Zhiwei had already continued his explanation.

"The second flaw is in the lines at the bottom of the painting."

"Just now, by shining an ultraviolet light on the painting, we discovered many extremely fine lines on the back of the artwork. These lines are the outlines of the painting drawn by modern painters with graphite pencils before they start painting."

Most painters will sketch with a pencil before painting with oil paint to avoid confusion when applying color. The appraisers present are all very clear about this step.

"As far as I know, graphite pencils can only be traced back to the mid-18th century. It is obviously impossible for graphite pencils to be so fine in the Middle Ages, which is clearly problematic."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement with this assessment, as they had just witnessed it firsthand. Therefore, they unanimously agreed with Sun Zhiwei's judgment.

"The third flaw is in the resin on the surface of the painting." This was something no one had expected.

"The surface of these resins is full of cracks, as if the resin has cracked due to the passage of time."

"But upon closer inspection, it can be found that these cracks are distributed very unevenly, and the size of the cracks is also inconsistent."

"It is clear that these cracks are not naturally formed, but man-made."

After pointing out the three flaws, Sun Zhiwei looked around at everyone and drew his final conclusion.

"Therefore, I determine that this is a forgery. Based on the dates of the dye and graphite pencil used earlier, this painting was probably created sometime after the mid-19th century." As soon as Sun Zhiwei finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted in the conference room.

"What a wonderful appraisal process, Mr. James. Welcome to the M Country Appraisers Association. We are proud of you."

The speaker was the appraisal master Quinn Armstrong. Because he never took sides, but was the most senior, his affirmation was generally unchallenged.

His decision to make the final decision this time is more effective than any other party's approval.

"Thank you, Master Quinn, and thank you, Mr. Fernando." Even with the affirmation from old Quinn, Sun Zhiwei would not forget the recommendation from Chairman Fernando.

Fernando was regretting having his result announced first by old Quinn, but then he suddenly heard Sun Zhiwei's words of thanks, and he immediately became happy again. It seemed that he had not lost this ally.

With everything settled, Sun Zhiwei finally breathed a sigh of relief. This was the first time he had presented the entire appraisal process to outsiders.

This was a completely different experience from his previous practice of writing the spatial assessment results directly on the assessment certificate.

One involves looking at the answers and doing the questions, while the other involves directly copying the answers; these two are completely different.

The former represents his growth, indicating that with his current knowledge accumulation, even without spatial identification, he is still likely to arrive at the correct identification result through independent judgment.

He smiled modestly, accepting the compliments and praises from everyone, while giving up the main seat and beginning to pack up the appraisal supplies.

Some of the others surrounded him and talked, while others ran to the painting to personally verify the three flaws that Sun Zhiwei had just mentioned.

After Sun Zhiwei finished tidying up, some people began to leave. In the M Country Appraisers Association, these committee members each had their own duties and were very busy every day.

Before leaving, they all came to say goodbye to Sun Zhiwei.

Seeing that Sun Zhiwei is about to become a rising star appraiser, regardless of how they viewed him before, it has now become a consensus among them to be on good terms with him.

This is because they didn't know Sun Zhiwei was a billionaire. If they knew how rich Sun Zhiwei was, their smiles would be even more genuine.

Because every billionaire is the bread and butter of the appraisers.

Sun Zhiwei responded warmly to everyone's greetings; these were his connections, and they would be on the same side from now on.

Who knows, he might need these committee members in the future; giving them a smile won't hurt him.

Soon everyone dispersed, and Sun Zhiwei followed Chairman Fernando back to his office on the third floor.

In his office, he received his new registered appraiser certificate, which was now much more valuable.

In addition, there is a complex heraldic-style badge, which is the association's member badge.

The front of the badge features an intricate coat of arms, within which the association's abbreviation "AAA" is hidden.

The back of the badge bears his name: James Robert, and the date he joined: May 20, 1980.

This can't be done immediately; Fernando must have had it made in advance so that he could receive it after officially passing the test today.

(End of this chapter)